PhD student (scholarship) Cultural Landscapes

At the University of Hildesheim (Germany), the Institute for Geography, has a vacancy for a

post-graduate researcher - PhD student (m/f/d)
[scholarship, 1.400 EUR/month]

within the established Junior Research Group / post-graduate school Cultural landscapes – Traditions and innovation for sustainable land use by promoting multiple ecosystem and landscape services for the period 01.08.2024 until 31.12.2026.

The Junior Research Group, funded by the Bodnarescu Foundation (Stifterverband), will focus on the ecosystem and landscape services of traditional cultural landscapes in Europe, by also exploring innovation in order to develop multifunctional and sustainable cultural landscapes. This will be addressed by mainly focusing on landscapes in South-East Europe (e.g., Romania, Bulgaria) where still a large proportion of traditional cultural landscapes are abundant. The Junior Research Group consists of one Postdoc and 4 PhD students. The supervisor team and cooperation partners origin from Germany, Italy, Romania, Bulgaria, and Slovakia, thus forming an international and interdisciplinary project team. The PhD student is expected to closely interact in this interdisciplinary team.

Possible topics for the PhD project:

• Sustainability indicators in traditional, multifunctional cultural landscapes,
• Soil ecosystem services in traditional, multifunctional cultural landscapes,
• Land-use functions, land-use change and landscape services in traditional, multifunctional cultural landscapes,

Qualifications for the PhD position:

• Completed university studies (diploma, master's degree or comparable) in landscape ecology, biology, ecology, physical geography/geoecology, environmental management, forestry/agricultural sciences, sustainability sciences or similar disciplines;
• Master thesis (or similar) with reference to the foreseen PhD topic;
• Experience in comprehensive data analysis and literature evaluation;
• Experience and willingness to cooperate in an interdisciplinary and international team;
• Good knowledge of written and spoken English.

Since the Junior Research Group, according to the statute of the Bodnarescu Foundation, should particularly promote the qualification of researchers from SE Europe, applicants from Romania, Bulgaria, and/or other SE European countries are encouraged to apply.

If you have any questions, please contact the principal investigators of the Junior Research Group Prof. Dr. Martin Sauerwein (martin.sauerwein@uni-hildesheim.de) or Prof. Dr. Stefan Zerbe (stefan.zerbe@unibz.it).

Personal data will be stored and processed for the purposes of the application procedure.

Please send your application and attachments, shortly outlining your planned PhD topic, by 05. July 2024 as one PDF document (< 5 MB) by e-mail to martin.sauerwein@uni-hildesheim.de and stefan.zerbe@unibz.it.

For university degrees obtained abroad, a certificate evaluation by the Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB) is required as proof of equivalence prior to employment. If necessary, please apply for this in due time. For more information, please visit https://www.kmk.org/zeugnisbewertung