Queen Silvia’s Professorship in Global Child and Adolescent Health

The University of Gothenburg tackles society’s challenges with diverse knowledge. 56 000 students and 6 600 employees make the university a large and inspiring place to work and study. Strong research and attractive study programmes attract researchers and students from around the world. With new knowledge and new perspectives, the University contributes to a better future.

The University of Gothenburg hereby announces Queen Silvia’s Professorship in Global Child and Adolescent Health. This professorship will have a focus on mental health.

On the occasion of H.M. Queen Silvia’s eightieth birthday the University of Gothenburg has entered into a collaboration agreement with Carl Bennet in order to announce a professorship bearing the Queen’s name. The professorship will strengthen and extend the contribution that the University of Gothenburg makes to meet societal challenges and is one of the university’s contributions towards improving health and wellbeing and thereby achieving the University of Gothenburg’s vision of being a university for the world. 

Subject Area 

Global Child and Adolescent Health.

Subject Description

Global Child and Adolescent Health is an inter- and multidisciplinary research area which takes as its starting point a holistic perspective of the preconditions for and influences upon child and adolescent health including social, cultural, economic, educational and health-related factors. The subject of the professorship has a particular focus on the mental health of children and adolescents, which needs to be understood in relation to the challenges that young people in the world face today. Examples of these challenges can be environmental destruction, migration, poverty, conflict, technological development and unhealthy lifestyle habits but also vulnerability connected to political, financial, educational and public health systems. Research in this subject area can in different ways touch upon one or more of these themes as well as involve both fundamental and applied research or implementation research with the aim of contributing to an increased understanding of the significant factors which represent obstacles to children’s and adolescents’ wellbeing. The research can also touch upon the development and evaluation of health-promoting initiatives for well-being, in relevant cases co-created with adolescents and in collaboration with various social institutions and organizations that share the goal of promoting good health, in particular mental health, among children and adolescents. Research within the subject area can take as its starting point regional or national conditions which are connected to global challenges and which in terms of research-design range from small-scale to largescale studies with elements of longitudinal or cross-sectional character. Interdisciplinary syntheses of research results from a variety of disciplines are of particular significance for the continued development in this area.

Duties and responsibilities

The professor’s duties and responsibilities mainly include to:  

• With an interdisciplinary approach, carry out research as well as build up and lead a new transdisciplinary research environment in global child and adolescent health with a focus on mental health.
• In collaboration with relevant interested parties within and outside academia, such as youth, healthcare and educational institutions, as well as child and youth organizations, initiate research where existing knowledge is applied to new contexts in a way that enables scientific evaluation, utilizing a broad range of evaluation methods from various disciplines.
• Apply for external research funding, with a particular focus on developing multidisciplinary research within the subject area at the University of Gothenburg.
• Develop and lead a transdisciplinary network and a coordinated organization within the research area with University of Gothenburg as a base, with the aim of contributing to transdisciplinary syntheses, innovation and synergy effects for the involved research environments.
• Participate in education at all levels, in particular interdisciplinary education connected to the subject area at both master’s and doctoral level, as well as supervise doctoral candidates and support junior researchers connected to the research environment.
• Be outward oriented and serve as an ambassador for interdisciplinary cooperation in the area both within and outside of the higher education sector, both locally and globally.

 In order to excecute these duties the professorship will be provided with special financing to cover, among other things, PhD positions and/or postdoctoral appointments as well as seed money/network funding of equivalent scope. These will be connected to environments at the School of Business, Economics and Law, Sahlgrenska Academy, the Faculty of Social Sciences and the Faculty of Education, that are relevant to the subject area of the professorship and will be coordinated by the holder of the professorship.

Public outreach and teaching will, to a significant extent, take place in a Swedish setting and the candidate who is hired to the post will therefore be expected to have acquired fluency in the Swedish language in both speech and writing at least to level B2 according to the Common European Framework by at latest three years after the commencement of the employment. The University of Gothenburg will offer the candidate who is hired to the post courses in Swedish within the framework of the employment.

Eligibility

The eligibility criteria for employing teaching staff are set out in Chapter 4 of the Higher Education Ordinance and in the Appointment Procedure for Teaching Posts at the University of Gothenburg. The ability to teach in English is a requirement.

Assessment Criteria

The assessment criteria for employment as a teacher are specified in the Higher Education Ordinance and the University of Gothenburg’s employment regulations.

Given that relevant research for the subject area spans various disciplines within economics, law, medicine, health sciences, public health, social sciences, and educational sciences, applicants with diverse backgrounds are welcome.

Research expertise and collaborative skills will, together and equally, be the primary criteria for evaluation. Following these, pedagogical skills, leadership and administrative skills will be valued. Suitability for the position is a prerequisite.

Research expertise is primarily demonstrated through a high-quality publication list within the area of the position, with particular emphasis on publications by recognized academic publishers and in highly respected international peer-reviewed journals. The quality, originality, and impact of the publications are given more weight than the total number of publications. Significant weight is also placed on the ability to develop, lead, and conduct research in interdisciplinary collaboration, including the ability to obtain external research funding in competition, initiate and drive interdisciplinary research within the subject area of the position, and conduct research in collaboration with societal actors where various scientific disciplines are integrated.

