PhD fellowship in Organic Agri-Food System Transition fra Roskilde Universitet
Department of People & Technology, Roskilde University, invites applicants for a PhD fellowship in Organic Agri-Food System Transition, with a focus on mapping organic food value networks, stakeholder interests, lock-ins, and potential drivers of change to improve local economies focusing on small-scale, multi-functional farmer networks. The PhD fellowship is part of the research project InnOFoodLabs (Innovative, locally-driven, multi-actor Organic Food Labs), which is financed by Horizon EU and Roskilde University.
Start date is 1st October 2025 or as soon as possible thereafter.
Description of the PhD project
The PhD project is an integrated part of the EU Horizon project InnOFoodLabs where Roskilde University has partnered up with Økologisk Samsø organizing a Living Lab in cooperation with interested local and regional agents. The Økologisk Samsø Living Lab will be designed and founded through participatory processes based on ongoing and planned activities in close cooperation between partners in InnOFoodLabs and partners in Økologisk Samsø. The aim of the InnOFoodLabs is to accelerate the transformation of the agri-food systems by overcoming barriers and lock-ins and mobilizing agri-food stakeholders to collaborate on organic transitioning of the Samsø Agri-Food System.
The work entails using qualitative methods to map the interests and connections of all relevant stakeholders at multi levels, covering horizontal and vertical actor networks, including tourism sector, municipality and across the agri-food value chain to public and private consumers. On this basis, analysis will focus on barriers and lock-ins that hinder actors and actor groups from contributing to the transition, as well as the identification of potential drivers for change. Part of the mapping will be done via participatory methods, where the PhD will also do follow-up interviews and surveys. Facilitation and documentation of the LL will be an integral part of the PhD project. The work also entails gathering quantitative data for tasks within parallel work packages of the EU project.
As Roskilde University is the Danish university partner in InnOFoodLabs the PhD candidate is going to be embedded in a dynamic international agri-food system research community. This entails participation in methodological discussions and developments, data sharing and field studies with relation to the other Living Labs and work packages in the project.
Who are we looking for?
We are looking for candidates with a master’s degree in the field(s) of food studies, socio-technology, sociology of food and agriculture, integrated food studies, or other relevant programmes. The candidate should have documented training and experience using qualitative social science methods. It is preferable for the candidate to have experience in analyzing agri-food transition issues and it will be beneficial with experiences from conducting data collection and analysis from international research cooperation.
As the PhD student must conduct qualitative interviews and undertake fieldwork with people living in Denmark, it is a prerequisite that the applicant speak Danish.
Our group and research- and what do we offer?
The InnOFoodLabs project is a collobaoration between 24 European partners and IMT, Roskilde University represented by InnOFoodLabs PI Professor Niels Heine Kristensen and Associate Professor Stine Rosenlund Hansen, both at the Section of Sustainability, Cities and Planning at RUC. The PhD will be working closely with the Samsø partnership and the InnOFoodLabs project team while being embedded in the food studies and food systems research group in the Section of Sustainability, Cities and Planning.
The Section of Sustainability, Cities and Planning is a part of Department of People & Technology, Roskilde University and a leading section on interdisciplinary perspectives on sustainable transition in society and its actor networks. The section has a leading role in international research in sustainable agri-food systems through which the PhD fellow will benefit from being embedded in dynamic and stimulating working conditions with strong ties to international research environments.
The Doctoral School
You will be enrolled as a PhD student at the Doctoral School of People and Technology.
The Doctoral School for People and Technology frames research that seek to address sustainability often by applying experimental approaches and situated knowledge and contexts to the study.
The PhD programme in Society, Space and Technology is a researcher education programme within the Department of People and Technology. It is mainly connected to the master degree programmes in Sustainable Transitions and Urban Planning. The programme is based on a multidisciplinary approach to research and academically it spans social sciences and the arts, natural science and technology, with a predominant emphasis on the social sciences. Read more here: https://ruc.dk/en/phd-programme-society-space-and-technology
As a PhD student you will be associated with the research area food studies and food systems research group TRANSITIONS. Read more here https://forskning.ruc.dk/da/organisations/transitions
Responsibilities and tasks
The PhD position is an educational position, and the main tasks are in accordance with chapter 3, Ministerial Order on the PhD Programme at the Universities and Certain Higher Artistic Educational Institutions (https://ufm.dk/en/legislation/prevailing-laws-and-regulations/education/files/engelsk-ph-d-bekendtgorelse.pdf).
