PhD Vacancy: Climate Change and Resilience in Africa – 2 PhD Positions in Uganda

Are they keen about tackling local weather-associated challenges and empowering local weather-affected communities in Africa? Do they aspire to finish tutorial analysis with an actual-world impression? They ought to be part of Climares, a groundbreaking analysis undertaking that helps the local weather resilience of at-danger populations in 5 African nations.

PhD Positions Available

Location: Makerere University, Uganda, Department of Geography, Geoinformatics, and Climatic Sciences Joint/Dual Degree: Wageningen University, The Netherlands (PhD A – Smallholders) or Erasmus University Rotterdam (PhD B – Refugees)

Expected Starting Date: July 1st – August 1st, 2025, or as quickly as doable thereafter

Application Deadline: march twenty fifth, 2025

Position Details

For their work in Uganda, Climares is in search of 2 PhD candidates who will work with both smallholders or refugees and different stakeholders utilizing modern, participatory analysis strategies. The positions are initially for one yr, prolonged, conditional upon good efficiency, to a most of 5 years, on a full-time foundation.

Project A: Smallholders

Focus on the local weather-associated challenges and innovation methods of smallholders engaged in money crop manufacturing, notably highland espresso cultivation.

Project B: Displacement

Focus on refugees and different forcibly displaced individuals in Uganda, and their resilience methods in relation to local weather-associated threats and uncertainties.

Job Description – What They Will Do

They might be part of an thrilling new analysis undertaking known as Climares (www.climares.nl). Climares is a consortium of seven African and 7 Dutch universities, together with societal companions, working in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Morocco, Senegal, and Uganda. Their mission is to assist at-danger populations—smallholders, fisherfolk, city out of doors staff, pastoralists, and displaced individuals—by reworking climate and local weather knowledge into actionable insights that improve resilience and allow early adaptation.

Climares makes use of participatory digital and in-person analysis, co-created local weather storylines, and advocacy strategies to make sure that climate and local weather info turns into correct and actionable and built-in with native data programs. Within the scope of the undertaking, they’re anticipated to develop their very own PhD analysis focus and thematic curiosity, in shut collaboration with their supervisors. The supervision crew consists of African and Dutch teachers with a variety of analysis areas. They can even be part of an interdisciplinary group of 11 PhD researchers, who’re recruited from the 5 African nations and who would be the core of the Climares undertaking.

The PhD tasks in Uganda focus on motion-oriented analysis with communities and different stakeholders, corresponding to civil society actors, personal actors, and authorities representatives. The tasks goal to assist the company and resilience of communities by creating and supporting Knowledge∞Action (Ok∞A) networks. These networks are composed of all stakeholders which have an curiosity in the resilience of a inhabitants group, together with affected communities. As PhD researchers, they are going to be answerable for organising and facilitating these networks over a 5-yr interval, and for gathering knowledge on the method.

For the length of the undertaking, they are going to be part of the Climares Academy that meets on-line for at some point per week for coaching, supervision, and conferences with their friends.

Where They Will Work

These PhD positions are primarily based in Uganda, with occasional journey to the Netherlands (or different nations) for coaching functions and consortium conferences. The PhD trajectories will begin with an intensive two-month coaching in the Netherlands. After this, they may return to Uganda to spend vital durations of time with both smallholders or refugees and to begin engaged on the Knowledge∞Action (Ok∞A) networks. During this era, they may attend on-line coaching and reflection conferences at some point per week. They might be members of the Climares PhD faculty, known as the Climares Academy.

Training and Support

Training will embody tutorial programs in addition to coaching on abilities and content material required for Climares, and particular person profession improvement assist. Training might be supplied by members of the Climares consortium, together with tutorial companions and societal companions such because the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, Deltares, and the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute. PhD candidates will obtain slicing-edge instructing and mentoring from a various vary of specialists, combining theoretical data with sensible purposes.

Supervision and Degree

The supervision groups for these PhD tasks will consist of students from Makerere University and Wageningen University for PhD A, and students from Makerere and Erasmus University for PhD B. With their supervisors, they may develop an in depth PhD undertaking plan, together with analysis actions and milestones. They can even collectively develop and usually monitor their very own profession improvement plan. They might be admitted to and graduate from Makerere University, in addition to – by a joint/twin diploma association – from Wageningen University (PhD A) and Erasmus University (PhD B) in the Netherlands.

Requirements

They are in search of an interdisciplinary crew of PhD researchers. They invite candidates with varied profiles to apply. Requirements for each candidates embody:

1. A grasp’s diploma or an equal diploma in social sciences, local weather sciences, geographical sciences, environmental sciences, or a associated discipline.
2. Experience with, and a powerful affinity for, analysis associated to local weather change, local weather resilience, local weather change impacts, or local weather vulnerability.
3. Strong analysis abilities, both qualitative or quantitative, and expertise working with communities, ideally utilizing participatory strategies.
4. Motivation to develop methodological abilities in each qualitative and quantitative analysis.
5. Residency in Uganda, or intensive expertise working in Uganda, ideally with both smallholders (PhD A) or refugees (PhD B). Familiarity with native customs and languages related to the communities is vital.
6. Ability to hold out work independently and proactively, and additionally work nicely in a crew, supporting interdisciplinary teamwork and data sharing.
7. Excellent tutorial abilities (analytical considering, scientific writing, and presentation), evidenced for instance by evaluate of their grasp’s thesis and probably some scientific publications.
8. Excellent social abilities for working with communities, different stakeholders, and different PhD candidates over a protracted time period.
9. Proficiency in English is a should, as commencement at one of many Netherlands universities should be finished primarily based on a dissertation in English.

What They Offer

They provide an interdisciplinary PhD place the place candidates will acquire tutorial abilities with sensible application, in an enthusiastic crew of world-famend students and organizations engaged on local weather points. The anticipated begin date of this place is between July 1st and August 1st, 2025, or as quickly as doable thereafter. Candidates might be primarily based at Makerere University, the Department of Geography, Geoinformatics, and Climatic Sciences. They provide aggressive remuneration in addition to analysis prices. The preliminary contract has a length of 1 yr (12 months), extendable to 5 years conditional upon efficiency.

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