Doctoral student in Economic Geography

Job assignment:
The doctoral candidate program amounts to 240 credits (equivalent to four years of full-time study). It formally ends with the doctoral candidate publicly defending his/her printed doctoral thesis. The holder of a doctoral position has as primary obligation to successfully fulfill the third cycle education ending with a PhD degree. Regulations concerning appointment as a full-time doctoral student can be found in the Higher Education Ordinance Chapter 5, 1-7 §§.

The holder of a doctoral position is expected to participate actively in the research and teaching environment of the department and may have to perform departmental duties, above all teaching, amounting to about 20 percent of full time.

The research will be conducted within the field of economic geography and will focus on analyzing global innovation dynamics in infrastructure sectors. The position is well-suited for students with an interest in topics such as the geography of sustainability transitions, institutional perspectives on innovation and diffusion, green industry dynamics, change agency, global innovation systems, among others. The position is connected to two research projects focusing on transformative innovation in the water sector. Together with the project team, the PhD student will develop novel conceptual frameworks for assessing how innovation dynamics that transcend spatial scales influence sustainability transitions, both globally and in specific cities experimenting with highly innovative solutions. The research will draw on a mixed-methods approach that combines qualitative in-depth case studies with global system mapping using network methodologies.

More information on the PhD program at the Department of Human Geography is available at https://www.keg.lu.se/en/research/phd-education/phd-in-human-geography

The PhD candidate will also be affiliated with CIRCLE (Centre for Innovation Research) at Lund University. More information at https://www.circle.lu.se/

Eligibility/Entry Requirements:
To be eligible for third cycle studies an applicant must:

• Have been awarded a second cycle degree
• Have completed studies the equivalent of at least 240 higher education credits, of which at least 60 credits are at the second cycle level, or
• Have acquired comparable qualifications in some other way in Sweden or abroad.

In addition to the requirements described above the specific entry requirements for the PhD program in Human Geography is a Master’s degree in Human Geography, or related disciplines (e.g. transition studies, innovation studies, sociology, economics, economic history, political science). Exams must include independent work of at least 30 higher education credits, of which at least half is at the second cycle level. The applicant must also have proficiency in spoken and written English corresponding to English B from Swedish upper secondary school. The assessment will be based on national guidelines.

The employment of doctoral students is regulated in the Swedish Code of Statues 1998: 80. Only those who are or have been admitted to PhD studies may be appointed to doctoral candidate positions. When an appointment to such a position is made, the ability of the student to benefit from PhD studies shall primarily be taken into account. In addition to devoting themselves to their studies, those appointed to doctoral positions may be required to work with educational tasks, research and administration, in accordance with specific regulations in the ordinance.

Basis of Assessment:
In accordance with the Higher Education Ordinance Chapter 5, paragraph 5, particular emphasis for admission shall be placed upon the applicant’s ability to successfully complete PhD studies, as indicated by academic qualifications and merits.

Applications will be reviewed according to the pertinence of research interests and profile in relation to the abovementioned topics. Application texts, previous essays and published material are important documents for assessing the ability of candidates. The candidate should be able and willing to conduct mixed-methods research in the water sector and be open to doing field work abroad. Fluency in English (spoken and written) is required, skills in a second language are an asset. Experience with qualitative expert interviews and/or network methodologies are beneficial.

In addition to the obligation to engage in their own research studies, the holder may be required to perform duties related to education, research and administrative work according to special provisions in the regulation.

Application:
The application must contain:
•    A cover letter of a maximum of 300 words, which contains a brief presentation of you as an applicant and your qualifications as they relate to the above-mentioned project. The cover letter may contain bullet points highlighting the most important qualifications. Upload as a single pdf-format file.
•    A document containing five short bullet points outlining a research idea related to global innovation dynamics in infrastructure sectors. You can choose to focus on research gaps in the abovementioned literature or related fields (e.g. geography of sustainability transitions, institutional perspectives on innovation and diffusion, green industry dynamics, change agency, global innovation systems). Each bullet point should be max. 100 words (excluding references). Upload as a single pdf-format file. Structure the five bullet points as follows: 
o    o Societal challenge
o    o Academic significance / research gap (with references to key studies)
o    o Conceptual approach (with references to key studies)
o    o Methodological approach
o    o Potential contribution
•    Curriculum vitae. Upload as a single pdf-format file.
•    An example of independently written academic work. This will typically be a master’s thesis. Upload as a single pdf-format file.
•    If available, copies of scientific publications authored or co-authored by you. Upload as a single pdf-format file.
•    Name and contact information of 2-3 people we may contact for personal references (in type-in box).
•    Copies of examination certificates and grades. Upload as a single pdf-format file.
The application must be in English and entered into the Lund University job application portal, varbi.

Type of employment:
Limit of tenure, four years according to HF 5 kap 7§.