Doctoral Researcher in the FRONT research programme

at  Oulun Yliopisto

The University of Oulu is a multidisciplinary, international research university, with about 3,600 employees who produce new knowledge based on high-standards research and provide research based education to build a more sustainable, smarter, and more humane world. The University of Oulu community has about 17,000 people in total. Our northern scientific community operates globally and creates conditions for the emergence of innovations.
We are now looking for

ABOUT THE JOB

We are seeking a candidate who researches the resilience of Indigenous Sámi culture and/or languages, with a particular focus on societal and political dynamics, power struggles, and hierarchies. The specific research focus could include but is not limited to, topics such as cultural resilience in the face of climate change, biodiversity loss, industrial and military land use, the tensions surrounding the existing livelihoods in Sápmi, the resilience of Sámi political systems, and possibilities for their improvement, the development of the Sámi Parliament’s political activities and influence, the electoral systems of the Sámi Parliament(s), societal engagement among the Sámi people, the social and political participation of younger Sámi generations, intergenerational dynamics, and societal-political struggles related to languages.
In this role as a doctoral researcher, you will join a transdisciplinary research group focused on exploring the resilience of Sámi culture within the context of polycrisis—a concept that captures the interconnected and mutually reinforcing nature of global and local crises, such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and geopolitical conflicts. These overlapping challenges intensify one another, leading to complex and unpredictable outcomes, as well as new path dependencies that increase uncertainty and drive material changes. The group examines how Sámi communities and individuals, both within and beyond Sápmi, particularly the youth, navigate and sustain cultural resilience amid these evolving material, political, and social dynamics. Your responsibilities will include collecting qualitative or quantitative data, writing a dissertation, co-authoring articles with senior researchers, contributing to the FRONT programme, collaborating with faculty and university initiatives, and potentially participating in teaching activities.

Please refer the Job description for details