Professor in Russian and Eurasian Studies, specialising in Social Science

Uppsala University is a comprehensive research-intensive university with a strong international standing. Our ultimate goal is to conduct education and research of the highest quality and relevance to make a long-term difference in society. Our most important assets are all the individuals whose curiosity and dedication make Uppsala University one of Sweden’s most exciting workplaces. Uppsala University has over 54,000 students, more than 7,500 employees and a turnover of around SEK 8 billion.

Russian and Eurasian Studies has been an established academic discipline at Uppsala University for almost fifty years. We are primarily focused on general processes of social, political, and economic transformation in Russia and the post-Soviet space. But we also take an interest in more specific matters such as democratization and state-building, international and regional cooperation, the eastward enlargement of the EU and NATO, nation and empire, transnational minorities, historical memory, identity construction, gender and ethnicity from a historical, cultural, political and social perspective. Our multidisciplinary research spans across several disciplines, such as political science, economics, peace and conflict research, international relations, cultural geography, media and communication, sociology, anthropology, history and literature.

IRES is home to the editorial teams of the Journal of Baltic Studies and Uppsala Yearbook of Eurasian Studies. The Institute also has a visiting scholars program that provides opportunity to spend longer or shorter periods of time at the Institute. Over the years, over 80 well-renowned visiting scholars from around the globe have carried out research at the Institute.

Principal duties:

• General responsibility for developing the IRES research profiles and multidisciplinary research program.
• Conducting own research and playing an active role in planning and leading research projects, including the submission of applications for research funding.
• Maintaining and enhancing the extensive network of research collaboration that IRES has developed with other centers of excellence in the field.
• Teaching and supervision of students at all levels.
• Holding positions of leadership, including administration, at the Institute and at other levels at Uppsala University is sometimes also required and expected.

Qualification and eligibility requirements: To be eligible to apply for a position as professor, applicants must have achieved sufficient levels of expertise in both research and teaching (as defined in the Swedish Higher Education Ordinance Chapter 4, Section 3). It is important that the applicant’s research, teaching and administrative qualifications are relevant to the duties and nature of the advertised position.

Research expertise should be demonstrated through sustained independent research and through research activities of a demonstrably high international quality. Furthermore, the successful applicant will have an established record in planning, initiating, leading and developing research; an ability to secure research grants in competition.

Teaching skills should be demonstrated through well-documented merits in teaching, together with a well-documented experience in supervision at undergraduate (first-cycle), advanced (second-cycle), and, especially, PhD (third-cycle) levels, as well as meeting the criteria stated in the Uppsala University's appointment regulations (section 33) and the Faculty of Social Sciences Guidelines supplementing the University’s Appointment Regulations (section 2b).

To be eligible to apply for this position, an applicant must meet the requirements for the rank of full professor and have a documented research track record in the field of Russian and Eurasian studies. Proficiency in reading and speaking the Russian language is also a requirement. 

While teaching and supervision will occur mostly in English, an appointee who at the start of employment is not yet proficient in Swedish will be offered the possibility to acquire skills in the language within a reasonable period of time after commencing the employment.

In accordance with the university’s appointment regulations, it is a general requirement that the applicant possesses the personal characteristics required to carry out the duties of the position well.

Assessment criteria: Research expertise, management expertise, teaching expertise and outreach

Assessment for the appointment of professor will be based on the quality of the documented qualifications relating to the expertise required for the appointment.

In making the selection among the qualified applicants for this professorship, emphasis will be placed on research and leadership ability, together with teaching qualifications.

In the ranking of applicants, three areas of expertise will be assessed and given special weight in the following order of importance: first research qualifications, then leadership ability, and finally teaching skills. The applicant must be able to demonstrate quality in terms of breadth and depth in all three assessment criteria. The assessment criteria will be weighted so that an applicant who is judged to be significantly more qualified in terms of leadership and teaching skills than a slightly more skilled applicant in terms of research expertise can be ranked ahead of the latter.

Research qualifications: In the assessment of research qualifications, the quality of the applicant’s research will be of primary importance. The applicant’s research will be assessed based on high international quality of research publications in the most relevant publication channels for the field. Special weight will be accorded to publications from the last ten years.

The applicant’s contributions to the international and national academic community will also be assessed. Such contributions might include expert assignments, editorial and peer review work, the management of projects, and participation in scholarly societies and other formal academic networks.

As the Institute aspires to further strengthen its research in Russian and Eurasian studies, with particular focus on contemporary Russia and the post-Soviet space, particular weight will be placed on qualifications in one of the following, broadly defined, research areas:

• Processes of social, political and/or economic transformation
• Political regimes and democratization

Research expertise must have been demonstrated through independent research contributions that both qualitatively and quantitatively considerably exceed that which is required of a docent.

The applicant must normally have supervised, as main supervisor, at least one PhD student through to completion of the doctoral dissertation, unless there are particular reasons to disregard this criterion. A track record of successful supervision will be taken into consideration.

