Postdoctoral fellow in Earth Observation of land cover and vegetation dynamics in the Middle East - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Subject description

More than a decade has passed since the war in Syria began in 2011. In the midst of this turmoil, a new venture has emerged in the form of the Autonomous Administration of Northern and Eastern Syria (NES), commonly known as Rojava. ECO-Syria is an interdisciplinary project where we study changes in vegetation dynamics and land use/land cover in the Rojava region as well as in neighbouring areas, linking these changes to political and socioeconomic factors through spatio-temporal analysis.

The Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science and the Centre for Advanced Middle Eastern Studies (CMES) announce one vacant position as a 2-year postdoctoral fellow with an orientation towards earth observation of land cover and vegetation dynamics, within the above described project.

The Centre for Advanced Middle Eastern Studies (CMES) supports research on the Middle East at Lund University. CMES coordinates the Strategic Research Area (SRA) “The Middle East in the Contemporary World” (MECW). The Strategic Research Area includes more than thirty-five scholars from five different faculties at Lund University. The research program consists of four research themes: 1) Environment and sustainable development; 2) Security and sustainable peace; 3) Democratization, migration and sustainable socio-economic development; and 4) Religion, identity and culture. For more details about the MECW program: https://www.cmes.lu.se/middle-east-contemporary-world-mecw

 Work duties

The main duties involved in a post-doctoral position is to conduct research. Teaching may also be included, but up to no more than 20% of working hours. The position shall include the opportunity for three weeks of training in higher education teaching and learning.

The main responsibility for the postdoctoral fellow is to conduct research within the ECO-Syria project together with other project participants. Research tasks will include programmatic analysis of large volumes (big data) time series of vegetation, classification of land use and land cover (LULC) using medium- and high-resolution data, and spatio-temporal analyses of LULC changes, analyzed together with ancillary data, such as nighttime lights and other spatial data. Tasks also include dissemination of results through high-quality publications in international scholarly journals and conference presentations as well as participation in outreach activates. The postdoctoral fellow will also contribute to other relevant research projects at CMES. Additionally, the fellow should actively seek external research funding and perform administrative tasks related to the work duties listed above.

The position consists of 100 percent research and the post doctoral position is placed at the Centre for Advanced Middle Eastern Studies.

Qualification requirements

Appointment to a post-doctoral position requires that the applicant has a PhD, or an international degree deemed equivalent to a PhD, within the subject of the position, completed no more than three years before the date of employment decision. Under special circumstances, the doctoral degree can have been completed earlier.

Additional requirements:

• PhD in Physical Geography, Geoinformatics, Environmental Science or a closely related field
• Very good oral and written proficiency in English.
• Experience with publishing scientific papers
• Demonstrated proficiency in Geographical Information Systems/Spatial Analysis
• Demonstrated proficiency in earth observation approaches focusing on vegetation and land use/land cover classifications and dynamics;
• Excellent communication skills, ability to work in a team and independently, and to complete activities on time

Assessment criteria and other qualifications

This is a career development position primarily focused on research. The position is intended as an initial step in a career, and the assessment of the applicants will primarily be based on their research qualifications and potential as researchers.

Particular emphasis will be placed on research skills within the subject.

For appointments to a post-doctoral position, the following shall form the assessment criteria:

• A good ability to develop and conduct high quality research.
• Teaching skills.

Additional assessment criteria:

Special consideration will be given to the scientific skills and merits of the applicant. Merits include a capacity to work in an international cross-disciplinary team of researchers and to communicate research findings to wider audiences beyond academia.

We are particularly interested in candidates with research skills within the subject area:

• experience in multivariate statistics and spatio-temporal analysis, (e.g., time-series analysis, land use/land cover classification, machine learning methods);
• and experience of analyzing and visualizing large remote sensing datasets in modern programming languages (e.g., R, Python, JavaScript, etc.).

Consideration will also be given to good collaborative skills, drive and independence, and how the applicant’s experience and skills complement and strengthen ongoing research within the department, and how they stand to contribute to its future development.

Terms of employment

This is a full-time, fixed-term employment of a maximum of 2 years. The period of employment is determined in accordance with the agreement “Avtal om tidsbegränsad anställning som postdoktor” (“Agreement on fixed-term employment as a post-doctoral fellow”) between Lund University, SACO-S and OFR/S, dated 1st February 2022.

The starting date is, at the earliest, 1 October 2024 or as per agreement.

 Instructions on how to apply

Applications shall be written in English and contain:

• résumé/CV, including a list of publications,
• Cover letter (no more than 2 pages) describing:

              *why you are interested in the field/project described in the advertisement

              *how you wish to contribute to the project

              *what makes you suitable for the project in question

• contact information of at least two references,
• copy of the doctoral degree certificate, and other certificates/grades that you wish to be considered.

Welcome to apply!