The University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) has put out a call for a PhD candidate for the Oppenheimer Generations Future Ecosystems for Africa (FEFA) programme.
“FEFA aims to drive policy strategies to enhance the resilience of African ecosystems, and the wellbeing of its people through thought-leadership and evidence-based research on the continent. The PhD candidate will be expected to develop a project in line with Work Package 1: Futures thinking for identifying vulnerabilities / tipping points and leveraging opportunities for African informed transformative change,” reads a release issued by Wits.
With global warming worsening every year this kind of focus on the ecosystem is more important than ever, especially here in Africa where we may not get the focus or funding that other more developed nations may enjoy.
More details about this programme can be found in this release PDF and the criteria for applicants as well as contact details can be found below.
Minimum requirements:
- MSc in Sustainability Science, Geography, Environmental Science, Development
studies or a related field - Experience working on inter-disciplinary projects, preferably across the sciences and
humanities - Experience with and a keen interest to work on impact-driven projects on the African continent
Additional requirements:
Experience with the following would be advantageous:
- Facilitation, especially using scenarios and other futures techniques
- Qualitative data analysis
- Quantitative data analysis
- Evidence of having published in peer-reviewed journals
- A thoughtful engagement with theories of sustainability transformations and transdisciplinary research
Duties and Expectations:
- Complete a PhD within 4 years;
- Publish focused and high quality research;
- Undertake other activities related to the academic programme and the professional
development of the individual; - Help to coordinate diverse activities across the FEFA WP 1
Contact:
To apply, please send the following to Jacqui.coelho[at]wits[dot]ac[dot]za:
- a letter of motivation,
- your CV,
- a 1 page project proposal outline, drawing on the description of the project above,
and - a sample of written work
[Image – CC Ulrike Leone on Pixabay]