PhD Candidate in Environmental Science

Lund University was founded in 1666 and is consistently ranked among the world's top universities. There are approximately 47,000 students and more than 8,800 employees in Lund, Helsingborg, and Malmö. We are united in our efforts to understand, explain, and improve our world and the conditions of humanity.

Lund University welcomes applicants from diverse backgrounds and experiences. Gender equality, equal opportunities, and diversity are fundamental principles in all areas of our operations.

Subject Description

Environmental science is the scientific study of human-caused environmental problems, including climate change. The subject combines the study of human impact on natural processes with the measures and strategies that can be taken to prevent, mitigate, or counteract environmental problems and achieve long-term sustainable development.

Job Responsibilities

The main task of a PhD candidate is to engage in their doctoral education, which includes participation in research projects as well as doctoral courses. The job responsibilities may also include participation in teaching and other departmental work, but no more than 20% of the working time.

The PhD project is integrated into the larger interdisciplinary project (https://portal.research.lu.se/sv/projects/biodiversity-from-space-optimized-grazing-and-biodiversity-conser-2/). The candidate will combine remote sensing, artificial intelligence, and analyses of field ecological data to develop and implement monitoring of grassland management using remote sensing and its effects on flowering plants and pollinator diversity at a regional level. Since traditional ground-based surveys have limited geographical coverage, an important goal is to predict the quantity and quality of grassland biomass and the likelihood of the occurrence of various plants and pollinating insects at regional scales, with the ultimate aim of improving future performance and efficiency of environmental policy instruments in agriculture.

The job responsibilities will include, for example:

• Deriving and validating spatiotemporal estimates of grassland biomass from remote sensing data using deep convolutional neural networks (CNN)
• Linking estimates of grazing pressure to specifically collected data on plant indicator species and flowering richness, species richness, and composition
• Compiling and mobilizing existing data to link grazing intensity to plant and pollinator communities using advanced models of species occurrence
• Assessing the performance of environmental payment requirements for conserving biodiversity in grasslands.

Eligibility

Basic eligibility for doctoral education is met by those who have:

• completed a master's degree or
• fulfilled course requirements of at least 240 higher education credits, of which at least 60 higher education credits at advanced level, with content relevant to the doctoral education or
• acquired equivalent knowledge in some other way, either within or outside the country.

The specific eligibility requirements for environmental science are met by those who have:

• completed an independent project (e.g., thesis) in a relevant subject comprising at least 30 higher education credits, and have good knowledge of the English language, both written and spoken.

The specific eligibility may also have been obtained through other equivalent education, which is assessed in each individual case. To enable interdisciplinary initiatives and significant deepening in certain areas, other qualifications than the applicant's subject-specific competence in environmental science may be considered.

Other Requirements:

• MSc in environmental science, geography, ecology, agricultural science, or other relevant fields within natural sciences
• Very good numerical and computational skills
• Knowledge of and experience in processing large datasets and statistics
• Demonstrated ability for proactive, independent, and well-organized work.

Assessment Criteria

Selection for doctoral education is based on the assessed ability to benefit from the doctoral education. The assessment of ability is primarily based on academic results at the undergraduate and master's levels. The following are considered:

• Knowledge and skills relevant to the dissertation work and subject of education.
• Assessed ability for independent work and ability to formulate and tackle scientific problems.
• Ability for written and oral communication.
• Other experiences relevant to doctoral education, e.g., work experience.

Other Qualifications:

• Practical experience in remote sensing applications within plant ecology, conservation, or related fields
• Experience in programming using R or Python
• Good knowledge of and experience with machine learning
• Experience analyzing data from plant, insect, or vegetation surveys
• Driver's license (car)

Consideration will also be given to good collaboration skills, drive, and independence, as well as how the applicant is assessed to have the ability needed to complete the doctoral education based on their experience and competencies.

Conditions

Only those who are admitted to doctoral education may be employed as PhD candidates. The doctoral education lasts four years for full-time studies. In the case of teaching and other departmental work, the employment is extended correspondingly, but no longer than 5 years (i.e., max 20%). Regulations regarding employment as a PhD candidate are found in the Higher Education Ordinance (1993:100), Chapter 5, Sections 1-7.

Application Instructions

The application must be written in English. The application should include a personal letter explaining why you are interested in the position and how the research project matches your interests and educational background. The application should also include a CV, degree certificate or equivalent, and any other documents you wish to submit (copies of transcripts, references, recommendation letters, etc.).

At the Faculty of Science, research and education are conducted in biology, astronomy, physics, geosciences, chemistry, mathematics, and environmental science. The activities are conducted at eight departments located within the northern university area. The faculty has about 1,500 students, 360 doctoral students, and 700 employees.

The Centre for Environmental and Climate Science, CEC (http://www.cec.lu.se/sv/ (http://www.cec.lu.se/sv/)) conducts research, education, and communication on environmental science and climate research at Lund University.

We kindly decline all contacts from advertisement sellers, recruitment, and staffing companies due to government procurement regulations.