LEDIG STILLING VED HØGSKOLEN I INNLANDET

PhD position in Agricultural Science

Deadline: 05.04.2021

Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences

Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences (INN University) is home to over 14,000 students and 1,000 employees, and has campuses in Lillehammer, Hamar, Elverum, Rena, Evenstad and Blæstad.


INN University aspires to build strong and enduring academic and research environments that will spearhead regionally, nationally and internationally. We are developing a new and better institution with high academic and pedagogical quality, aiming at achieving university accreditation by 2020.


Our vision is "Stronger Together".


INN is home to over 14,000 students and 1,000 employees, and has campuses in Lillehammer, Hamar, Elverum, Rena, Evenstad and Blæstad. INN aspires to build strong and enduring academic and research environments that will spearhead research and education for sustainable development regionally, nationally and internationally.


Campus Blæstad is located on the countryside 7 km outside Hamar. The campus has a pleasant and inclusive environment where we offer programs in agronomy and agricultural technology at BSc level. We also work on starting MSc in sustainable agriculture, and we work in close with the other institutes at our Faculty and in where the successful candidate will be enrolled in the PhD program in Applied Ecology and Biotechnology.

Scaling on-farm trial networks for improved breeding decisions

About the position

A 100 % PhD position is available at Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences (INN), Faculty of Applied Ecology, Agricultural Sciences and Biotechnology. The position will run for 3 years, starting in spring/summer 2021. The candidate will be enrolled in INN’s PhD program in Applied Ecology and Biotechnology, with workplace at Campus Blæstad, Hamar. The position will be linked to project Accelerated Varietal Improvement and Seed Delivery of Legumes and Cereals in Africa – AVISA led by ICRISAT in partnership with the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT.

Although significant adoption of improved seed varieties in the Global South has been reported, its overall use in smallholder farms remains low. The same issue is challenging also in Northern Europe. One constraint is the lack of variety recommendations that can be delivered to smallholder farms in challenging crop production environments, characterised by a diversity of environments and management practices. This issue is more acute across the Sub-Saharan Africa where farmers experience large yield gaps caused by climate change and/or the utilisation old varieties still available in the seed systems. A decentralised participatory approach following a citizen science philosophy, triadic comparison of technologies (tricot), has demonstrated the ability to help breeders in accelerate the selection of genotypes while addressing G x E x M interactions (genotype by environment by management) for tailored recommendations on crop variety management. The successful candidate will be part of an international network on conservation and utilisation of plant genetic resources and work closely with One CGIAR and the National Agricultural Research System (NARS) in Suh-Saharan Africa. Parts of the field research are planned to be conducted in Tanzania.

The candidate’s main supervisor will be Associate professor, Svein Øivind Solberg. Co-supervisor will be Dr. Jacob van Etten from the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT.

Qualifications

The candidate must have a documented strong academic background from a 120 levels Master’s degree in agricultural sciences, agroecology, natural resources management, or equivalent education, and the average grade from the master's degree or equivalent education should normally be B or better. Applicants with a Master's degree from another subject area, or with lower average mark, may be admitted after special review.

The position will require previous experience from relevant fieldwork, writing peer-reviewed publications, participatory approaches, social sciences methods and/or cross-disciplinary collaboration. Required personal competencies includes experience with statistical analyses, preferably using the statistical programming language R, ability to work independently and good team player, good academic writing skills in English and good personal communication.

A further preference will be given to candidates with good teamwork and communication skills, and documented scientific publications or other writing experience.

How to apply

The application and attachments must be submitted electronically and include the following:

  • Application cover letter that summaries the applicant’s motivation and how they meet the position requirements.
  • CV (summary of education and work experience).
  • Copies of academic certificates/transcripts.
  • List of minimum 3 references with full contact information.
  • A complete list of scientific and other publications.

Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences aims to achieve a balanced gender composition in the workforce and to recruit people with ethnic minority backgrounds. According to the Norwegian Law "Offentlighetsloven §25.2 ledd", information about the applicant can be published even if the applicant has requested not to be included in the public list of applicants.

For more information about the position, contact Associate professor Svein Øivind Solberg, svein.solberg@inn.no

We offer

  • A place in an ambitious and highly international environment.
  • A challenging and exciting project with opportunities for personal and scientific development.
  • An independent and flexible work setting that the successful candidate may to a large extent influence her/himself. Daily contact with inspiring skilled colleagues.
  • A campus setting surrounded by forests and mountains with opportunities for outdoor recreation.
  • The position’s salary follows position code 1017 PhD candidate in the state's wage regulations, determined according to competence and experience

Life insurance and occupational injuries insurance are included. Pension contributions to Statens pensjonskasse (State Pension Fund) will be automatically deducted. All residents in Norway are automatically included in the Norwegian public health system.

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