PhD position: Governing the risk of extreme water scarcity (Day Zero)

Are you passionate about uncovering how cities across the globe deal with the risk of extreme water scarcity? What are the consequences for urban communities? Do cities respond in ways that make them better prepared for the next extreme event? This PhD position offers the opportunity to deeply engage with these urgent global challenges and contribute to meaningful, interdisciplinary research.

‘Day Zero’ events, where cities announce they are about to run out of water, are becoming increasingly frequent due to climate change. They are magnets for societal attention, but to what extent does anything fundamentally change by declaring such a crisis, and if so, how and why? As a PhD researcher on the UnderPRESSURE project, funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO), you will contribute to exploring how different societal and political actors perceive and frame the risk of acute water crises and how their ‘risk images’ influence urban responses to challenges in the water system.

The UnderPRESSURE project aims to analyse critical cases of extreme water scarcity from Bogotá, Mexico City, Barcelona, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Cape Town to understand how different risk images of acute water scarcity influence the way policymakers, companies, and citizens respond to these risks. A central question is whether and how impending or actual crises can work as inflection points for transformative change.

Working with a team of PhDs and a Postdoc and local partners, the project aims to test across these six cities (i) how policy risk images are aligned or diverge throughout the crisis, (ii) how they trigger policy change, and, zooming in on two cities, (iii) how risks are perceived and managed by water consumers, and (iv) how the plurality of risk images can be harnessed for transformative governance pathways towards water security.

Your role is to examine and compare Day Zero events in the six cities, and to analyse how risks are governed in terms of immediate crisis response, policy prioritisation, and longer-term politics of water scarcity through policy document analysis and semi-structured interviews with policymakers and water authorities. In two in-depth case study sites (Bogotá and Bengaluru), you will also contribute to examining risk perception, behaviour and management among water consumers through household surveys, and support scenario workshops and deliberative approaches to explore how diverse risk images can inform transformative governance. The position also includes the opportunity to engage in teaching and thesis supervision.

We are looking for a motivated PhD candidate eager to engage with UnderPRESSURE’s multi-method research design, which combines surveys, semi-structured interviews, and analysis of scientific, media and policy texts, as well as participatory foresight and evidence-informed deliberation processes. The goal is to facilitate societal participation in decision-making and develop practical tools for policy design.

Your duties and responsibilities include:

• Reviewing scientific literature and policy documents, including a large-scale inventory of cases;
• Advancing conceptual thinking by linking risk governance and transformation theory;
• Conducting stakeholder mapping, semi-structured interviews, and household surveys on risk perceptions and responses, and contributing to future scenario workshops;
• Travelling for extended fieldwork to selected case study sites;
• Examining how policymakers’ risk responses across the six cities are influenced by risk images and analysing in two cities how water consumers perceive and adapt to acute water scarcity;
• Working at the science-policy interface, including convening workshops;
• Successfully publishing results in top quality academic outlets;
• Working as a team player in the wider project and group and contributing to outreach, societal debates, and educational activities.

You will work here
The research is embedded within the Public Administration and Policy Group of Wageningen University. We are an enthusiastic and international group of scholars studying the public governance of sustainability transformations. The UnderPRESSURE project (NWO Vidi grant) is led by Dr Johanna Koehler, who is an Associate Professor of Environmental Risk Governance.

PHD: Filosofische reflectie – impact van digitalisering en AI in de veehouderij

Ben jij gefascineerd door de razendsnelle digitalisering van de veehouderij? Vraag jij je af hoe AI en sensortechnologie onze kijk op dierenwelzijn en de mens‑dierrelatie veranderen? En wil je onderzoeken welke kansen én dilemma’s deze technologische revolutie met zich meebrengt? Binnen ons interdisciplinaire team krijg je de ruimte om deze vragen diepgaand te verkennen; in theorie, in gesprek met stakeholders én in de praktijk van de veehouderij.

Voor een project over de rol van digitalisering en AI in de veehouderij en de impact hiervan op de mens-dier relatie zoeken we een promovendus, die zal reflecteren op het gebruik van AI en sensortechnologie in de veeteelt. Je zult een systematisch literatuuronderzoek- en analyse uitvoeren naar dierenwelzijnsconcepten en toepassingen van digitale technologieën in de dierwetenschappen. Tevens zal je reflecteren op de normatieve en epistemische aannamen in technologie-ontwikkeling.

Je zult in een interdisciplinair team samenwerken met filosofen, media en literatuur-wetenschappers, en data wetenschappers en in contact staan met externe stakeholders. Je zult de mogelijkheid krijgen je te bekwamen in verschillende onderzoeksmethoden (systematisch literatuuronderzoek, kwalitatief empirisch onderzoek en filosofische reflectie). Je zult onder begeleiding technologie testen en beoordelen in de praktijk.

Binnen het project wordt vanuit de multispecies justice theorie gereflecteerd op de rol van digitale technologie op de veranderende mens-dierrelatie. Je zult vanuit deze lens reflecteren op zowel kansen als beperkingen die geboden worden door digitale technologie in de veehouderij. Je gaat een deel van het onderzoek uitvoeren in de reguliere veehouderij en constructief met stakeholders overleggen.

