Uppsala university, The Department of Earth Sciences

PhD student, Uppsala University’s interdisciplinary graduate school in Sustainable Development (Nature-based sustainable tourism)

The Department of Earth Sciences at Uppsala University conducts education at the undergraduate, advanced and doctoral levels, as well as research and has operations in two locations, in Uppsala and in Visby. The PhD position is located at Campus Gotland in Visby within the research program Natural Resources and Sustainable Development (NRHU). At Campus Gotland, NRHU research focuses on, among other things, recreational fisheries, nature-based tourism, ecosystem services and coastal zone management. NRHU is responsible for courses in the Bachelor programme in Environmental Science and the master program in Sustainable Destination Development at Campus Gotland. For more information: http://www.geo.uu.se/research/natural-resources-sustainable-development/.

Uppsala University is establishing a new graduate school in sustainable development. The main mission of the graduate school is to conduct research based on key social challenges, where local relevance meets international excellence. The research will include changed energy systems, sustainable consumption and destinations development, and will address significant issues such as conservation and change, as well as the definition and management of resources. The graduate school is rooted in ongoing interdisciplinary collaborations in research and education, conducted in an international environment. Uppsala University Campus Gotland, where the graduate school is located, is a hub for the University's research and education in sustainability. We work with international partners, visiting researchers and local stakeholders with a special focus on knowledge development to meet the changes needed for sustainable development. As a PhD student, you will be part of this interdisciplinary research environment. You will also benefit from the courses, seminars and first-class doctoral supervision offered at the graduate school.

Duties/Project description: This PhD project deals with Sustainable destination development, a field of research that with a strong sustainability perspective and systems´ thinking explores how destinations both can contribute to and be affected by sustainable visits and sustainable places of visits. Within the graduate school, this theme will be explored in three PhD projects with different orientations.

This PhD project focuses on Nature-based sustainable tourism and is placed within the research program Natural Resources and Sustainable Development (NRHU), Department of Earth Sciences. There are a number of environmental sustainability challenges in nature-based tourism. Some of the most central environmental problems are resource consumption, climate change, pollution, damage to ecosystems, loss of ecosystem services and biodiversity etc. The PhD project aims to explore the challenges and opportunities of the tourism industry in dealing with these sustainability problems through the application of sustainability labelling and ecotourism.

In recent decades, environmental certification and sustainability labelling have increasingly been launched as a market-based instrument and self-regulatory alternative to state regulation to meet global environmental problems and sustainability challenges. At the same time, ecotourism has had a significant impact and institutionalization in the tourism industry. Challenges with sustainability labelling and ecotourism are, among other things, associated with adapting international standards and regulations to local contexts, as well as the relevance and effectiveness of established standards and regulations to achieve increased sustainability. Additional key issues are the driving forces and challenges behind the tourism industry's implementation of sustainability labelling and ecotourism, as well as tourists’ perspectives on the quality of destinations' sustainability policy.

The PhD student project can advantageously make use of the supervisors' existing contact network in nature-based tourism both in Sweden and internationally. A number of case studies in various sectors of natur-based tourism can be studied through interviews and questionnaires with tourism companies and entrepreneurs as well as tourists and visitors.

Requirements: The applicant should have an MSc degree in Environmental Science/Ecology/Earth Science/Geography/Tourism studies and an interest for interdisciplinary and applied research. Personal qualities such as dedication, motivation, initiative and independence are valuable. Very good spoken and written English skills are required. Swedish language skill is a merit.

Additional qualifications: Practical experiences of survey and interview methodology as well as data analyses are particular merits. Familiarity with or work experience of nature-based tourism or recreational fisheries are merits. Swedish language skill is a merit.

The application should include a letter of intent that explains research interests, interests in the announced PhD project and what skills the applicant can contribute with to the project. The application should also include a CV, copies of degree certificates and transcripts of academic records, copy of master thesis, contacts to references, and tentative additional documents of relevance.

Rules governing PhD students are set out in the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5, §§ 1-7 and in Uppsala University's rules and guidelines http://regler.uu.se/?languageId=1.

Salary: According to local agreement for PhD students.
 
Starting date: 11-01-2021 or as otherwise agreed.

Type of employment: Temporary position according to the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5 § 7.

Scope of employment: 100 %

For further information about the position please contact: Professor Patrik Rönnbäck, +46(0)18-471 8375, e-mail: patrik.ronnback@geo.uu.se

Please submit your application by 2020-09-15, UFV-PA 2020/1749.

Are you considering moving to Sweden to work at Uppsala University? If so, you will find a lot of information about working and living in Sweden at www.uu.se/joinus. You are also welcome to contact International Faculty and Staff Services at ifss@uadm.uu.se.

Moving to Gotland? You can find more information about what it is like to live in Gotland here: http://gotland.com/en/move/.

Type of employment Temporary position
Contract type Full time
Salary Fixed salary
Number of positions 1
Full-time equivalent 100 %
City Gotland
County Gotlands län
Country Sweden
Reference number UFV-PA 2020/1749
Union representative
  • Seko Universitetsklubben, seko@uadm.uu.se
  • ST/TCO, tco@fackorg.uu.se
  • Saco-rådet, saco@uadm.uu.se
Published 15.May.2020
Last application date 15.Sep.2020 11:59 PM CEST

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