According to the Regulations of the University of Helsinki (Section 52) and the Universities Act (No. 558/2009, section 89) a university may award the title of docent to a person who has comprehensive knowledge of his or her own field, a capacity for independent research or artistic work demonstrated through publication or some other manner, and good teaching skills.
If the faculty council deems that granting the title of docent to the applicant is in the interest of the faculty, department or study programme, it shall acquire statements on the applicant's academic qualifications from two assessors, unless, for special reasons, the statements are considered unnecessary. After having received the assessors’ statements and the statement on the applicant’s teaching skills, the faculty council shall decide whether to submit to the chancellor a proposal for granting the title of docent.
A docent is entitled to participate in the teaching of his or her discipline, supervision of students and the examination of dissertations and theses, as well as in other University activities as agreed on a case-by-case basis.
The Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry’s requirement for a docentship is that in addition to an approved doctoral dissertation, the applicant’s other publications in the relevant field of the docentship equal the academic standard and number of at least another doctoral dissertation. Publications should be peer-reviewed and in the field of the applied docentship, and the applicant's role in the publications should be central (first, second or last author). Publications must demonstrate the applicant's research excellence and scope, the ability to create new scientific knowledge after the doctoral dissertation and development as an independent researcher. The applicant is also required to be able to prove that she/he has created an independent research career or their own research profile and have actively continued to pursue their research work.
1) The Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry accepts applications for the title of docent once a year. The application period is 1-31 January.
2) Before submitting an application, prospective applicants are required to contact the relevant head of department. Department heads:
3) After the application period has finished, the Faculty's Research Committee processes the applications for the title of docent (including the fields of the docentship applications) and decides which applications will be considered by the Faculty Council. The purpose of the committee is to streamline the application process for the docentship and to harmonize the level of requirements for those applying for a docentship from the faculty.
4) The Research Committee shall decide whether the application will be considered by the Faculty Council and will notify the decision and the reasons for it to those whose application will not be accepted further. Possible grounds for rejection may be insufficient teaching merits, no evidence of an active, independent research career or one's own research profile, insufficient scientific merits in the field of the applied docentship, or other similar factors. In cases of conflict, the Faculty Council acts as the decision-making body for docentship matters and issues statements on possible complaints related to docentship applications.
5) The Faculty Council names the assessors for each docentship application according to the proposal of the Head of Department.
6) After the assessors have been named, the Faculty’s Teaching Skills Committee evaluates the applicant’s teaching skills (including the demonstration lecture). The applicant will be sent separate instructions on how to book a time slot for the demonstration lecture.
7) The Faculty Council will process the application the second time, once the assessor statements and the teaching skills evaluation statement have been received. If the applicant fulfils the requirements set for the title of docent, the Faculty Council will make a proposal to the Chancellor for the applicant’s nomination as docent at the University of Helsinki.
8) The Chancellor decides on whether the title of the docent is granted to the applicant.
Applicants should take into consideration that the application process is extensive, spanning several months from the date of submission.
Application materials (preferably in English)
1. An English-language application written by the applicant. In the application, please indicate clearly:
2. An English-language CV and a certificate of language skills (if you are a Finnish citizen and have received your basic education in Finnish/Swedish, copies of certificates attesting to the applicant’s skills in the Finnish and Swedish languages must accompany the application) as well as a brief English-language report of the following:
3. A copy of the doctoral diploma from those who have completed a doctoral degree outside the University of Helsinki.
4. A report on teaching qualifications and experience via this form. Only use this electronic form for the report, other documents are not accepted.
5. A numbered list of publications. The listed publications should be classified as follows:
a) Articles in international scientific journals with referee practice
b) Articles in international scientific compilation works and international scientific conference proceedings with referee practice
c) Articles in Finnish scientific journals with referee practice
d) Articles in Finnish scientific compilation works and Finnish scientific conference proceedings with referee practice
e) Scientific monographs
f) Other scientific publications, such as articles in scientific non-refereed journals and publications in university and institute series. In addition, other publications (textbooks, articles popularising science, etc.), patents, computer programs, presentations, visiting lectures, radio and TV programmes, etc., may be listed separately. In the case of unpublished manuscripts, the applicant shall specify the stage of the publishing process at the time of the closing of the applications.