Jouw taken en verantwoordelijkheden als promovendus zijn:

• Systematisch literatuur onderzoek uitvoeren;
• Kwalitatief empirisch onderzoek uitvoeren;
• Samenwerken in interdisciplinair team;
• Wetenschappelijke publicaties en proefschrift schrijven;
• Onderwijstaken uitvoeren (max. 10%) .

Hier ga je werken
Het onderzoek is ingebed in de Leerstoelgroep Filosofie en is onderdeel van het Dierethiek team, dat wordt geleid door prof. Bernice Bovenkerk. Je wordt mede begeleid door dr. Mona Giersberg (UU) en dr. Hugh Desmond.

PhD Philosophical reflection: impact of digitalisation & AI in livestock farming

Are you fascinated by the rapid digitization of the livestock industry? Do you wonder how AI and sensor technology are changing our view of animal welfare and the human-animal relationship? And do you want to explore the opportunities and dilemmas that this technological revolution brings?

Within our interdisciplinary team, you’ll have the opportunity to explore these questions in depth—theoretically, through discussions with stakeholders, and in the practical context of livestock farming.

For a project on the role of digitalization and AI in livestock farming and their impact on the human-animal relationship, we are seeking a PhD candidate who will reflect on the use of AI and sensor technology in livestock farming. You will conduct a systematic literature review and analysis of animal welfare concepts and applications of digital technologies in the animal sciences. You will also reflect on the normative and epistemic assumptions underlying technology development.

You will collaborate in an interdisciplinary team with philosophers, media and literary scholars, and data scientists, and maintain contact with external stakeholders. You will have the opportunity to become proficient in various research methods (systematic literature review, qualitative empirical research, and philosophical reflection). Under supervision, you will test and evaluate technology in practice.

Within the project, the role of digital technology in the changing human-animal relationship will be examined through the lens of multispecies justice theory. From this perspective, you will reflect on both the opportunities and limitations offered by digital technology in livestock farming. You will conduct part of the research in conventional livestock farms and engage in constructive dialogue with stakeholders.

Your duties and responsibilities include:

• conducting systematic literature reviews;
• conducting qualitative empirical research;
• collaborating within an interdisciplinary team;
• writing academic publications and a dissertation;
• performing teaching duties (up to 10%).

You will work here
The research is embedded within the Philosophy group, and member of the Animal Ethics team, which is led by Prof. Bernice Bovenkerk. You will be co-supervised by dr. Mona Giersberg (UU) and dr. Hugh Desmond.

Analist Microbiologie

Ben je benieuwd naar de aanwezigheid van bacteriën en virussen in voedsel? Word jij enthousiast over het uitvoeren van klassieke en moleculair biologische analyses op het gebied van voeder- en voedselveiligheid? Heb jij ervaring in microbiologie, ben je nauwkeurig en heb jij een afgeronde microbiologische MBO/HBO-laboratoriumopleiding? Wageningen Food Safety Research (WFSR) zoekt een zelfstandige onderzoeksanalist met ervaring in microbiologie.

Wat ga je doen?
In jouw dagelijks werk verricht je analyses op het gebied van voeder- en voedselveiligheid onder ISO 17025 accreditatie. Daarvoor worden verschillende klassieke en moleculair biologische detectie methodes gebruikt. Op basis van de analyseresultaten bespreek je eventuele vervolgstappen en pas je deze toe.

• je rapporteert over de resultaten, hoofdzakelijk via ons Laboratorium Informatie en Managementsysteem (LIMS);
• je signaleert afwijkingen en problemen, bespreekt deze met je collega’s en herhaalt eventueel delen van het experiment;
• je draagt bij aan de uitvoering van testen in het kader van ontwikkeling van methoden en technieken en je doet voorstellen voor het optimaliseren van bepalingen en methoden.

Het onderzoek dat wij doen bij WFSR draait om het borgen van een veilige voedselketen. Op de afdeling waar jij komt te werken richten wij ons vooral op microbiologisch onderzoek van voedsel zoals schelpdieren, vlees, maaltijden en importmonsters. Ook doen we onderzoek bij consumentenklachten n.a.v. melding van klachten na consumptie.

Technician Microbiology

Are you curious about the presence of bacteria and viruses in food? Do you get excited about performing classical and molecular biological analyses in the field of feed and food safety? Do you have experience in microbiology, work accurately, and have completed a vocational/BSc laboratory education in microbiology? Wageningen Food Safety Research (WFSR) is looking for an independent research analyst with experience in microbiology. Please note: Dutch at B2 level is a must have for this position.

What will you do?
In your daily work, you will perform analyses in the field of feed and food safety under ISO 17025 accreditation. Various classical and molecular biological detection methods are used for this. Based on the analytical results, you discuss possible follow-up steps and apply them where necessary.

• you report on the results, mainly through our Laboratory Information and Management System (LIMS);
• you identify deviations and problems, discuss these with colleagues, and repeat parts of the experiment if necessary;
• you contribute to the execution of tests as part of the development of methods and techniques and make proposals for optimizing determinations and methods.

The research we conduct at WFSR focuses on safeguarding a safe food chain. In the department where you will work, we mainly focus on microbiological research on food products such as shellfish, meat, ready meals, and import samples. We also conduct research related to consumer complaints following reports of illness after food consumption.