Jan Evangelista Purkyně University (Ústí nad Labem, Czechia) (www.ujep.cz) invites applications from qualified and motivated candidates for the position of:
Early stage researcher (0.75 FTE)
The position is based in the Department of Geography Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem (UJEP, http://geography.ujep.cz/uvod?lang=en) and is available from 1 January, 2019 for the period of 36 months.
The successful candidate will join an international research project titled Agents of Change in Old-industrial Regions in Europe funded by the Volkswagen Foundation (for more information see project website: https://acore-project.eu/ ). The main ambition of Agents of Change is to investigate how old-industrial regions located outside major agglomerations in Europe can deal with the unfavourable structural conditions and trends and can create a new development path leading to prosperity and well-being, contributing to social cohesion and stability of Europe as a whole. The aim of this project is three-fold:
- to develop a better understanding of the emergence of new development paths in old industrial regions and the implications for social and spatial development;
- to strengthen academic collaboration among scholars in EU countries and to facilitate knowledge exchange between academia and policy circles;
- utilising the results of international comparison and knowledge exchange, to develop policy recommendations for discovering new development paths for Europe’s old industrial regions in various socio-spatial, historical, and cultural contexts.
The Department of Geography is part of the Faculty of Science of the Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem. It is focused on teaching and research in all areas of geography, mainly physical and human geography, GIS and cartography. This combination enables scholars of the department to conduct research in many interdisciplinary tasks such as restructuring and change in European rural regions, natural hazards and adaptation to environmental change by local communities, historical landscape research, territorial identities, image building and regional development etc. As the University is located in the old industrial Ústí nad Labem region, research of the department reflects special social, economic and environmental conditions and institutional setting that is typical for this type of region. The Department has currently about 20 employees who are part of five international research projects with significant outreach into public policy and planning.
The offer
- The 0.75 FTE position for a PhD Researcher for the uninterrupted period of 36 months.
- Opportunities to develop and implement research ideas within the framework of the Agents of Change project. Supervision will be conducted by the Department of Geography of UJEP.
- Generous funding for travelling to conferences and project workshops. Additional funding will be available to facilitate publication activities.
- Family-friendly working conditions that encourage the compatibility of work and family life, flexible organisation of working time, and a generally good working environment.
- Institutional support, office space, access to the library resources.
Your responsibilities
- Design and implementation of a research project contributing to the overall goals of Agents of Change project.
- Completion of a PhD research project and studies according to the regulations of the UJEP.
- Conducting interviews with key actors within the region and Czechia.
- Assistance with organisation of project-related events.
- Participation in conferences (including international), project workshops, and events.
- Joint publication of research results in academic journals.
Essential requirements
- Academic background (Master’s level) in geography, regional development or related disciplines.
- Familiarity with the current debates in European cohesion, spatial policy, urban and regional development.
- Experience in qualitative research methods.
- Proficiency in Czech as the fieldwork will be conducted in Czech.
- Fluent in English as English is the language of communication within the project.
Desirable requirements
- Experience in presenting at international conferences.
- Publications in academic journals.
- Experience in designing and conducting semi-structured interviews.
Please send your application in English containing:
- motivation letter,
- CV including publications,
- graduate certificates,
- doctoral project proposal reflecting the goals of the Agents of Change project: 3-5 pages including references to current international scientific literature, defining: (a) problem area, (b) aim of the research, (c) methodological approach.
The application should be sent as a single PDF file with a maximum of 20 pages with the subject line Job application Agents of Change to Jana Tojnarová – jana.tojnarova@ujep.cz .
Further information: Dr Vladan Hruška +420 608 86 55 70
Deadline for submitting applications: 4 November 2018