Leadership qualifications: Leadership qualifications are demonstrated through the documented ability to lead activities and staff, make decisions, assume responsibility, motivate others, as well as to provide them with the conditions needed in order to attain shared goals effectively and efficiently. Further examples of such skills are the ability to organize a group and help generate a sense of commitment, participation, and work satisfaction, together with the ability to manage conflicts. The level of administrative experience and skills required by the position will also be taken into consideration.

Experience of leadership, demonstrated through roles involving responsibility for departmental affairs or other positions of trust at the departmental level or higher within the university, is viewed as a further qualifying skill.

Teaching qualifications: The applicant's teaching expertise will be evaluated as thoroughly as research expertise and leadership qualifications. In evaluating the applicant's teaching expertise, the quality of the teaching will be accorded high importance. The extent of the applicant’s teaching experience, both in terms of breadth and depth, is also accorded high importance. Furthermore, consideration will be given to the applicant’s proven ability to plan, initiate, lead, and develop teaching and tutoring, as well as the applicant’s’ ability to use up-to-date research in teaching within the relevant field, the didactics pertaining to that subject area, and the current practice in teaching and learning in higher education.

Qualifications in outreach activities: The applicant's ability to engage with, and disseminate information about research and development in the community at large, and actively participating in networks of research collaborations will be given weight.

In recruiting for this position, Uppsala University will primarily consider the applicant who, in the overall assessment of competence and expertise, is judged to have the best potential to carry out and develop the relevant duties within the position, as well as to contribute to a positive development of the Institute.

Applicants' merits must be documented in a manner that makes it possible to assess both quality and scope.

The Recruitment Committee may use interviews, trial-lectures and and may take references. Applicants should therefore submit a list of referees with insight into their professional skills and personal qualities that are of relevance to the position, e.g. ability to cooperate, ability to lead and preferred working methods.

Personal circumstances (such as full or part-time parental leave, trade union appointments, military service, or other) that may benefit the applicants in the assessment of qualifications should be included in the list of qualifications and experience (Curriculum Vitae).

How to apply: A complete application should be submitted to Uppsala University’s on-line recruitment portal. It should comprise:

• Letter of application
• List of appendices
• Curriculum Vitae
• Account of academic qualifications (including information about future research plans)
• Account of leadership qualifications
• Summary of pedagogical qualifications (including an account of supervision experience of research [third-cycle] education)
• List of publications (including a list of peer-reviewed publications)
• Account of other qualifications
• Academic works and any relevant educational works brought to bear (maximum 10)
• List of referees (name, contact details, previous working relationship)

Instructions on how to prepare your application

NOTE! Applications and appendices must be submitted digitally on the recruitment portal Varbi. Any cited publications that are not in digital format must be sent in three copies to the Faculty of Social Sciences, Uppsala University, Box 256, SE-751 05 Uppsala, SWEDEN. Please clearly mark the envelope/package with the reference number UFV-PA 2021/4932

For further information see the University's Appointment Regulations

and the Faculty's supplementary guidelines for appointment

Salay: Individual wage setting.

First day of employment: As agreed.

Type of employment: Permanent position.

Contract type: Full time.

Working in Sweden: Sweden is a fantastic place for living and working. Swedes are friendly and speak excellent English. The quality of life is high, with a strong emphasis on outdoor activities. The Swedish working climate emphasizes an open atmosphere, with active discussions involving both junior and senior staff. Spouses of employees are entitled to work permits. Healthcare is free after a small co-pay and the university subsidizes athletic costs, such as a gym membership. The parental benefits in Sweden are among the best in the world, including extensive parental leave (for both parents), paid time off to care for sick children, and affordable daycare.

For additional information on the appointment, please consult: Claes Levinsson, Head of Department, tel. +46 18-471 1696, e-mail claes.levinsson@ires.uu.se.

For questions regarding the application process please contact: Faculty Officer Ellinor Fiebranz Andersson, tel. +46 18-471 28 28, e-mail samfak@samfak.uu.se.

We look forward to receiving your application no later than April 25 2022, UFV-PA 2021/4932.

In the event of any disagreement between the English and the Swedish versions of this announcement, the Swedish version takes precedence.

Please do not send offers of recruitment or advertising services.

Submit your application through Uppsala University's recruitment system. Link to application

Placement: Institute for for Russian and Eurasian Studies
Type of employment: Full time , Permanent position
Pay: Individual wage setting
Number of positions: 1
Working hours: 100 %
Town: Uppsala
County: Uppsala län
Country: Sweden
Union representative: Seko Universitetsklubben seko@uadm.uu.se
ST/TCO tco@fackorg.uu.se
Saco-rådet saco@uadm.uu.se
Number of reference: UFV-PA 2021/4932
​Last application date: 2022-04-25

Link to application