Qualifications
You must hold a master’s degree or equivalent within sustainability transitions. Qualifications within the following areas are required
You are required to be enterprising and to possess good communication skills and to be a visible, involved participant in the department’s daily activities, in addition to being willing to engage in disciplinary and interdisciplinary collaboration across the department.
Assessment
In the assessment regarding employment consideration will be given to;
In the assessment regarding enrollment consideration will also be given to the following criteria:
Questions
For further information about the position, please contact Professor Niels Heine Kristensen, nheinek@ruc.dk, or Associate Professor Stine Rosenlund Hansen, stroha@ruc.dk.
Terms of employment
The employment is on full time 3 years, and you will refer to Head of Department at IMT, Peter Kjær.
The position will be filled according to the Agreement between the Danish Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC) and Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities.
Application procedure
After the deadline for applications the Dean will shortlist applicants for assessment with assistance from the recruitment committee including the chairperson of the assessment committee.
Shortly after the application deadline all applicants will be notified whether or not their application has been selected for assessment.
The shortlisted applicants will be informed about the composition of the assessment committee, and each applicant will be given the opportunity to comment on the composition of the committee and - later on - their assessment.
Once the recruitment process is completed, all applicants will be informed of the outcome of their application.
Application
To apply for the position go to www.ruc.dk/en/job/
Only applications in English are accepted.
Applications must include:
1. Cover letter
2. CV
3. Documentation of education including grades from Master’s programme or equivalent
4. Your description of the PhD project
5. Your time schedule of the PhD project
6. If applicable: Documentation for any research experience, work experience or publications.
Please submit your application no later than 27 May 2025.
Material received after this date will not be taken into consideration.
Roskilde University wishes to reflect the diversity of society and welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of personal background.
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Department of People & Technology, Roskilde University, invites applicants for a PhD fellowship in Organic Agri-Food System Transition, with a focus on mapping organic food value networks, stakeholder interests, lock-ins, and potential drivers of change to improve local economies focusing on small-scale, multi-functional farmer networks. The PhD fellowship is part of the research project InnOFoodLabs (Innovative, locally-driven, multi-actor Organic Food Labs), which is financed by Horizon EU and Roskilde University.
Start date is 1st October 2025 or as soon as possible thereafter.
Description of the PhD project
The PhD project is an integrated part of the EU Horizon project InnOFoodLabs where Roskilde University has partnered up with Økologisk Samsø organizing a Living Lab in cooperation with interested local and regional agents. The Økologisk Samsø Living Lab will be designed and founded through participatory processes based on ongoing and planned activities in close cooperation between partners in InnOFoodLabs and partners in Økologisk Samsø. The aim of the InnOFoodLabs is to accelerate the transformation of the agri-food systems by overcoming barriers and lock-ins and mobilizing agri-food stakeholders to collaborate on organic transitioning of the Samsø Agri-Food System.
The work entails using qualitative methods to map the interests and connections of all relevant stakeholders at multi levels, covering horizontal and vertical actor networks, including tourism sector, municipality and across the agri-food value chain to public and private consumers. On this basis, analysis will focus on barriers and lock-ins that hinder actors and actor groups from contributing to the transition, as well as the identification of potential drivers for change. Part of the mapping will be done via participatory methods, where the PhD will also do follow-up interviews and surveys. Facilitation and documentation of the LL will be an integral part of the PhD project. The work also entails gathering quantitative data for tasks within parallel work packages of the EU project.
As Roskilde University is the Danish university partner in InnOFoodLabs the PhD candidate is going to be embedded in a dynamic international agri-food system research community. This entails participation in methodological discussions and developments, data sharing and field studies with relation to the other Living Labs and work packages in the project.
Who are we looking for?
We are looking for candidates with a master’s degree in the field(s) of food studies, socio-technology, sociology of food and agriculture, integrated food studies, or other relevant programmes. The candidate should have documented training and experience using qualitative social science methods. It is preferable for the candidate to have experience in analyzing agri-food transition issues and it will be beneficial with experiences from conducting data collection and analysis from international research cooperation.
As the PhD student must conduct qualitative interviews and undertake fieldwork with people living in Denmark, it is a prerequisite that the applicant speak Danish.
Our group and research- and what do we offer?
The InnOFoodLabs project is a collobaoration between 24 European partners and IMT, Roskilde University represented by InnOFoodLabs PI Professor Niels Heine Kristensen and Associate Professor Stine Rosenlund Hansen, both at the Section of Sustainability, Cities and Planning at RUC. The PhD will be working closely with the Samsø partnership and the InnOFoodLabs project team while being embedded in the food studies and food systems research group in the Section of Sustainability, Cities and Planning.
