Doctoral student in Fire Safety - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

The division of fire safety engineering conducts research and teaching that relates to fire and its consequences. Teaching takes place mainly at the Fire Protection Engineering program and the International Master in Fire Safety Technology, the latter is a program that is primarily aimed at international students. The division consists of approximately 15 employees, including five Lund-based doctoral students. The division of Fire Safety Engineering acts in an international context and has contact with research organizations nationally and internationally.

Subject description
Fire safety research relates to physical and chemical processes associated with the origin, growth, spread and extinguishing of fires, interactions between fire and buildings/facilities, systems for preventing or detecting fire or limiting its consequences, and evacuation and human behavior in fire. The fire safety research is conducted mainly through experimental research, modeling and model development. The general objective is to find cost-effective and innovative methods of keeping damage to people, the environment and property at an acceptable level. This doctoral position relates to the area of wildfires and the study of people’s behaviour during wildfire evacuation scenarios, including the impact of wildfire smoke on human response. In particular, this doctoral position refers to simulation tools for the study of evacuation and human behaviour in wildfires. Research in this field is performed through an international effort that Lund University is conducting together with several partners around the world, and has received funding from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Therefore, this project will include collaboration with several partners, including the Fire Protection Research Foundation at NFPA, Imperial College London, the National Research Council of Canada, RMIT in Australia and Movement Strategies in the UK.

Work duties
The work will involve development, use and validation of tools to study wildfire evacuation scenarios. The position also involves conducting behavioural studies (e.g. Virtual Reality experiments and physical field experiments) on the topic of wildfire evacuation. The doctoral student will be involved in the development of the simulation tool called WUI-NITY.

The main duties of the doctoral student are to devote him/herself to his/her research studies which includes participating in research projects and third cycle courses. The work duties will also include teaching and other departmental duties (no more than 20%).

Admission requirements
A person meets the general admission requirements for third-cycle courses and study programmes if the applicant:

• has been awarded a second-cycle qualification, or
• has satisfied the requirements for courses comprising at least 240 credits of which at least 60 credits were awarded in the second cycle, or
• has acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad.

A person meets the specific admission requirements for third cycle studies in Fire Safety if the applicant has:

• a BSc in Fire Protection Engineering comprising 210 credits, or
• a second-cycle degree in a relevant field

Additional requirements:

• Very good oral and written proficiency in English.

Assessment criteria
Selection for third-cycle studies is based on the student’s potential to profit from such studies. The assessment of potential is made primarily on the basis of academic results from the first and second cycle. Special attention is paid to the following:

1. Knowledge and skills relevant to the thesis project and the subject of study.
2. An assessment of ability to work independently and to formulate and tackle research problems.
3. Written and oral communication skills.
4. Other experience relevant to the third-cycle studies, e.g. professional experience.  

Other assessment criteria:

• Experience with the fire or evacuation domain
• Experience with development of mathematical models for fire safety engineering applications
• Familiarity with programming languages (e.g. Python, Java, C#, Matlab)

Consideration will also be given to good collaborative skills, drive and independence, and how the applicant, through his or her experience and skills, is deemed to have the abilities necessary for successfully completing the third cycle programme.

Terms of employment
Only those admitted to third cycle studies may be appointed to a doctoral studentship. Third cycle studies at LTH consist of full-time studies for 4 years. A doctoral studentship is a fixed-term employment of a maximum of 5 years (including 20% departmental duties). Doctoral studentships are regulated in the Higher Education Ordinance (1993:100), chapter 5, 1-7 §§.

Instructions on how to apply
Applications shall be written in English and include a cover letter stating the reasons why you are interested in the position and in what way the research project corresponds to your interests and educational background. The application must also contain a CV, at least 2 references, degree certificate or equivalent, and other documents you wish to be considered (grade transcripts, contact information for your references, letters of recommendation, etc.).