SCIENCE-JOBS-DE Stellenausschreibung
The United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS), in
collaboration with the Centre for Development Research of the University of Bonn (ZEF), the
GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam (GFZ) and the Department of Plant Nutrition of the
University of Bonn (INRES) is offering 14 PhD scholarships for outstanding students to carry
out research within the WISDOM (Water-related Information System for the sustainable
Development Of the Mekong delta in Vietnam) project. WISDOM is a German-Vietnamese
initiative (more information can be found on http://www.ehs.unu.edu/category:46) comprising
eighteen institutions based in Germany and Vietnam and coordinated in Germany by the
German Aerospace Centre and in Vietnam by the Southern Institute of Water Resources
Research. The PhD scholarships are offered by UNU-EHS on behalf of the four
organisations above through funding from the German Ministry for Education and Research
(BMBF).
Closing date: Friday, 18 May 2007
Description of posts
Positions hosted by GFZ, Potsdam, Germany, Section 5.4 Engineering Hydrology
GFZ is a member of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres, and
investigates the assimilation of the latest developments in remote sensing data on floods
extents and depths and in-situ time series measurements of inundation levels in floodplains
into hydrodynamic models. The focus is on the development of novel methods for sampling
and utilising spatial flood inundation data, as well as for using these extensive data sets in
hydrodynamic model optimisation. It also investigates time space variability of hydrometeorological observations and simulations in respect of remote sensing data. The focus is
on the analysis of flood and drought occurrence and frequency in the area of the Mekong
and especially the Mekong Delta, Vietnam in order to quantify the variability and trends in
flood and drought periods and the respective climate forcing mechanisms.
Pos. W/RS1/UNU-EHS: Development, testing and installation of flood level field
measurement equipment (GPS buoys, pressure conductors), development of an optimal
sampling position scheme taking into account remote sensing data, field data collection and
evaluation, and characterisation of flood dynamics in the study area.
Specific requirements for the position: relevant Masters degree in hydrology, hydraulics with
experimental field work and excellent command of the Vietnamese language.
Pos. W/RS2/UNU-EHS: Integration of field data with high temporal resolution and
remotely sensed data with high spatial resolution in hydraulic model calibration, and
the application and further development of multi-criteria and multi-objective model calibration
strategies.
Specific requirements for the position: relevant Masters degree in hydrology, hydraulic with
modelling, model optimisation/parameter estimation, programming skills (preferably Fortran
and/or C/C++). Work experience abroad and especially in Vietnam would be an advantage.
Pos. W/RS3/UNU-EHS: Analysis of hydro-meteorological time series of the Mekongbasin. This includes multivariate statistical analyses of gridded data sets, time-frequency
analyses and extreme value statistics.
Specific requirements for the position: relevant Masters degree in meteorology and/or
hydrology with multivariate, time-frequency and extreme value statistics, programming skills
(preferably Fortran and/or Matlab).
For further information concerning the scientific contents of the research please contact Dr.
Heiko Apel, Section Engineering Hydrology, hapel@gfz-potsdam.de
Positions hosted by UNU-EHS, Bonn, Germany
UNU-EHS has been conceived and created to assess the vulnerability and coping capacity
of societies facing natural and human-induced hazards in a changing environment. For
further information please visit http://www.ehs.unu.edu/.
Pos. W/RS4/UNU-EHS: Pesticide monitoring and pesticide use assessment in selected
case study areas of the Lower Mekong. Several surface water bodies will be monitored for a
selected number of currently used pesticides and surveys will be carried out to identify the
sources of detected compounds so as to offer mitigation measures. This work will be carried
out in close collaboration with Pos. W8.
Specific requirements for the position: relevant Masters degree in water science or chemistry
with experience in water quality monitoring, preferably pesticide monitoring, good laboratory
analytical skills and strong statistical basis are required. Experience with farming system
surveys is a distinct advantages. Excellent command of Vietnamese is a pre-requisite.
Pos. W/RS5/UNU-EHS: Pesticide fate modelling in the Lower Mekong. The modelling will
be carried out in two selected case study areas and will involve definition of the system,
parameterisation, simulations and calibration. Existing pesticide fate models will be used but
some specific algorithms may have to be developed. This work will be carried out in close
collaboration with Pos. W4.
