Postdoc scholarship

CLIFOOD offers a post-doctoral scholarship for an outstanding scientist from Ethiopia or the East African region to undertake research and teaching at Hawassa University, Ethiopia.

The successful candidate will work with the academic staff of Hawassa University to carry out 2 years of research on a defined topic (see Research Topics section). The candidate will also be involved in teaching and training activities at Hawassa University.

The scholarship includes:

• An award for staying at Hawassa University, Ethiopia.
• The monthly scholarship is EUR 650, including health and liability insurance.
• Travel costs to and from Hawassa University (one round trip) will be covered.

Inter-regional South-South cooperation with institutions in other East African countries will be encouraged. The CLIFOOD project will provide limited research funding. The main objective of the collaboration is to review, summarize and extract the main results of the publications of all CLIFOOD PhD students and to communicate the results in peer-reviewed publications. Interdisciplinary research cooperation with all CLIFOOD subprojects at Hawassa University and the University of Hohenheim is encouraged. The detailed research objectives are as follows:

1. Review publications of all CLIFOOD PhD students and summarize their specific contributions to food security, climate change, and the achievement of the SDGs, with a focus on the Ethiopian context.
2. Writing scientific papers (peer-reviewed publications) of cross-cutting topics from CLIFOOD Phase I and II publications.
3. Produce working papers or manuals (in English and/or local language) on best practices that can be put into practice by development practitioners (government, NGO or farmers) to improve food security and/or mitigate climate change impacts.
4. Produce brochures to promote and disseminate/scale identified best practices, to support wider adoption and awareness.
5. Developing policy briefs to address policy bottlenecks and lobby for policy reforms by organizing forums for policy dialogue and disseminating the briefs to relevant organizations.
6. Developing a database of CLIFOOD (and related) publications for use by the CLIFOOD team and other stakeholders.
7. Laying the foundation for the establishment of a ‘Centre for Food Security and Climate Change’ (CFSCC) at Hawassa University to ensure sustainability and progress of CLIFOOD project outcomes in the long term.

Furthermore, the candidate is expected to:

1. Present her/his research at partner seminars, lecture series and/or workshops.
2. Participate in structured block seminars on CLIFOOD-related topics and soft skills courses.
3. Participate in teaching and training activities related to research topics at graduate and/or postgraduate level at Hawassa University.
4. Establish active and ongoing collaboration with the funded researchers and their home institutions, as well as with the SDG Graduate School network through an interactive alumni network.

Criteria for getting selected for CLIFOOD scholarship:

1. Excellent academic record and demonstrated excellence in at least one of the following areas (MSc. with CGPA of 3.0 or above, or its equivalent): agricultural sciences, natural resource management, rural development, food security, climate change or a related disciplines with in-depth knowledge of the announced theme.
2. PhD in agricultural sciences, natural resource management, rural development, food security, climate change, or a related discipline; very good dissertation performance/grades.
3. Excellent computer skills, experience with research data bases and server support/management.
4. Excellent command of written and spoken English.

Furthermore, the applicant must

1. be able to conduct innovative research;
2. have excellent interpersonal skills and team spirit;
3. be able and willing to work in an interdisciplinary, multicultural environment with individuals from diverse scientific, social, and cultural backgrounds, as well as with organizations from the public, private, and civic sectors;
4. be available for the entire postdoctoral scholarship period of 1.5 -2 years;
5. be a national of one of the Eastern African Countries;
6. confirm that the last degree (doctorate) was obtained no more than 2 years ago at the time of application submission.

Research topic CLIFOOD PostDoc-02-HU

Please see the checklist and collect all the mentioned required documents listed in it, before starting the application. Please use the templates which are available for download below. Please note, that all application documents must be submitted in English.

Templates

• Abstract of Ph.D. Dissertation
• Postdoc Research Proposal
• Recommendation Letter 1
• Recommendation Letter 2

 

All accepted applications will be selected according to the following criteria:

• Fulfillment of the announcement criteria;
• Quality of proposal and project feasibility;
• Only those applications will be accepted which are submitted using the CLIFOOD’s application templates (see above);
• The selected applicant will be contacted via email after the selection process.

Important Dates

1. Application deadline: April 2, 2023, 23:59 (CET)
2. Selection of candidates: During April and May 2023
3. Announcement of results: Early June
4. Start of the scholarships: August 1, 2023

 Apply online now!