PhD Position for Research Project “Sustainable Futures for New Generations of Farmers”

Applications are invited for a 3-year PhD position in political science to be based at the Department of Political Science and Public Management at the University of Southern Denmark, Odense.

This position is part of a 3-year project “Sustainable Futures for New Generations of Farmers,” led by Vincent Charles Keating and Egon Bjørnshave Noe, funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation. Successful candidates are expected to commence their PhD studies on 1 September 2025, the start date of this project, or as agreed.

Overview of the project

Sustainable Futures for New Generations of Farmers aims to accelerate Denmark’s transition to a carbon-neutral economy by 2050, focusing on the agricultural sector, which contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. Despite recent policy successes, green policy resistance persists among farmers. This project seeks to address this resistance by shifting the focus from technological fixes to the sociological acceptance of green policies. It aims to engage young farmers’ associations to foster a pro-environmental identity among farmers.

Led by University of Southern Denmark academics Vincent Charles Keating and Egon Bjørnshave Noe; and in cooperation with Den Grønne Ungdoms bevægelse, Landbo Ungdom and L&F Centrovice; the project explores how rural identity influences resistance to carbon neutrality plans and identifies opportunities to promote the value of the green transition. The project will involve a multi-stakeholder innovation process, utilizing a framework of multiple-loop learning to encourage farmers to reflect on their relationship with climate change and policy.

The project will involve one-on-one interviews with farmers, focus group workshops, the development of future farming scenarios with young farmers and their organizations, a national conference to key stakeholders, and finally the establishment of sustainability plans and evaluate its impact on farmers’ identities and practices. By engaging young farmers and leveraging their potential as environmental stewards, the project aims to create a more inclusive and supportive environment for green policies, ultimately contributing to Denmark’s carbon neutrality goals.

What we are looking for

To qualify for this position, you will be required to have:

• Fulfilled the minimum requirements of the Scholarly Qualification Matrix at the Research Assistant/PhD level
• A Master’s degree in any field of social science
• A demonstrated interest and/or experience in rural, agricultural, and/or environmental issues
• A high proficiency in Danish, corresponding to C1 or C2 in the Common European Framework of Reference for Language 
• Good interpersonal skills to successfully engage with project participants through interviews and focus groups

The prospective candidate is expected to be engaged in all stages of the project, as outlined in the ‘overview of the project,’ in collaboration with the two project leads. 

The prospective candidate is expected to build their PhD work into the project. The subject, theory, and methods of the PhD project is up to the candidate. 

It is highly recommended that interested candidates contact one of the project leads to discuss their PhD proposal prior to application, to ensure that there is reasonable alignment between their proposal and the deliverables required by the Novo Nordisk Foundation.

About the Research Environment

As a PhD candidate, you will be based in Odense as a member of the International and Regional Politics group and affiliated with the Danish Center for Rural Research. The International and Regional Politics group lies within the Department of Political Science and Public Management. It specializes in research on international politics and security, border region studies, and rural studies, and is comprised of staff from our Odense, Sønderborg, and Esbjerg campuses. The research environment is problem-driven and embraces theoretical and methodological diversity and multidisciplinarity.

The Department of Political Science and Public Management fosters a stimulating and inspiring environment for both faculty members and students. The department's ambition is therefore to recruit, develop, and retain talented scholars committed to both academic excellence and departmental development. Furthermore, the department wishes our staff to reflect the diversity of society and, thus, welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of personal background. For more information about the department organization, research, and teaching, please visit the department’s website. 

The Danish Center for Rural Research, based at SDU’s campus in Esbjerg, has a strong national and international profile within rural research. The Center collaborates widely with other professional environments and actors in rural areas to shed light on complex issues, providing decision-makers with knowledge of what the good life in the countryside is, and what factors are important for it to be created and maintained. The Center’s research is application-oriented for the benefit of people living and working in rural areas.

As a PhD candidate, you also have the possibility of participating in the SDU Climate Cluster. The SDU Climate Cluster is a cross-faculty research institution that aims to contribute to the reaching of climate neutrality by 2050. The ambition of the SDU Climate Cluster is to create optimal conditions for ground-breaking, excellent, and interdisciplinary research, education, and communication within the climate area. The SDU Climate Cluster works with themes such as behavior, consumption, decision-making power, innovation, design, health and the balance of nature.

Requirements and programme structure

PhD candidates follow an individual PhD plan including course work, conference participation, and teaching. One semester is typically spent at another research institution - often abroad. The scholarship carries a monthly salary including pension plus office facilities and financial support for conference travels and research visits abroad. Conditions of employment will be in accordance with the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and AC, the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations for academics in the Danish state.

If selected for the position, you will be enrolled in the PhD programme in Political Science. Applications are invited from candidates with a master's degree (the 5+3 programme over 3 years). Employment as a salaried PhD student is governed by the agreement of December 20, 2021 on the collective agreement for academics in the state - appendix 5, protocol on PhD Research Fellows.

For further information about the PhD programme, please contact the Department of Political Science and Public Management PhD coordinator, Professor Arjen van Dalen, phone +45 6550 4417, e-mail [email protected].

For further information about the research project, please contact Associate Professor Vincent Charles Keating +45 6550 3340, e-mail [email protected] or Professor Egon Bjørnshave Noe +45 6550 3613, e-mail [email protected].

 

Application and assessment process

An application must include:

• Application form
• A PhD project proposal of no more than 12,000 characters in total, including spaces, notes, appendices, bibliography etc. The project description must be anonymized, i.e. it may not reveal your name or identity in any way. The total number of characters including spaces of the project description must be stated on the first page of the project description.
• An abstract for the above project description of no more than 250 words, to be submitted on a separate sheet/page.
• A detailed CV (max. 2 pages)
• A copy of your master's degree certificate including all examination results.
• A copy of your bachelor's degree certificate.
• A document detailing any experience with teaching, dissemination, or scientific publication, if applicable.

Please note that reference letters are not needed for application. 

The project proposal and the project abstract must be written in English. All non-Danish documents must be translated into English.

Documents should not contain a CPR number (civil registration number) – in this case, the CPR number must be crossed out.

Applications that are incomplete with regard to the above requirements may be rejected without any substantive evaluation.

Shortlisting may be used in the assessment process.

Shortlisted applications will be assessed by an internal committee. When the assessment committee has submitted its report, the candidate will receive the part of the evaluation that concerns them. The assessment report is subsequently forwarded to the Head of Department who assembles an appointment committee and determines if one or more of the qualified applicants should be invited to a job interview. The appointment committee will manage and complete job interviews and advise the Head of Department on which candidate(s) should be offered appointment.

Applications must be submitted electronically using the link “Apply now” through our website. All files must be in Adobe PDF format. 

Application deadline: 15 May 2025, 23:59 CET.

Read the guideline for applicants.

If you experience technical problems when submitting your application, please contact [email protected] before the application deadline. 

We recommend that as an international applicant, you take the time to visit Work in Denmark where you will find information and facts about moving to, working and living in Denmark, as well as the International Staff Office at SDU.

About SDU

The University of Southern Denmark was established to create value for and with society. Whether our contributions come in the form of excellent research, innovative solutions, education or learning, we must make a positive difference to society and contribute to a sustainable future. We do this by cultivating talents and creating the best environments for research and learning. It is therefore crucial that SDU retains, develops and recruits talent. At the same time, we need to ensure consistently high quality in all our activities – and we can only do that with the right people. The University’s researchers, lecturers, students, managers and technical/administrative staff are the foundation of our success.