Specific requirements for the position: relevant Masters degree in hydraulics, hydrology or
environmental chemistry is required as well as competencies in the use/development of
pesticide fate models including knowledge and practical expertise in inverse modelling.
Knowledge of an object-oriented programming language would be a distinct advantage.
Pos. W/RS6/UNU-EHS: Vulnerability assessment to sudden onset hazards $-1òó
particularly floods in the Lower Mekong. The assessment of vulnerability of local
communities to sudden onset hazards will be carried out in case study areas focusing on
rural and urban communities. This task will imply the contextualisation of meta-frameworks
for vulnerability assessment, data gathering at provincial and local level and the
implementation of own questionnaire based household surveys. The work will be carried out
in close collaboration with Pos. W7.
Specific requirements for the position: relevant Masteròùs degree in social or natural sciences,
engineering or planning is required as well as proficiency in socio-economic assessment,
indicator development and/or household surveys. In-depth statistical skills and experience
with SPSS and GIS are of distinct advantage. Knowledge of the Mekong Region and a good
command of Vietnamese are distinct advantages.
Pos. W/RS7/UNU-EHS: Vulnerability assessment to slow onset hazards òó sea level riseand droughts in the Lower Mekong. This position will focus on how to measure the
vulnerability of local communities to creeping and future environmental changes in the
Mekong Delta. This task will encompass the development of a methodological framework
and measurement tools to capture the various vulnerabilities and the coping capacity of local
communities to creeping processes in the region, particularly drought and sea level rise. This
work will be carried out in close collaboration with Pos. W6.
Specific requirements for the position: relevant Masters degree in social or natural sciences,
engineering or planning is required as well as competences in socio-economic or
environmental assessment, indicator development and/or household surveys. Expertise in
analyzing creeping environmental changes and their societal impacts (coupled human-
environmental systems) are advantageous. Excellent command of Vietnamese is required.
For further information concerning the scientific contents of the research please contact Dr.
Fabrice Renaud, Environmental Assessment and Resource Vulnerability Section,
renaud@ehs.unu.edu
Positions hosted by INRES, Bonn, Germany
For additional information regarding INRES, please visit http://www.ipe.uni-bonn.de.
Pos. W/RS8/UNU-EHS: Adaptation of an ELISA-test to determine endocrine disruptors.
An existing ELISA-test will be tested on its robustness and be optimized. Extraction of Eds
from different matrices such as soil, water, different organic wastes (e.g.) animal slurry and
waste water will be developed. The method will be established in Vietnam. This work will be
carried out in close collaboration with Pos. W4 and W9.
Specific requirements for the position: relevant Masters degree in water/environmental
science with experience in water quality monitoring (preferably organic compounds), good
laboratory analytical skills are required.
Pos. W/RS9/UNU-EHS: Monitoring of endocrine disruptors and mitigation options toreduce the emissions of endocrine disruptors in case study areas of the Lower Mekong.
Several surface water bodies will be monitored for a selected suite of endocrine disruptors
and surveys will be carried out to identify the sources of detected compounds so as to offer
mitigation measures. This work will be carried out in close collaboration with Pos. W4.
Specific requirements for the position: relevant Masters degree in water/environmental
science with experience in water quality monitoring (preferably organic compounds), good
laboratory analytical skills are required. Experience with farming system surveys and good
command of Vietnamese are distinct advantages.
For further information concerning the scientific contents of the research please contact Dr.
Joachim Clemens, Institute of Plant Science and Resource Conservation, a.clemens@unibonn.de.
Positions hosted by ZEF, Bonn, Germany
The Center for Development Research (ZEF) is an international and interdisciplinary
academic research institute of the "Rheinische-Friedrich-Wilhelms" University in Bonn,
Germany. The positions will be hosted by the institute$-1òùs Department of Political and Cultural
Change, ZEFa. For further information please visit http://www.zef.de. NOTE: Specific
requirements for each position are located at the end of this section.
