PhD scholarship within International Environment and Development Studies
Deadline: 06.04.2021
Norwegian University of Life Sciences
NMBU has a particular responsibility for research and education that secures the basis for the life of future generations. Sustainability is rooted in everything we do and we deliver knowledge for life. NMBU has 1,800 employees of which about 250 phd scholarships and 6,000 students. The university is divided into seven faculties and has campuses in Ås and Oslo. We will be co-located in Ås from 2021.
NMBU believes that a good working environment is characterised by diversity.
We encourage qualified candidates to apply regardless of gender, functional ability, cultural background or whether you have been outside the labour market for a period. If necessary, workplace adaptations will be made for persons with disabilities.
More information about NMBU is available at www.nmbu.no.
About the Faculty of Landscape and Society
The Faculty of Landscape and Society is home to some of Norway's foremost academic environments within international environment and development studies, public health science, landscape architecture, landscape engineering, urban and regional planning, property development and property law.
The Faculty has 1300 students and 180 employees divided into five departments and a Faculty administration. It offers popular, forward-focused Bachelor, Master’s and PhD programmes. The Faculty is interdisciplinary and works with sustainable social development, both nationally and internationally.
The faculty offers two PhD programmes:
Society Development and Planning
International Environment and Development Studies
The Department of International Environment and Development Studies (Noragric) is a leading education and research institution in Norway, conducting world class and highly internationalized critical interdisciplinary research across the fields of International Relations, Environment and Global Development Studies, focusing on global challenges at the intersection between social and natural processes. The department is organized in four research clusters: rights and power in development, climate change and agricultural development, conflict and human security, and environmental governance. The Department comprises around 30 academic staff, 27 PhD candidates and 400 fulltime students, and is responsible for one Bachelor program, three Master programs and a PhD program.
3-year PhD position on Ethnobotanical knowledge for sustainable food system development in Africa
About the position
The Department of International Environment and Development Studies (Noragric), Faculty of Landscape and Society at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) has a vacant 3-year PhD-position in International Environment and Development Studies.
Sub‐Saharan Africa has some of the highest hidden hunger in the world, with acute nutritional deficiencies exacerbated by climate change. Crop diversification can provide a wide range of healthier foods and support more resilient food systems. There is an increasing recognition that Neglected and Underutilised Species (NUS) can help diversify farming systems and diets and generate more climate-resilient food production. For some NUS, the conservation of their genetic resources might be at stake, as the biodiversity-rich food production systems that still exist in parts of Africa are now threatened by a trend towards dietary homogenization.
NUS are grains, vegetables or fruits which, despite being of high local importance, have been ignored by the research, commercial and policy-making sectors. Often managed by traditional systems, these species have poorly understood ecologies, utilisation patterns, propagation methods, nutritional properties and/or value chains.
Documenting the diversity and ethnobotanical knowledge of these plants is important, if these resources are to be further promoted or better conserved. Apart from facilitating the identification of successful propagation methods, ethnobotanical knowledge can help determine superior individuals for germplasm collection/cultivation and it can contribute to effective value chain development.
In many parts of the world, ethnobotanical knowledge is quickly degrading, so documenting existing ethnobotanical knowledge on NUS is particularly timely. Given that NUS sit at the intersection between nature and culture, ethnobotanical knowledge on such species can also contribute towards improved understanding of the fundamental aspects of the relationship between humans and non-human nature. This research agenda requires interdisciplinary research perspectives.
The successful candidate will engage empirically with the role of ethnobotany for food system sustainability, an interdisciplinary field at our department and university. Priority will be given to creative and innovative interdisciplinary proposals focused on comparing several species/varieties or regions.
Main tasks
The appointed candidate is admitted to a PhD programme at the faculty. The PhD programme consists of mandatory and elective courses with oral and written examinations and a major research component.
Competence:
The successful applicant must meet the conditions defined for admission to a PhD programme at NMBU. For more detailed information on the admission criteria please see the PhD Regulations and the supplementary provisions to the relevant programme.
The applicant must document expertise and interest in the research subject.
Required Academic qualifications
an academically relevant education corresponding to a five-year Norwegian degree programme, where 120 credits are at master's degree level. Relevant education includes for example: Ecology, Agronomy, Environmental Sciences, Development Studies, Conservation and Ethnobiology.
documented strong academic background from previous studies
documented proficiency in both written and oral English
The following experiences and skills will be emphasized:
Prior experience with fieldwork in the tropics and in conducting interviews
Hands-on experience in specimen collection
Willingness to travel abroad: fieldwork in tropical Africa
Good communication skills
Knowledge of statistical methods is highly desirable (if not the candidate will have to follow a course in statistics)
Interest in cultural values and agricultural history
Required personal skills:
Excellent time management and organizational skills
Ability to work independently as well as collaboratively within the research group
Motivated to manage a research project
Enjoy interdisciplinary and collaborative work
Remuneration and further information
The position is placed in government pay scale position code 1017 PhD. Fellow. PhD. Fellows are normally placed in pay grade 54 (NOK 482 200) on the Norwegian Government salary scale upon employment and follow ordinary meriting regulations. The position will have a small budget for running expenses for the PhD project.
Employment is conducted according to national guidelines for University and College PhD scholars.
For further information, please contact:
Dr. Aida Cuni-Sanchez, Associate Professor, E-mail: aida.cuni-sanchez@nmbu.no; phone +47 67231383 or
To apply online for this vacancy, please click on the 'Apply for this job' button above. This will route you to the University's Web Recruitment System, where you will need to register an account (if you have not already) and log in before completing the online application form.
Application deadline: 06.04.2021
Applicants will be evaluated on the basis of their academic qualifications, the quality of the draft research proposal and previous research as well as other relevant experience. The shortlisted applicants will be called for an interview as a part of the evaluation.
Applicants invited for an interview are expected to present original diplomas and certificates.
Applications should include (electronically):
letter of motivation
Research proposal with short introduction, objectives, suggested methodological approach and benefits/limitations of such approach based on the description in the announcement - this will be further developed after employment (Max 1000 words, excluding references)
certified copies of relevant transcripts and diploma’s
