PhD position in Logistics focusing on optimization for humanitarian logistics and crisis management

31st January 2026
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English

• Norsk Bokmål
• English

English

Molde University College announces

PhD position in Logistics focusing on optimization for humanitarian logistics and crisis management
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About us

Molde University College - Specialized University in Logistics (HiMolde) is a leading teaching and research institution within several areas, with the vision “With knowledge for sustainability and innovation” reflected in all our activities.

We offer more than 40 study programmes, from oneyear programmes to PhD-programmes within e.g. Health Sciences and Social Care, Informatics, Law and Social Sciences, Logistics, Sport Management, and Economics. We have about 270 employees and 3 700 students at our campuses in Molde and Kristiansund.

You can read more about us here .

 

We are now announcing a PhD position in Logistics focusing on optimization for humanitarian logistics and crisis management

The PhD position is organized under Department of Logistics. You can read more about the department here .

About the position

Humanitarian logistics and crisis management is a trending topic in operational research literature due to the number of major natural and technological disasters worldwide. Moreover, urban centers are now often situated closer to high-risk industrial zones. In such a context, technological disasters can disperse dangerous products impacting the population and environment (air, soil, and groundwater). A schedule optimization problem has emerged in this context, where tasks correspond to contaminated sites to be cleaned, while managing risks that evolve over time. For example, the contamination level may become critical, or on the contrary less urgent after a certain period. Two factors can be the source of such evolution, a physical one, where dangerous products start to move and require a fast neutralization, or a chemical evolution in which a product naturally evolves into either a more dangerous hazard or become innocuous. 

In scheduling terms, tasks have a continuous evolution, and the precedence graph becomes dynamic. There is an initial method proposed in the literature, where a static model is proposed, introducing two states of products transformation over the time. Taking this research further may mean considering the dynamics of the precedence graph, with a more general mathematical formulation and dedicated exact or heuristic methods. It may also entail a function over the time per site to represent the evolution of urgency. Another possible path of research is to keep evolution as uncertain parameter. Such a scheduling problem with dynamic precedence graphs over time could also have several other applications in humanitarian logistics and crisis management

For a position as a PhD Candidate, the goal is a completed doctoral education up to an obtained doctoral degree. The appointment period is three to four years. An appointment for four years includes 25% career-advancing tasks, such as teaching, supervision, or administrative duties. The position is intended to prepare you for a career in academia, industry, or the public sector.

Qualifications

We are seeking candidates with a strong background in logistics, transportation, computer science, mathematics or other relevant areas.

Your higher education must equate 5 years of full-time studies on top of the entry requirements for first cycle studies (Bachelor’s degree) in Norway. For some countries this means that you must have more than 5 years of what is called higher education in your home country. Please confer the GSUlist for relevant information pertaining to your home country: https://hkdir.no/en/foreign-education/lists-and-databases/higher-education-entrance-qualification-gsu.  Your master’s degree (or equivalent) must constitute at least one full year of studies (60 ECTS), and must contain an individual piece of student work, normally a master thesis. The average grade of the master’s degree should be B or better on the ECTS grading scale, or an equivalent average grade on other grading scales.

Very good knowledge of English, both written and spoken, is required. We also emphasize personal qualities.

In addition, we refer to the qualification for Phd-scholarship in the following regulation:
https://lovdata.no/dokument/SFO/forskrift/2006-01-31-102

You will only be awarded a scholarship position if you are admitted to our PhD Logistics programme. For further reading about this programme visit https://www.himolde.no/english/studies/programmes/phd-in-logistics/index.html .

We offer

The place of work is Molde, Norway. The appointment period is three to four years. An appointment for four years includes 25% career-advancing tasks, such as teaching, supervision, or administrative duties. The position will be remunerated with a gross salary from NOK 541 800 with a 3 % yearly wage increase. A higher salary may be considered for especially qualified candidates. The appointment will be in accordance with current Norwegian regulations concerning fixed-term jobs in the public sector and guidelines for employment as a scholarship holder at universities and university colleges.

Application

Along with your application, you must submit:

• A description of your proposed research topic, maximum 5 pages. The description must be thoroughly grounded in the project description above, give a title, an outline of the research, including research problem/research question(s), theory, research method and the novelty of the research relative to the existing academic literature. A proposal that does not meet these requirements will cause a rejection of your application. The quality of your project proposal will be an important criterion for ranking qualified applicants.
• CV (summarizing your education and work experience).
• English language certified copies of educational diplomas/certificates/transcripts that clearly indicate achieved degrees and the number of credits and grades achieved for both undergraduate and graduate studies.
•  A master thesis or equivalent independent student work. If the thesis is not in English or a Scandinavian language, a certified transcript of the abstract of the thesis must be provided.
• Any other academic publications (e.g. conference papers) that the applicant wishes to be considered.
• Names, positions, and email addresses of three individuals who can be contacted as references for academic and personal qualifications.

Application deadline: Saturday 31st of January 2026.

You may be invited to an interview either online or in person.

 

Other

Molde University College invite applicants with limited functional abilities or gaps in their CV to apply. However, the qualification requirements for the position must be met. 

According to the Freedom of Information Act section 25, 2nd part, the list of applicants can be made public. Requests for anonymity must be specifically requested with a written justification, but can nonetheless not be guaranteed.

This announcement text is a translation from the Norwegian announcement text. If there is doubt about the interpretation of the English announcement text, the Norwegian version prevails.

Questions about the position

Sebastian Urrutia

Professor

sebastian.urrutia@himolde.no

Harald Martin Hjelle

Professor/leder for doktorgradsutvalget i logistikk

harald.hjelle@himolde.no

Johan Holmgren

Professor/dekan for Avdeling for logistikk

johan.holmgren@himolde.no

Apply for this job
Deadline

31st January 2026

Employer

Molde University College

Municipality

Molde

Scope

Fulltime (1 positions) Fulltime (%)

Duration

Temporary

Place of service
Britvegen 2, 6410 Molde

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