PhD Stipend in Climate change, climate policies and IPCC (20-23015)

At Aalborg University, Denmark, the Technical Faculty of IT and Design, Department of Planning, a PhD stipend is available. The stipend is open for appointment from 1 May 2023. We accept applications where the candidate can start from May-August 2023

Job description

The Department of Planning conducts research and teaching within sustainability and planning, and thereby it ranges from the social science aspects like environmental management, spatial planning, energy planning, circular economy, and land management, to technical subjects such as surveying, geoinformatics, and earth observation.

The Department has an ambition to prioritize climate change as a research agenda and in the study programme. The PhD candidate is expected to contribute to this.

The purpose of the PhD study is to carry out research in relation to the new research project Mapping the epistemic geographies of the IPCC 1990-2022 (IPCC) funded by the Danish Research Council. The project starts 1^st February 2023.

The project investigates the shift in IPCC policy framing and scenario methodology from the early reports in the beginning of the 1990s to the latest ones in 2021-22. In 1990, the report proposed CO2-reduction scenarios in relation to a business-as-usual scenario. In the latest report, that methodological approach is replaced with a set of “possible futures” scenarios without a direct link to a business-as-usual scenario and the proposed reduction tracks are composed in a very different way. The aim of the project is to identify the precise nature, root causes, and political consequences of this shift. 

The project will be led by a cross-departmental research group at Aalborg University Copenhagen.

The focus of the PhD project is to map the shifting epistemic geographies of the IPCC, particularly around the introduction of scenario modelling, and assess its science policy implications.  The PhD candidate is expected to develop his/her own research plan broadly drawing on controversy mapping methods. Focus could for example be a semantic analysis of how the SPM WGIII changes from first draft to final version, a mapping of all SPM WGIII authors and reviewers to their respective areas of expertise, funding sources, and institutional affiliations 1990-2022 and a qualitative analysis of the IPCC archive to associate changes to the way the SPM is revised with changes to the authors and reviewers involved in the revision process.

Applicants with research interests and experience in climate change and climate policy, and digital methods competences, will be prioritized.

The PhD will be partly based at the Department of Planning and partly at the Techno-Anthropology Lab at the Department of Learning & Culture, with the possibility of internationalizing with our research partners at the University of Geneva. A part of the PhD programme is to contribute to teaching topics related to the project at the Department of Planning and the Department of Culture & Learning, on bachelor as well as master levels.

You may obtain further information about the project from Associate Professor Theresa Scavenius, phone +45 30272784, email theresa@plan.aau.dk and more about the method design from Associate Professor Anders Kristian Munk, phone +45 26742979, email anderskm@ikl.aau.dk, and Professor Henning Steen Hansen, phone 9940 2406, email hsh@plan.aau.dk.

PhD stipends are allocated to individuals who hold a Master's degree. PhD stipends are normally for a period of 3 years. It is a prerequisite for allocation of the stipend that the candidate will be enrolled as a PhD student at the Technical Doctoral School of IT and Design in accordance with the regulations of Ministerial Order No. 1039 of August 27, 2013 on the PhD Programme at the Universities and Certain Higher Artistic Educational Institutions. According to the Ministerial Order, the progress of the PhD student shall be assessed at regular points in time.

Shortlisting will be applied. This means that subsequent to the deadline for applications the head of department supported by the chair of the assessment committee will select candidates for assessment. All applicants will be informed whether they will be assessed or not.

For further information about stipends and salary as well as practical issues concerning the application procedure contact Lisbeth Diinhoff , The Doctoral School at The Technical Faculty of IT and Design, email: ld@adm.aau.dk, phone: +45 9940 9589.

For more information of The Technical Doctoral School of IT and Design: www.phd.tech.aau.dk

The application is only to be submitted online by using the "Apply online" button below.

AAU wishes to reflect the diversity of society and welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of personal background or belief.

Agreement

Appointment and salary as a PhD fellow are according to the Ministry of Finance Circular of 15 December 2021 on the Collective Agreement for Academics in Denmark, Appendix 5, regarding PhD fellows, and with the current Circular of 11 December 2019 on the employment structure at Danish universities.

Vacancy number

20-23015

Deadline

29/03/2023

Online ansøgning - gode råd