Collaboration skills with the surrounding society are demonstrated through the ability to lead and develop already initiated collaborations as well as the ability to establish new long-term collaborations between academia and relevant societal actors. These actors may include healthcare institutions, schools, social services, other societal institutions and civil society, as well as nongovernment organizations and other relevant stakeholders. The ability to utilize research results and participate in public debate is also important. Communication skills are part of collaboration skills and are demonstrated by the applicant’s ability to express themselves clearly and concisely both orally and in writing, and to adapt their language and message to the needs and expectations of the target audience.

Pedagogical skills are demonstrated through the ability to teach and supervise at various levels, particularly at the doctoral level, as well as through pedagogical responsibility and development work within the subject area of the position.

Leadership and administrative skills are demonstrated through well-executed leadership assignments and trusted assignments within academic activities, as well as other participation in the university’s decision-making and preparatory bodies.

Furthermore, applicants are expected to demonstrate suitability for the position, which primarily includes a critical approach and good judgment in professional matters, the ability to collaborate with colleagues and students as well as the ability to contribute to the development of the activities in accordance with the employment regulations for teachers at the University of Gothenburg. This is mainly assessed through interviews and reference checks.

The applicant who, after a comprehensive assessment based on all assessment criteria, is deemed to have the best potential to fulfill the duties of the position, collaborate with other staff, and contribute to the positive development of the activities, will be given priority.

If higher education pedagogical qualifications in accordance with the requirements at the University of Gothenburg are not present at the time of application, such qualifications must be validated or the specified training completed within one year from the start of the employment (see https://pil.gu.se/resurser/meriter). The application must indicate the conditions for validation.

Employment

The organizational placement of the position will be determined in consultation with the appointed professor, based on the proposed research program and the professor’s background.

Employment: permanent full-time (100%).

The professor is expected to be physically present in Gothenburg. Start date: by agreement.

Information for International Applicants

Choosing a career in a foreign country is a big step. To give you a general idea of what we and Gothenburg have to offer in terms of benefits and life in general for you and your family/spouse/partner, please visit:

• Welcome Services
• Move to Gothenburg

Information about the Employer

For further information, please refer to the following links:

• University of Gothenburg
• School of Business, Economics and Law
• Sahlgrenska Academy
• Faculty of Social Sciences
• Faculty of Education

Contact Information for the Position

For questions regarding the professorship, please contact:

• School of Business, Economics and Law: Måns Söderbom, Dean
• Sahlgrenska Academy: Jenny Nyström, Dean
• Faculty of Social Sciences: Isabell Schierenbeck, Pro-Dean
• Faculty of Education: Christel Larsson, Pro-Dean

For questions regarding the recruitment process, please contact:

• Employer Issues: Ralph Heiefort, Development Manager

Appointment Procedure

The decision of employment is made by the Vice-Chancellor and will be preceded by external expert reviewers, trial lecture, interviews, and reference checks. After the application deadline, information about the further process will be provided to all applicants. Please note that all documents submitted to the University of Gothenburg, including attachments, are public records according to Swedish legislation.

Union Representatives

Union representatives at the University of Gothenburg can be found here: https://www.gu.se/en/work-at-the-university-of-gothenburg/how-to-apply-for-a-position.

Application

You apply for the position via the University of Gothenburg’s recruitment portal by clicking the “Apply” button.

Your application will be reviewed by international experts, and since the working language is English, we prefer that the application and its attachments are written in English. As an applicant, you are responsible for ensuring that the application is complete in accordance with the advertisement and that it is received by the university no later than the application deadline. Please note that the following documents must be attached:

• Curriculum Vitae (CV).
• Copies of educational certificates, grades, or other documents that support the applicant’s qualifications.
• A statement of intent of a maximum of two pages where the applicant highlights how they intend to perform the duties of the position.
• A description of scientific merits should include a complete publication list, a list of up to 10 selected publications, justification for and your role in this selection, and a brief description of your own scientific activities. The selected publications should be attached as appendices.
• A description of collaboration merits containing up to five concrete examples of collaboration activities. Specify the goal of the activities, which actors collaborated, your role in the collaboration, what the ativities led to, and how the involved parties benefited from the collaboration. Please also describe important lessons learned and effects from the collaboration activities. 
• A description of pedagogical merits should include documentation of pedagogical education, a list of up to five selected pedagogical publications/teaching materials, a brief description of your own pedagogical activities, and a pedagogical self-reflection. Qualitative assessments, course evaluations, or equivalent should be attached as appendices.
• A description of leadership merits.
• A description of administrative merits.

Attachments regarding all points should be named in a way that clearly indicates their content. Material that cannot be attached digitally should be clearly marked with reference number PAR 2024/893 and sent in 5 copies to:

Handelshögskolan vid Göteborgs universitet
Fakultetskansliet, attn: Lena Eriksson Tanemar 
Box 610
405 30 Göteborg 

The application must be received no later than: 2024-12-15. 

The University works actively to achieve a working environment with equal conditions, and values the qualities that diversity brings to its operations. Salaries are set individually at the University. In accordance with the National Archives of Sweden’s regulations, the University must archive application documents for two years after the appointment is filled. If you request that your documents are returned, they will be returned to you once the two years have passed. Otherwise, they will be destroyed. In connection to this recruitment, we have already decided which recruitment channels we should use. We therefore decline further contact with vendors, recruitment and staffing companies.