1-2 PhD students in cultural geography/economic geography

Tasks:

The holder of a PhD position is expected to participate actively in the department's research and teaching environment and may need to perform departmental duties, primarily teaching, amounting to approximately 20 percent of full-time employment.

The PhD student(s) will be employed within the project DECENT (Socio-technical modularity and the decentralization of infrastructure), which is funded by ERC: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101219042.

Cities have long relied on centralized systems to provide essential societal services such as electricity, water, and transport. These large-scale network-based infrastructures often fail to meet social, economic, and environmental needs. The DECENT project aims to investigate how decentralized infrastructure solutions – such as microgrids, small-scale wastewater treatment, multimodal transport, short food supply chains, or distributed finance – overcome the historical legacies of large-scale infrastructure systems and provide societal functions in more modular ways. The PhD students will study decentralization from a configurational socio-technical perspective and focus on aspects such as: local and global industry dynamics, the geography of innovation, sustainable transitions, and/or urban experimentation. Empirically, the project will study and compare the decentralization of infrastructure in high- (e.g., European or North American) and middle-income cities (e.g., South or Southeast Asian).

The PhD students are expected to:

design and conduct empirical research on the decentralization of infrastructure within different sectors (e.g., water, mobility, or food) and geographical contexts, in collaboration with the project group; write original and co-authored scientific publications during the employment; work closely with the project group and contribute to joint meetings and activities; present their research at national and international conferences; write and defend a doctoral thesis.

Eligibility/Requirements:

To be eligible for doctoral studies, an applicant must

Has completed a degree at an advanced level Has completed studies equivalent to at least 240 higher education credits, of which at least 60 higher education credits are at an advanced level, or Has acquired comparable education in some other way in Sweden or abroad.

In addition to the requirements described above, the specific eligibility requirements for doctoral studies in cultural geography are a master's degree in cultural geography/economic geography or another relevant subject (e.g., transition studies, innovation studies, sociology, economics, economic history, political science). The degree must include an independent work of at least 30 higher education credits, of which at least half is at an advanced level. Applicants must also have the ability to express themselves well in speech and writing in English. Assessment is made based on national guidelines.

The employment of PhD students is regulated in the Code of Statutes 1998: 80. Only those who are or have been admitted to doctoral studies may be employed in PhD positions. When filling such a position, the student's ability to benefit from the doctoral studies shall, in the first instance, be considered. In addition to engaging in studies, the person appointed to a PhD position may be required to work with educational duties, research, and administration, according to special provisions in the ordinance.

Basis for assessment:

In accordance with the Higher Education Ordinance Chapter 5, Section 5, special weight in admission shall be placed on the applicant's ability to successfully complete the doctoral studies, as evidenced by academic qualifications and merits.

We are looking for candidates who have:

a strong motivation for academic research and curiosity about societal transitions; a background in economic geography, transition studies, innovation studies, sociology, economics, economic history, political science, or related subjects; experience working with empirical data collection and analysis (qualitative or quantitative) as well as an interest in working with mixed methods approaches; a strong interest in interdisciplinary approaches that bridge transition studies and economic geography; excellent writing skills; the ability to express themselves well in speech and writing in English.

Application:

A personal letter of at most 300 words, containing a short presentation of yourself as an applicant and your merits in relation to the project described above. The personal letter should begin with 2–5 bullet points highlighting the most important merits. Upload as a single file in PDF format. A document describing a research idea linked to the theme of the DECENT project (according to the description above). Upload as a single file in PDF format. This should be viewed as a work sample and an indication of conceptual and empirical interest – not as a binding commitment to carry out the described research. The document must consist of the following headings:

• Societal relevance (max 200 words excluding references)
• Scientific relevance / research gap (with references to central studies) (max 200 words excluding references)

• Conceptual approach (with references to central studies) (max 200 words excluding references)
• Methodological approach and preliminary cases (max 200 words excluding references)

• Possible contribution (max 200 words excluding references)

Curriculum vitae. Upload as a single file in PDF format. An example of independently authored academic work. This is usually a master's thesis. Upload as a single file in PDF format. If available, copies of scientific publications that you have authored or co-authored. Upload as a single file in PDF format. Names and contact details for 2–3 persons whom we may contact for personal references (to be provided in the text field). Copies of certificates, degrees, and transcripts. Upload as a single file in PDF format. The degree certificate should be uploaded as an individual PDF file named ”examensbevis”.

The application must be in English and is submitted electronically via Lund University's application portal.

Conditions:

Fixed-term employment for four years according to HF Chapter 5, Section 7.