Job description
The Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development at Utrecht University
invites highly motivated candidates for tenure-track positions to teach in
our undergraduate program Global Sustainability Science. You will teach
courses in one of the four study tracks:
1. Water, Climate & Ecosystems
2. Energy & Resources
3. Governance & Societal Transformation
4. Sustainable Business & Innovation.
You may also teach courses in English in other undergraduate and graduate
programs of the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development.
Next to teaching, you are expected to be talented in research. You are also
expected to develop an internationally renowned research line and to
acquire new research funds. Coaching and supervising PhD students is also
one of your responsibilities. Your time will be split between teaching
(60%) and research (40%).
1. Water, Climate & Ecosystems (2 positions)
This track deals with the processes within natural systems (soil,
vegetation and atmosphere). We are interested in the interaction between
humans and the environment, taking into account the nutrient and water
cycle, in order to develop sustainable solutions for water management,
nature management and restoration, and land use for different purposes,
such as food production or energy-crop cultivation while maintaining its
biodiversity.
You have (1) a strong background in understanding (future) land use change
and the impact this has on climate, the biosphere, and on water and
nutrient cycles. We encourage applications from candidates with background
in GIS, remote sensing and have demonstrated capacity to work with global
databases or (2) a strong background in environmental hydrology and water
management within the framework of sustainable development, including
possible technological mitigation options. We encourage applications from
candidates with affinity for environmental research (water quantity, water
quality and water-environment-human interactions) and preferable a
combination of experimental, field and modelling work. You will be
positioned in the research section Environmental Science headed by Prof
Martin Wassen.
2. Energy & Resources (2 positions)
This track deals with the transition towards a sustainable energy and
resources system. We define ourselves by stating that “the energy
transition is our topic”. We take a truly interdisciplinary approach to
energy and resources science, combining deep technical understanding with
assessments of technology, techno-economic and life cycles of specific
technologies with energy and resources system studies. Since we view the
transition as a challenge at the system level we investigate five main
aspects on that level: bio-based economy, industrial energy, materials and
the circular economy, carbon capture and storage, energy efficiency, and
renewable electricity and smart grids for the built environment.
We welcome applications from excellent educators and scientists in any of
these areas, but we are particularly, but not exclusively, looking for
candidates in the areas of energy systems modelling and the circular
economy. You should be able to articulate a scientific aim for their
personal research agenda in the societal context of the energy and resource
transition. You will be positioned in the research section Energy and
Resources headed by Prof Gert Jan Kramer.
3. Governance & Societal transformation (2 positions)
This track deals with different modes of environmental governance
(institutional design and effectiveness), normative foundations of
governance (such as social justice and democratic legitimacy) and
governance of societal transformations. We expect you to bring broad
expertise (as evidenced by key publications and/or successful acquisition
activities) on these themes. Empirically, you will have strong affinity
with governance challenges in fields such as climate change mitigation and
adaptation, sustainable production, biodiversity conservation, water
management and/or sustainable urban development.
In addition, our research program on environmental governance supports in
all of its activities a transformative vision of change, expecting faculty
members to engage in fresh thinking that goes beyond existing political
institutions and governance systems, which have failed so far to address
the fundamental sustainability challenges of our time. You will be
positioned in the research section Environmental Governance headed by Prof
Peter Driessen.
4. Sustainable Business & Innovation (3 positions)
This track focuses on the strategies of firms in relation to sustainability
challenges. There is a specific interest in the role of sustainable
innovation and how this may accelerate sustainability transitions. You hold
a doctoral degree (PhD) that is related to the field of Business
Administration, Innovation Management, Change Management, Organization
studies or a related discipline. You have a proven affinity with
sustainable businesses, examples include: sustainability performance
indicators, sustainable business models or sustainable innovation /
transitions; have a proven affinity with prominent theories of the firm
and/or organizational change, examples include the resource based view,
institutional theory, stakeholder management, or theories about leadership
in change. You will be positioned in the research section Innovation
Studies headed by Prof Marko Hekkert.
5. Interdisciplinary positions: Sustainability Science (2 positions)
We search for two assistant professors who are able to bridge different
disciplines within the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, and
who are able to teach courses in which students are trained to carry out
inter- and transdisciplinary projects. Contributing to the general courses
on mathematics and statistics is highly appreciated.
For these positions, we invite you as someone with a wide variety of
backgrounds, e.g. integrated assessment methods, social-ecological (or
human-environmental) systems, transition studies, environmental impact
assessment, industrial ecology or energy-water-food nexus, sustainability
science, societal transformations, or complexity problems using big data
(for example global and national datasets and new emerging data sets from
citizen science and crowd-sourcing). We are also open for candidates with
other backgrounds but with the capability to connect the different fields
related to sustainability research. Successful candidates can be
positioned in any of the four research sections of the Copernicus Institute
depending on main research interest.
Application deadline:
The application deadline for all positions is January 15, 2018.
Additional information
Further information about the positions, including information about how to
apply, can be found at:
http://www.peoplexs.com/Peoplexs22/CandidatesPortalNoLogin/Vacancy.cfm?
PortalID=4124&VacatureID=950411
Further inquiries regarding these positions can be addressed to the
following members of the Search Committees:
1. Water, Climate & Ecosystems – Prof Max Rietkerk, [email protected]
2. Energy & Resources – Prof Gert Jan Kramer, [email protected]
3. Governance & Societal Transformation – Prof Peter Driessen,
[email protected]
4. Sustainable Business & Innovation– Prof Frank van Rijnsoever,
[email protected]
5. Interdisciplinary positions: Sustainability Science – Prof Ellen Moors,
[email protected]
