Aalto University is a community of bold thinkers where science and art meet technology and business. We are committed to identifying and solving grand societal challenges and building an innovative future. Aalto has six schools with nearly 11 000 students and a staff of more than 4000, of which 400 are professors. Our main campus is located in Espoo, Finland. Diversity is part of who we are, and we actively work to ensure our community’s diversity and inclusiveness. This is why we warmly encourage qualified candidates from all backgrounds to join our community.
The Aalto School of Arts, Design and Architecture (ARTS) is a Nordic leader in higher education for design, fashion, games, media, architecture, film, art education and fine art. We produce world-class research e.g. in design, digital media and visual culture, art education, urban planning and architecture. Our graduates innovate in and beyond their fields, drawing on over a century of tradition of our institution, a humane and forward-looking approach, and the latest technologies.
The Department of Design is a community of creative and responsible researchers and design experts. We educate front-line design professionals and visionaries for established, changing and emerging fields of design. (https://www.aalto.fi/en/department-of-design)
Postdoctoral researcher in organizational behavior, strategy or management
We are looking for a postdoctoral researcher to join us in our cross-disciplinary research project. This is
a fixed-term one year contract. Our research group is currently strong in the disciplines of design practice, strategy and history, and we want to build our competences in the areas of organizational behaviour and management. The research project is funded by the Academy of Finland and lasts until 2025.
Our project ‘The Nokia Design archive - exploring unseen concepts of design and opportunities of design-driven transformation and change’ investigates the role of design within Nokia in 1995-2015. The project utilises a globally unique and previously unseen archive consisting of thousands of concepts, process models, documents and videos. Nokia remains a unique phenomenon in Finnish business history, but also in its use of design. It was the first, and so far, only, organisation in the country to hire more than 500 designers, who worked in areas such as advanced concepting, insight and foresight, trends and strategy.
The aim of this project is to provide a deeper understanding of the processes behind design’s role in creating change. There is a shared perception that societies, corporations and lifestyles need to change in order to ensure socially and ecologically sustainable life for future generations. In current corporate culture and decision-making, design’s role in this is already recognised, but there is not enough empirical knowledge or evidence of design’s true possibilities as a driver of change. The unique archival material at hand offers an unprecedented access to design work that managed to create change, both within Nokia and in the society at large. More information about the project can be found on our website:
nokiadesignarchive.aalto.fi.
Your role and goals
Your main role is in researching, writing and publishing papers in your own academic field, expanding and complementing our areas of expertise. You will actively participate in an exchange of ideas between the members of the team and bring creativity and academic rigour into the outputs of this project. In this position, you will have a chance to work in a wonderful cross-disciplinary team, explore a unique set of empirical material and do groundbreaking research investigating the practices and approaches of creativity and change in organizations.
Your network and team
Our team currently consists of researchers with backgrounds in design, history, culture, leadership and strategy. You can read more about our individual team members here:
https://nokiadesignarchive.aalto.fi/About. We also have an active and easily reachable international advisory board, with strong knowledge and experience in a broad set of disciplines.
Your experience and ambitions
We are looking for a researcher who has a strong academic background in organizational behaviour, strategy, management or similar, with an interest in practices related to design. The ideal candidate is motivated to contribute to our research project in the form of articles in academic journals and has a track record of previous research relevant to the areas mentioned above. We work in a collaborative manner, and as a postdoctoral researcher, we hope that you participate by building on synergy between your core capabilities and the existing activities of the team.
We expect you to have:
-a relevant doctoral degree
-experience in conducting research relevant to organizational behaviour, strategy or management
-a track record of successful publishing in academic journals
-excellent oral and written English skills
We appreciate you having:
-experience in cross-disciplinary research
-motivation to expand your academic expertise
-interest for design practices
What we offer
We offer a great team, a uniqe set of empirical data and a field of inquiry wich is highly topical in this world in turmoil. This is an opportunity to create ground-breaking research and to open up for new knowledge. Aalto University provides its employees with occupational health care services and excellent learning and development opportunities. The salary is determined according to the applicant's experience and Aalto’s salary guidelines. The department is located in the Otaniemi campus of Aalto University in Espoo (Helsinki metropolitan area). Consistent with EU insurance and pension regulations, Aalto expects employees to reside and work in Finland.
Ready to apply?
To apply, please share the following application materials with us via our recruitment tool Workday:
-a short motivational letter outlining your interest for and contribution to the project
-CV
-list of publications
Please submit your application through our recruitment system
by 24.2.2023. If you are an Aalto employee or visitor, please apply via your Workday user account: Workday -> Career -> find jobs.
If you want to know more about the position, please contact Professor Anna Valtonen,
anna.valtonen@aalto.fi.
In questions related to recruitment process, please contact HR Partner Katju Helminen,
katju.helminen@aalto.fi.
Want to know more about us and your future colleagues? You can watch these videos: Aalto University - Towards a better world, Aalto People , and Shaping a Sustainable Future. You can also see this webpage about Aalto and Finland: https://www.aalto.fi/en/services/welcome-to-aalto-university-and-finland-info- package. Check out our new virtual campus experience: https://virtualtour.aalto.fi/ !
About Finland
Finland is a great place for living with or without family - it is a safe, politically stable and well-organized Nordic society. Finland is consistently ranked high in quality of life and was just listed again as the happiest country in the world: https://worldhappiness.report/news/its-a-three-peat-finland-keeps-top-spot-as- happiest-country-in-world/. For more information about living in Finland: https://www.aalto.fi/services/about-finland
Aalto University has been awarded with HR Excellence in Research quality label in European Commission, guaranteeing that we adhere to top quality HR practices in both recruitment and employment relations.
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