The Section of Sustainability, Cities and Planning is a part of Department of People & Technology, Roskilde University and a leading section on interdisciplinary perspectives on sustainable transition in society and its actor networks. The section has a leading role in international research in sustainable agri-food systems through which the PhD fellow will benefit from being embedded in dynamic and stimulating working conditions with strong ties to international research environments.
The Doctoral School
You will be enrolled as a PhD student at the Doctoral School of People and Technology.
The Doctoral School for People and Technology frames research that seek to address sustainability often by applying experimental approaches and situated knowledge and contexts to the study.
The PhD programme in Society, Space and Technology is a researcher education programme within the Department of People and Technology. It is mainly connected to the master degree programmes in Sustainable Transitions and Urban Planning. The programme is based on a multidisciplinary approach to research and academically it spans social sciences and the arts, natural science and technology, with a predominant emphasis on the social sciences. Read more here: https://ruc.dk/en/phd-programme-society-space-and-technology
As a PhD student you will be associated with the research area food studies and food systems research group TRANSITIONS. Read more here https://forskning.ruc.dk/da/organisations/transitions
Responsibilities and tasks
The PhD position is an educational position, and the main tasks are in accordance with chapter 3, Ministerial Order on the PhD Programme at the Universities and Certain Higher Artistic Educational Institutions (https://ufm.dk/en/legislation/prevailing-laws-and-regulations/education/files/engelsk-ph-d-bekendtgorelse.pdf).
Qualifications
You must hold a master’s degree or equivalent within sustainability transitions. Qualifications within the following areas are required
- Knowledge of sustainability transitions, food studies, sociology of food and agriculture, and/or similar
- Good competences in qualitative social science methods, e.g. interviews and/or fieldwork
- Relevant work experience,
- Other relevant professional activities
- Curious mind-set with a strong interest in agri-food sustainability transition
- Comfortable in working independently
- Good cooperation skills, including with international researchers
- Good language skills in Danish and English
You are required to be enterprising and to possess good communication skills and to be a visible, involved participant in the department’s daily activities, in addition to being willing to engage in disciplinary and interdisciplinary collaboration across the department.
Assessment
In the assessment regarding employment consideration will be given to;
- Relevant Master’s degree or equivalent (according to Danish Qualifications Framework for Higher Education: https://ufm.dk/en/education/recognition-and-transparency/transparency-tools/qualifications-frameworks/other-qualifications-frameworks/danish-qf-for-higher-education?set_language=en&cl=en).
- Any additional academic requirements stated in the job advertisement.
In the assessment regarding enrollment consideration will also be given to the following criteria:
- Educational skills and any further professional qualifications
- Grades at Master’s programme or equivalent
- Quality and relevance of the project description
- Considerations regarding ethical aspects shall be included in your project description
- Your project description shall be no more than 5 pages
- Quality and relevance of the methodical and theoretical choices
- Consistency and coherence between the problem and the choice of method and theory
- If the PhD project seem realistic and feasible
- Ability to complete the PhD project
- Relevance of the project to the profile of the Doctoral School
Questions
For further information about the position, please contact Professor Niels Heine Kristensen, nheinek@ruc.dk, or Associate Professor Stine Rosenlund Hansen, stroha@ruc.dk.
Terms of employment
The employment is on full time 3 years, and you will refer to Head of Department at IMT, Peter Kjær.
The position will be filled according to the Agreement between the Danish Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC) and Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities.
Application procedure
After the deadline for applications the Dean will shortlist applicants for assessment with assistance from the recruitment committee including the chairperson of the assessment committee.
Shortly after the application deadline all applicants will be notified whether or not their application has been selected for assessment.
The shortlisted applicants will be informed about the composition of the assessment committee, and each applicant will be given the opportunity to comment on the composition of the committee and - later on - their assessment.
Once the recruitment process is completed, all applicants will be informed of the outcome of their application.
Application
To apply for the position go to www.ruc.dk/en/job/
Only applications in English are accepted.
Applications must include:
1. Cover letter
2. CV
3. Documentation of education including grades from Master’s programme or equivalent
4. Your description of the PhD project
5. Your time schedule of the PhD project
6. If applicable: Documentation for any research experience, work experience or publications.
Please submit your application no later than 27 May 2025.
Material received after this date will not be taken into consideration.
Roskilde University wishes to reflect the diversity of society and welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of personal background.
Ansøg her
Retur til søgning
