FOR5903 - Stellenausschreibungen

Launching research on “Sustainable Rurbanity”

Global urbanisation processes increasingly elude the conventional rural-urban dichotomy. They give rise to structures and processes that transcend space and scale, creating new realities that we term “rurbanity”. The DFG-funded Research Unit FOR5903, “Sustainable Rurbanity - Resources, Society, and Regulatory Systems”, starting by October 1, 2025, will employ a novel analytical framework and highly interdisciplinary collaboration to tackle rurbanity processes in an international setting with target regions in India, Ghana, and Morocco. Our approach shall lead to a comprehensive understanding of complex, dynamic rurbanity phenomena and their sustainability potential.

Application deadlines are specified by position, starting from 24.07.2025. Extensive field work in the target countries and fluency in English are required for the announced positions. The Universities of Kassel and Göttingen, as well as all other participating institutions, are equal opportunity employers and aim to increase the proportion of women in research and teaching. Qualified women are therefore explicitly invited to apply. In case of equal qualification, physically challenged persons will be given preferential consideration. Applications shall contain (in a single pdf file) a one-page letter of interest, a tabular CV, copies of all university degrees, and full contact details of two referees.

Please note: In the list below, links and downloads to the individual announcements get activated when the advertisement is published at the respective home institution. If the announcement you are interested in is not yet available, visit this page again later.

Cluster A: Rurban land use and its social-ecological drivers

 

Project A01

RurbanAgroforestry - Effects of tree-based agriculture on ecosystem services supply, distribution, and access in a rurban environment

Michael Wachendorf, Grassland Science and Renewable Plant Resources, Kassel-Witzenhausen:
Doctoral position (EN/DE)/>>> Download pdf (EN/DE)
Application by 28.07.2025

Tobias Plieninger, Social-Ecological Interactions in Agricultural Systems, Kassel-Witzenhausen:
Doctoral position (EN/DE)/ >>> Download pdf (EN/DE)
Application by 24.07.2025

 

Project A02

RurbanSoilFunctions - Synergies and trade-offs of soil functions in rurban spaces

Carola Paul, Forest Economics and Land Use Planning, Göttingen:
Doctoral position (EN/DE) / >>> Download pdf (EN/DE)
Application by 31.07.2025

Christine Wachendorf, Soil Science, Kassel-Witzenhausen:
Doctoral position (EN/DE) / >>> Download pdf (EN/DE)
Application by 28.07.2025

 

Project A03

RurbanPollution - Effects of rurbanity on soil quality and pollution

Matthias Gassmann, Hydrology and Substance Balance, Kassel:
Doctoral position (EN/DE)/ >>> Download pdf (EN/DE)
Application by 05.08.2025

Stephan Peth, Soil Science, Hannover:
Doctoral position / >>> Download pdf

 

Project A04

RurbanFlows - Material flows, supply chains, and ecosystem services in rurban spaces

Andreas Bürkert, Plant Production & Agroecosystems Research in the Sub-/Tropics, Kassel-Witzenhausen:
Doctoral position (EN/DE)/>>> Download pdf (EN/DE)
Application by 29.07.2025

 

Cluster B: Rurban dwelling and its social-ecological outcomes


Project B01

RurbanSpace - The social production of rurban space in Bengaluru

Christoph Dittrich, Human Geography, Göttingen
Doctoral position (EN/DE)/>>> Download pdf (EN/DE)
Application by 10.08.2025

Uwe Altrock, Urban Planning Theory, Kassel
Doctoral position (EN/DE)/>>> Download pdf (EN/DE)
Application by 01.08.2025

 

Project B02

RurbanFoodWaste - Understanding the sustainability potential of food waste as livestock feed in Indian rurban contexts

Amelie Bernzen, Economic Geography, Vechta
Doctoral position/>>> Download pdf
Application by 31.07.2025

Eva Schlecht, Animal Husbandry in the Sub-/Tropics, Kassel-Witzenhausen
Doctoral position (EN/DE)/>>> Download pdf (EN/DE)
Application by 04.08.2025

 

Project B03

RurbanLivestockSystems - Building rurban livelihoods through livestock

Nikolaus Schareika, Cultural Anthropology, Göttingen
Postdoctoral position (50%) />>> Download pdf
Doctoral position />>> Download pdf

 

Cluster C: Scaling and abstraction


Project C01

RurbanGeography - Towards a global geography of rurbanity – Developing a set of indicators to map and monitor rurban spaces

Stefan Siebert, Agronomy, Göttingen:
Doctoral position />>> Download pdf

Thomas Esch, Earth Observation, DLR Weßling:
Doctoral position />>> Download pdf