6. those works contained in the list of publications with which the applicant wishes to demonstrate his or her competence in the field of the docentship. If these publications contain coauthored publications, the applicant must provide an account of the division of labour between the authors.
Prospective applicants for a docentship must first consult with a relevant head of department before submitting an application.
The applications for the title of docent are submitted through the University of Helsinki recruitment portal during the application period.
The Faculty Council will appoint a minimum of two assessors, preferably from outside the Faculty, to evaluate the applicant's academic competence in a written statement, unless, for special reasons, the statements are deemed unnecessary. The statements may be deemed to be unnecessary, if, for example, a statement by a minimum of two assessors on the applicant’s academic qualifications in the field of the docentship is already available. The disqualification of assessors will be governed by the provisions of the Act on Administrative Procedure (Act No. 434/2003, Sections 27-28). The examiner of the applicant’s Licentiate thesis or the pre-examiner or Opponent of the applicant’s doctoral dissertation may not be appointed as an assessor.
Application documents to be submitted to the assessors:
The external experts are asked to assess, in accordance with the requirements for a docent:
Assessors are not asked to evaluate the applicant’s teaching qualifications, as these will be evaluated separately.
The assessment of the applicant's teaching skills is based on the teaching skills assessment matrix. All teaching demonstration lectures related to docentship applications are organised only remotely. If there are technical difficulties during a teaching demonstration (i.e. force majeure), the applicant can give another teaching demonstration.
According to the Regulations of the University of Helsinki, a docent must have at least good teaching skills. For an applicant to be admitted to a teaching demonstration, the applicant must have mainly at least satisfactory teaching skills based on the information in the docentship application documents. The criteria for the different teaching skill levels are described in the Viikki teaching skills assessment matrix.
mmtdk_teaching_skills_assessment_matrix_2020.pdf
The applicant shall give a demonstration of his or her teaching skills, unless this is, for special reasons, deemed unnecessary. The demonstration of teaching skills may be deemed to be unnecessary, if, for example, the applicant has given a demonstration of teaching skills when applying for an equivalent post or position at the University of Helsinki in the last five years. The Faculty’s Teaching Skills Committee considers exemption requests on a case-by-case basis.
The lecture to be given as a demonstration of teaching skills should be seen as a learning situation. When evaluating a demonstration of teaching skills, primary attention will be given to the applicant’s ability to steer and enhance the audience’s learning during the lecture.
All teaching demonstrations are open to the public. The demonstration lecture is attended and evaluated by the Teaching Skills Committee. The Committee consists of teaching and research staff as well as students of the faculty.
The topic, level, duration and language of the demonstration of teaching skills
Applicants are free to choose the topic of their lecture. The topic should, however, be relevant to the field of the docentship. When planning the demonstration of teaching skills, the applicant should take into consideration that the lecture is an authentic learning situation and address it to the audience present. The topic should be narrowed down appropriately so that the content of the lecture can be discussed in 30 minutes, which is the maximum length of the demonstration of teaching skills. At the beginning of the lecture, the applicant must specify the level of the intended audience (basic-, intermediate- or advanced-level students) and the course or module to which the lecture belongs. The applicant is free to choose the manner and means of delivering the teaching demonstration.
Feedback
After the demonstration of teaching skills, the applicant must leave the room and the Teaching Skills Committee will discuss the lecture with the audience (approx. 15 minutes). Then the applicant and the Teaching Skills Committee will meet for a feedback discussion (approx. 15 minutes), which will be taken into consideration in the assessment of the applicant’s teaching skills.
Statement
The teaching skills assessment committee will submit a statement on the applicant’s teaching qualifications (teaching skills) to the Faculty Council. The statement will be based on the demonstration of teaching skills given by the applicant and the teaching qualifications reported in the application documents.
The Faculty Council will decide whether the applicant fulfils the requirements for the title of docent. The decision will be based on the assessors’ statements on the academic competence of the applicant, the teaching skills assessment committee’s statement on the applicant’s teaching qualifications and on the application documents revealing the applicant’s language skills.
If the applicant fulfils the requirements set for the title of docent, the Faculty Council will make a proposal to the Chancellor for the applicant’s nomination as docent at the University of Helsinki.
For more information about the application process, please contact HR Specialist Mirkka Juntunen, mirkka.juntunen(at)helsinki.fi and HR Coordinator Sari Aaltonen, sari.aaltonen(at)helsinki.fi.