Doctoral student in Water Resources Engineering; Comparative water availability assessment in the Middle East  - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

The Division of Water Resources Engineering, within the Department of Building and Environmental Technology, conducts education and research in many water-related areas such as hydrology, water resources management, coastal hydraulics, hydrometeorology, climate change and water quality. The division has a strong international character and collaborates with many researchers within projects around the world. The position is linked to the Strategic Research Area "Middle East in the Contemporary World," which is coordinated by Karin Aggestam and Ronny Berndtsson at the Centre for Advanced Middle Eastern Studies (CMES).

Work duties
The position is part of the research program “Middle East in the Contemporary World,” which is coordinated by Karin Aggestam and Ronny Berndtsson at the CMES. The PhD project and the doctoral dissertation must be focused on comparative water availability assessment in the Middle East using satellite imagery and AI. The PhD Candidate will have double affiliations with CMES and Water resources engineering. The PhD Candidate is expected to take part in activities (e.g., seminars) both at the Water resources engineering and at CMES. The main language of the PhD programme is English. For non-Swedish-speaking doctoral students, there is an opportunity to acquire basic skills in Swedish during the employment period by taking part in language teaching at Lund University.

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 the applicant:

• 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 in water resources engineering if the applicant has:

• At least 120 credits in subjects of relevance to the field of research including at least 75 second-cycle credits in a relevant field for the subject area, or
• A second-cycle degree in Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering, or similar.

Additional requirements:       

• Good oral and written proficiency in English.
• The applicant must be familiar with the hydro-environmental conditions in the Middle East and have experiences working with remote sensing and hydrological data in the Middle East.
• Qualifying for the position is a background in geomatics, remote sensing, water resources or similar theoretical and practical knowledge for analysis of remote sensing technology, satellite image processing, and artificial intelligence in water-related subjects.

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 based on academic results from the first and second cycle. Special attention is paid to the following:

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

Other assessment criteria:

Consideration will be given to good collaboration skills, drive, and independence, as well as how the applicant, through his or her experience and competence, is judged to have the ability needed to pass the doctoral program. Merits include documented proficiency in remote sensing software for image processing of SAR data, i.e., GMTSAR, StaMPS, SNAPHU, etc, as well as programming languages such as MATLAB (or Python) and Bash.

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
The application must include:

• A cover letter in Swedish or English of max 1 000 words, which contains a brief presentation of yourself and your qualifications, as well as a brief explanation of why you are interested in third cycle studies at the Division of water resources engineering at Lund University.
• A CV in Swedish or English that demonstrates your qualifications for the third cycle programme in water resources engineering.
• A copy of the degree project or equivalent or a summary in case the work is not completed.
• A research plan in Swedish or English of max 2 000 words including references.
• Name and contact information of two personal references (letters of reference are not required in the first stage of application).
• Other documentation of relevance to the position.