Doctoral student in Sustainable urban governance and Smart grids - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

The International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics (IIIEE) is an international and interdisciplinary centre of excellence at Lund University. We advance knowledge on how to catalyse the transition to low-carbon and resource efficient economies across different levels of governance and management. We conduct research across the themes of international and national policy intervention, urban governance and experimentation, business management and practice, and consumption governance.

Subject description

The doctoral student will work in the area of sustainable urban governance with focus on energy, climate and smart grids. Smart grids connect supply, distribution and use of electricity through various IT solutions.

Socio-technical and/or socio-economic perspectives will be used to study how actors in collaboration can contribute to innovations and transformation of energy systems. The PhD project will contribute to: 1) map and analyze actors, forms of collaboration and business models linked to Smart grids 2) analyze how actors collaborates to find flexible solutions, and 3) analyze how innovations and collaboration can contribute to sustainable energy systems.

Work duties

The PhD position will be located at the IIIEE at Lund University and be part of the ERANET project CLUE (Concepts, planning, demonstration and replication of Local User-friendly Energy communities). The project is conducted in collaboration with Austria, Germany and the UK. In Sweden participatants include EON, the city of Malmö, RISE and several property owners, in addition to the IIIEE.

The purpose of CLUE is to study how different parts of the energy systems can interact to create sustainable solutions in the long run. The ambition is to study how it is possible to introduce local renewable and intermittent energy on a larger scale into the electricity system. The project will study if, and is such case how, it is possible to leveling out peaks in electricity demand, and by that reduce the need for operating reserve, which is often using fossil fuels. Finally, the project will analyze possible collaborations to achieve a more sustainable energy system.

The project will apply sociotechnical and/or socioeconomic system perspectives in the analysis. In the project the PhD candidate will study how actors can collaborate to achieve sustainable system solutions. This is done by identifying and analyzing possible innovations, collaboration models, and business models to examine how these can respond to different needs actors’ experiences. Another important issue to be studied is how flexible solutions such as batteries or user flexibility can be used to reduce demand during peak hours.

Different methods can be used for data collection and analysis, such as case studies, survey, participatory observations, focus groups, interviews and workshops.

The main duties of doctoral students are to devote themselves to their research studies which includes participating in research projects and third cycle courses. The work duties will also include teaching and other departmental duties (no more than 20%).

Admission requirements

A person meets the general admission requirements for third-cycle courses and study programmes if he or she:

• has been awarded a second-cycle qualification, or
• has satisfied the requirements for courses comprising at least 240 credits of which at least 60 credits were awarded in the second cycle, or
• has acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad.

A person meets the specific admission requirements for third cycle studies if he or she has:

• Hold a Master’s degree in a relevant, preferably multi-disciplinary, field (such as economy, social science or innovation studies)

Additional requirements:

• Very good oral and written proficiency in English.
• Very good oral and written proficiency in Swedish

Assessment criteria

Selection for third-cycle studies is based on the student’s potential to profit from such studies. The assessment of potential is made primarily on the basis of academic results from the first and second cycle. Special attention is paid to the following:

Knowledge and skills relevant to the thesis project and the subject of study. An assessment of ability to work independently and to formulate and tackle research problems. Written and oral communication skills Other experience relevant to the third-cycle studies, e.g. professional experience.

Other assessment criteria:

Experiences from interdisciplinary projects

Consideration will also be given to good collaborative skills, drive and independence, and how the applicant, through his or her experience and skills, is deemed to have the abilities necessary for successfully completing the third cycle programme.

Terms of employment Only those admitted to third cycle studies may be appointed to a doctoral studentship. Third cycle studies at LTH consist of full-time studies for 4 years. A doctoral studentship is a fixed-term employment of a maximum of 5 years (including 20% departmental duties). Doctoral studentships are regulated in the Higher Education Ordinance (1993:100), chapter 5, 1-7 §§.

Instructions on how to apply

Applications shall be written in English and include:

• CV
• A cover letter stating the reasons why you are interested in the position and in what way the research project corresponds to your interests and educational background
• An outline of a research design corresponding to the project description above and related to the research conducted at IIIEE (max 3 pages)
• Degree certificate or equivalent
• Other documents you wish to be considered (grade transcripts, contact information for your references, letters of recommendation, etc.).
• Relevant thesis must be attached (master’s thesis and/or bachelor’s thesis).