Doctoral Researcher for a Finnish Academy funded project Experimenting with Geopolymers (two-year funded position)

Aalto University is a community of bold thinkers where science and art meet technology and business. We are committed to identifying and solving grand societal challenges and building an innovative future. Aalto has six schools with nearly 11 000 students and a staff of more than 4000, of which 400 are professors. Our main campus is located in Espoo, Finland. Diversity is part of who we are, and we actively work to ensure our community’s diversity and inclusiveness. This is why we warmly encourage qualified candidates from all backgrounds to join our community.

The Aalto School of Arts, Design and Architecture (ARTS) is a Nordic leader in higher education for design, fashion, games, media, architecture, film, art education and fine art. We produce world-class research e.g. in design, digital media and visual culture, art education, urban planning and architecture. Our graduates innovate in and beyond their fields, drawing on over a century of tradition of our institution, a humane and forward-looking approach, and the latest technologies.

The Department of Design is a community of creative and responsible researchers and design experts. We educate front-line design professionals and visionaries for established, changing and emerging fields of design. (https://www.aalto.fi/en/department-of-design).

We are looking for a:

Doctoral Researcher for a Finnish Academy funded project Experimenting with Geopolymers (two-year funded position)

The Department of Design is looking for a Doctoral Researcher interested in material development for a two-year position as part of the Academy-funded project Experimenting with Geopolymers: Material Specific Evaluation for Ceramic Practices (2026-2029) lead by Dr Priska Falin. The research is conducted in the School of Arts, Design and Architecture, Department of Design at Aalto University, which offers access to well-equipped ceramic workshops and other art workshops and studios. The underlying aims of material development are to produce sustainable and ethical material choices for creative practitioners (see below for more details).

The applicants for this position are also expected to be accepted to the ARTS Doctoral programme via School’s general call between 10.2.-3.3.2026. This requires two different applications: 1. For the two-year position for the project and 2. For the ARTS Doctoral programme in Design.

In case your application is not accepted for the ARTS Doctoral programme in the spring, you still can be considered for the project position. In this case, you need to rework your doctoral research plan according to the feedback received and be accepted for the Doctoral programme during your 6 months probationary period to continue working within the project. Please note that Doctoral Program call is a different application process with different documents (see below for more details).

You can find more information about the ARTS Doctoral Programme and how to apply for doctoral studies here: Aalto Doctoral Programme in Arts, Design and Architecture | Aalto University. In applying for the programme, please state your interest in this specific position (Doctoral Researcher Experimenting with Geopolymers) at the header of your research plan. (Note that the duration of doctoral studies is estimated to be four years at the School of Arts, Design and Architecture)

Your Role and Goals

We are looking for a future Doctoral Researcher already working in the field of studio ceramics with a strong practice background, experience in material development and geopolymers. The material research is explorative in nature and there is a freedom to expand the research in ways that serves the individual needs of the doctoral research plan. The starting point of the proposal should be, however, on sustainable and ethical material usage within the creative practices that could be tested and evaluated through material research at the Ceramics workshop. Following this, we invite research proposals for doctoral projects that expand the initial project aims and thus contribute to the general project outcomes.

The research will be conducted together with the project head, however, independence on creative investigation and studio practices is appreciated. The starting date of the funded two-year position is negotiable, but preferably in August 2026.

Short project introduction

In demand of global transitions for greener practices, also the field of creative practices (art, design and craft) is responding to this urgency. This research focuses on the use and evaluation of (raw) materials for creative practices. As it is, individual practitioners are free when it comes to choosing the materials they want to work with. This point of decision can be personal, based on how the practitioner perceives the material world and the ideological basis on which creative practice is built. However, in the future, facing the growing limitations on material availability and the global demand to lower CO2 emissions will tighten up the freedom of material usage. Considering this future direction, this research aims for a justified evaluation structure for sustainable and ethical material usage within a studio context. The starting point of this research is geopolymer experimentation that aims to develop a greener material alternative for Creative Practices. Geopolymers differ from ceramics due to a chemical hardening process instead of hardening through firing. This alone significantly lowers the emissions caused by energy consumption when creating objects. Within the previous interdisciplinary project, Radical Ceramics geopolymers have been tested and contested as a novel material with a basic assumption of being a greener alternative, extending the Geopolymer research to the creative field (Kaarakainen et al., 2023).