Pos. W/RS10/UNU-EHS: Water policy and regional planning in Vietnam. The research
will focus on the ways in which water resources are managed and governed on different
societal levels and in different sub-sectors of the water sector. The objective will be to
describe an overarching picture of various organizations, institutions (values, norms, rules,
laws and law enforcement), and interest groups that are of prime importance within
organizations. Empirical research is necessary in order to assess the complexity of the
current situation, the organizational structure and institutional plurality of the water sector and
their (overlapping?) responsibilities, concurrent competencies and competing interests with
regard to water resources.
Pos. W/RS11/UNU-EHS: Knowledge systems and knowledge dissemination processesin selected organizations in the water sector in the Mekong Delta. One of the major
objectives will be the analysis of the transfer of data and knowledge between the involved
organizations and relevant stakeholders. To contribute to this objective socio-scientific
research will have to devise strategies for knowledge sharing that take the specific
institutional and political nature of the water sector into consideration. A knowledge transfer
strategy that solely focuses at the national water administration and water experts fails to
account for the heterogeneity and complexity of the institutional and socio-political context of
the water sector. The following aspects are of relevance:
ó¢ Where can you find/get which information and how is it made available/accessible to
users?
ó¢ Which institutions willingly share their information with others? and for what reasons?
ó¢ How and why is access to information controlled?
Pos. W/RS12/UNU-EHS: Water and livelihood strategies in the Mekong Delta. Priority of
the research proposal is the analysis of the socio-economic impact of water and resource
management in the region. There is a need to understand the diversity of livelihoods and
livelihood strategies and how they are shaped by both, environmental and demographic
changes and the ongoing political and institutional transformation process.
Pos. W/RS13/UNU-EHS: Local knowledge and resources management in the MekongDelta. In this research project, different knowledge systems according to different types of
water use at the local level will be investigated. It is understood that local knowledge systems
are also shaped by water policies and other larger social forces and change processes. One
element of the local knowledge system, which will deserve further attention, is the knowledge
of local rights and norms. In relation to water the following four dimensions have to be
studied:
·What are the different forms of water use?
·What are the water needs?
·Which water rights (legal entitlements) currently exists?
·How is water allocated?
Pos. W/RS14/UNU-EHS: Strategic groups and power relations in the water sector. One
of the major objectives will be the analysis of the transfer of data and knowledge between the
involved organizations and relevant stakeholders. To contribute to this objective strategic
groups and strategic networks and their interest in the water sector have to be examined.
$-1ó¢ To what extent do power relations develop in knowledge management?
ó¢ Which are the important strategic groups and their interests in the water sector?
ó¢ Which are the relevant members of the civil society that have to be included in
knowledge exchange and decision support processes? What kind of framework has
to be created to allow for inclusive strategies of knowledge exchange?
Specific requirements for all ZEF positions: relevant Masters degree in geography, sociology,
Southeast Asian studies or development studies. Previous experience in Vietnam preferred.
Good command of Vietnamese required for Pos. W11 and W14. Basic knowledge of
Vietnamese is desirable for Pos. W10, W12, W13. Potential candidates for all positions
hosted by ZEF are asked to write a 1-2 page essay about their motivation to join the project
and first ideas about the PhD topic. All candidates need to be ready to participate in
ZEFòùs PhD programme.
General requirements for all positions
The scholarships are available for a fixed, non-renewable three year period. Start of work
should be as soon as possible after appointment. In addition to the specific requirements
listed above, all positions require an excellent command of English (spoken and written) and
knowledge of German and/or Vietnamese would be a distinct advantage. Candidates should
be able to work within established research teams but also to carry our research
independently. Candidates should be ready to split their time between duty stations in
Vietnam and Germany.
Applications must be completed online from the UNU-EHS website
(http://www.ehs.unu.edu/category:47) only. Applications sent via post or email will not be
considered. For any urgent practical issues regarding the application process please contact
Mrs. Carlota Schneider (HRApplications@ehs.unu.edu). Suitably qualified women
candidates are particularly encouraged to apply. Only short-listed candidates will be
contacted; unsuccessful applications can neither be acknowledged nor returned.
Von:
Carlota Schneider
HRApplications@ehs.unu.edu
UNITED NATIONS UNIVERSITY Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS)
D-53113 Bonn, Germany
Ansprechpartner: Carlota Schneider, HRApplications@ehs.unu.edu
SCIENCE-JOBS-DE
