162792 Professor of Applied Ethology with a focus on Animal Welfare

at  Kbenhavns Universitet

Professor of applied ethology with a focus on animal welfare
Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences

JOB DESCRIPTION

The prime role for the professorship is to study how the many forms of animal use found in modern society affect the well-being of the animals involved. A successful candidate to the professorship must therefore cover different species and forms of animal use.
A key discipline underpinning the study of animal welfare is applied ethology, where the behavioural reactions of the affected animals are used as indicators of either positive or negative animal welfare. Other disciplines of relevance for the study of animal welfare include veterinary pathology, stress- and pain physiology, veterinary epidemiology, and bioethics. A successful candidate for the professorship must have their main research focus in applied ethology but must have documented the ability to collaborate with colleagues from the other relevant disciplines.
The field of Animal Welfare Science has undergone dramatic developments during recent decades with emergence of methods to assess animal welfare at farm and group level, and with a growing focus on methods to study positive animal welfare. A successful candidate must have documented skills to develop and use such methods to assess animal welfare.
To make an impact Animal Welfare Science must reach out to relevant stakeholders such as national ministries, relevant international organizations such as WOAH and the EU commission, animal industry organizations, dog breeding organizations, horse sports organizations and the like. A successful candidate to the professorship should have a good track record of such stakeholder interaction.

The professor’s responsibilities will primarily consist of:

• Research, including publication/academic dissemination
• Research-based teaching, including associated examination
• Research leadership, including guidance and supervision of researchers
• Obligation to share knowledge with the rest of society, including participation in public debate
• Academic assessments

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

To be qualified for a professor position, you will be assessed according to these six overall criteria for recognising merit at the University of Copenhagen: Research, teaching, societal impact, organisational contribution, external funding, and leadership. Find information about each criterion.

Furthermore, each applicant must be able to:

• Document a high degree of original academic production at an international level, including considerable contributions to the development of the academic discipline
• Manage research and other management functions, e.g. engage in the university’s external academic activities, as well as knowledge and technology transfer
• Provide research-based teaching

When considering applications for the professorship, the main emphasis will be on the applicant’s ability to document a high level of original scientific work at an international level within the area of applied ethology with a focus on animal welfare of terrestrial animals in human care.
The professor is also required to possess good interpersonal and communicative skills.

• Research, including publication/academic dissemination
• Research-based teaching, including associated examination
• Research leadership, including guidance and supervision of researchers
• Obligation to share knowledge with the rest of society, including participation in public debate
• Academic assessment