We invite research proposals in – but not limited to – the following topics:

• Sustainable materials
• Explorative material research
• Geopolymers for creative practices

In this position, an artistic/design background in ceramics and/or materials research is highly appreciated, but backgrounds in material engineering will also be considered. In case your background is other than in a creative field, please further explain your motivation to working within the creative fields in the motivation letter. The hired doctoral researcher is expected to work for geopolymer development as part of the funded project and in addition work for their own doctoral research project and is expected to actively contribute to the research community.

Your network and Team

You will be working in an exciting multidisciplinary environment, especially within the Empirica research group and be part of a high-profile, international group of researchers in the broader field of Design.

Your Experience and Ambitions

• Master degree in design, art or craft
• Background in ceramics or another relevant field
• Excellent skills in studio practice
• Ability to work both independently and together with other researchers
• Capacity to complete doctoral studies within four years
• Strong proficiency in English
• Knowledge and experience in academic skills, prior experience in research and publishing are considered as an advantage

What we offer

The position is a fixed-term, two-year position for conducting full-time doctoral studies. Mobility period of four weeks to a partner University is part of the project research plan. Funding continuation and opportunities will be discussed and planned together with project head.

Aalto University offers occupational health care services and a good opportunity for different learning options. Salary will be determined following the salary system of Finnish universities. The starting salary for a doctoral researcher is approximately 3000 euros. More about working at Aalto here.

Join us!

Please send your application as PDF files through our online recruitment system. The deadline for applications is March 3rd 2026 (midnight Finnish time)

Your application should include the following documents:

• Letter of motivation (max 2 pages)
• Doctoral research plan (max. 5 pages)
• CV (including a possible list of publications)
• Portfolio (demonstrating max 5 relevant artistic/design projects for the position)
• Contact information of two references (1 page), one of which is your Master Studies’ advisor

A letter of motivation (max 2 pages)

The motivation letter should explain the link between the project aims and the doctoral research plan. It is recommended that the project research and the doctoral research with an individual research plan are intertwined so that the two-year position for the project supports the doctoral research conducted within the department of design.

• Motivation and prior experience that is relevant for this research project
• Experience in project work
• Background in ceramics or another contributing field

Research plan (max. 5 pages)

The research plan needs to include the following parts in a maximum of 5 pages, excluding references.

• Introduction (background and research position)
• Theoretical and conceptual framing
• Research questions and aims and objectives
• Research method(s) with rationale for these
• Expected outcomes
• Timeline for 4 years plan
• References

All material should be submitted in English. The application materials will not be returned.

The evaluation is based on the total assessment of the candidate in respect to the fit for the call. Shortlisted candidates will be invited for an interview. Aalto University reserves the right to leave the position open or to extend the application period.

Please note: The deadline for applying to Aalto Doctoral Programme in Arts, Design and Architecture | Aalto University is March 3rd at 3 pm (UTC+2). When applying for doctoral studies, you need to submit the necessary material for that application by the deadline.

Please also note: Aalto University’s employees should apply for the position via our internal HR system Workday (Internal Jobs) by using their existing Workday user account (not via the external webpage for open positions).

For additional information on the position and funded project, please contact project head Academy Research Fellow Priska Falin (firstname.lastname@aalto.fi)

For information about the recruitment process, please contact HR Partner Katju Helminen (firstname.lastname@aalto.fi)


More about Aalto University, Radical Ceramics project and the Empirica research group:

Aalto.fi

Empirica — Research on Art, Design, and Craft

Radical Ceramics, 2022–23 — Empirica

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