Doctoral researcher ‘Human-nature relationships at Mount Kilimanjaro’ (m/f/d)
Reference number: L 33 32 05 25
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With about 17,000 students, more than 300 professorships and around 160 degree programs, the University of Kaiserslautern-Landau (RPTU) is the technical university of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. As a place of top international research, it offers excellent working conditions and career opportunities. Those who study, research or work at RPTU experience a cosmopolitan environment and shape the future.
We are offering a doctoral researcher position in the research group Human Geography as part of the DFG-funded research unit ‘The role of nature for human well-being in the Kilimanjaro social-ecological system' (https://kili-ses.senckenberg.de/en/home). This interdisciplinary research unit aims to understand interactions and feedback loops between people and nature in the Mount Kilimanjaro region in Tanzania. The PhD project focuses on investigating how people in this area perceive nature’s contributions to people (NCP), and how this perception influences their attitudes towards biodiversity in general and towards specific types of animals and plants in particular. A major goal will be to understand how accurately people perceive key beneficial and detrimental NCP provided by bats (seed dispersal and disease transmission), and how this influences their relationship with these animals.
The advertised position provides an opportunity:
- to pursue a doctorate in an attractive academic environment as part of an interdisciplinary research project at the forefront of human-nature interactions research
- to contribute to developing approaches aimed at fostering sustainable relationships between people and nature
- to be part of an interdisciplinary research unit comprising research institutions across Germany, Tanzania, and beyond, and an international team of researchers from various research disciplines and career stages
- for exchange with other PhD students and early-career postdocs in regularly occurring seminars and workshops
Your area of responsibility:
- Plan and conduct field work together with field assistants. This includes conducting face-to-face interviews and surveys in the Mount Kilimanjaro area
- Develop questionnaires based on literature review
- Analyze collected data
- Publish research findings in peer-reviewed, international journals
- Actively participate in and contribute to the research unit and the research group Human Geography
Your requirements profile:
- completed, very good Bachelor's AND Master's degree in a relevant discipline, e.g., geography, sociology, ecology, sustainability science, wildlife management
- interest in interdisciplinary, social-ecological research
- quantitative analysis skills, preferably in R
- very good English oral and writing skills
- willingness to move to Germany and have a place of residence in or nearby Landau
- willingness to spend several months on the field station at Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
- willingness to learn new techniques for data collection and data analyses
- ability to deal with challenging environmental conditions; ability to walk in steep, unpaved terrain
- willingness to learn Swahili
- willingness to learn German
The following skills and experience are of advantage:
- experience analyzing qualitative interview data (e.g., using MaxQDA)
- having lived and worked in African countries and/or abroad
- having published in international journals
- experience with interdisciplinary research and teams
- speaking Swahili
- basic German skills
We offer:
Health promotion
Family Service Center
Vocational Training
Flexible working hour and
home office
Jobticket
Retirement provision
Sport & Fitness programms
Culture & Leisure offers
Local recreation in the Palatinate Forest
RPTU stands for diversity among all employees. We welcome applications from all interested parties, regardless of their ethnic and social origin, age, religion, gender, disability and sexual orientation or identity. Preference will be given to severely disabled persons and persons equivalent to them if they have the appropriate qualifications and suitability.
The RPTU aims to increase the proportion of women in areas where women are underrepresented. Applications from researchers from abroad are expressly encouraged. The appointment will be subject to the German law on fixed-term contracts in science (WissZeitVG).
Your application:
We look forward to receiving your detailed application by 08.06.2025 at the latest. Your application should be a single pdf document including a letter of motivation (max. 2 pages), a CV, degree certificates, a PDF copy of your Master thesis and/or relevant publications, and contact information for two people who can offer a reference (e.g., former supervisors).
Please submit your application using the "Online Bewerbung" button below or via our application portal (https://jobs.rptu.de).
For further questions, please contact Dr. Lisa Lehnen (e-mail: lisa.lehnen@rptu.de).
