The Free State of Saxony and Czech Republic Sponsor PhD Positions at UNU-FLORES and TU Dresden
Monday 2 November, 2020The Free State of Saxony will financially support three doctoral
positions at the United Nations University in Dresden (UNU-FLORES).
Support will be given to doctoral students from emerging and developing
countries for research work on “Resource Nexus Issues Revealed by
COVID-19 for Professional Communities in the Agri-Food Supply Chain”.
The PhD candidates will also conduct research in close cooperation with
CzechGlobe as part of the joint research programmes for the management
of water, soil, waste, energy, and biodiversity of UNU-FLORES and TU
Dresden. CzechGlobe is the Research Institute for Global Change of the
Czech Academy of Sciences and participates in the funding of the
four-year doctoral programme. A corresponding agreement between the
partners involved was signed today at the Ministry.
Minister of Science Sebastian Gemkow: “We all know that only together
can the urgent global tasks of securing human survival and
sustainability be tackled. The increasing demand for resources, the loss
of biodiversity, and climate change are major challenges, which will be
exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of the new positions is
to enable doctoral students to implement the results of their research
in their respective home countries. I am pleased that European
cooperation to tackle global problems has been successful here and I see
this as a further strengthening of scientific relations between Saxony
and the Czech Republic”.
UNU-FLORES Director Professor Edeltraud Guenther said: “Food security
is critical for sustainable development. We have seen how COVID-19 has
changed our lives globally. This cooperation is a valuable contribution
towards a better understanding of how the pandemic has affected the
management of environmental resources, particularly in the agri-food
supply chain. It is the responsibility of research to respond
meaningfully to the changing needs of society. Against this background,
the research of the United Nations University seeks to be
policy-relevant.”
CzechGlobe Director Michal V. Marek: “The doctoral cooperation also
intensifies environmental research infrastructure cooperation at the
regional level between Saxony and Czech Republic and also at the global
level in collaboration with non-EU partners.”
In the research projects of the doctoral candidates, a close
connection to the language, conditions, and culture of their respective
countries should become visible and they should be relevant for their
home country. The focus is on the sustainable management of
environmental resources such as water, soil, waste, and energy, as well
as measures to adapt to climate change or mitigate its effects. The
research will aim to address the fundamental challenges in the
agricultural and food supply chain, which have become even more pressing
with the COVID-19 pandemic. The research will provide solutions to
increase the resilience of food systems and ensure food security in
vulnerable communities, particularly in the global South.
The PhD positions will be advertised publicly and internationally,
and the selected PhD researchers will be employed by UNU-FLORES. The
scholarships amount to 1,566 euros per month each, of which the Saxon
Ministry of Science provides 850 euros, CzechGlobe 600 euros. UNU-FLORES
bears all additional costs.
The Institute for Integrated Material Fluxes and Resource Management
at the United Nations University, UNU-FLORES, is institutionally funded
by the Saxon Ministry of Science (SMWK).
Distributed by https://pressat.co.uk/