Turn trainer

Do you have a passion for sports and, in particular, for gymnastics? Would you like to teach others and are you able to enthuse a group of fanatical students? Then we at Sports Centre de Bongerd are looking for you!
For our university sports centre, we are looking for a gymnastics coach from 1 February 2025.
Turn trainer

Your job
As gymnastics trainer, you will be partly responsible for providing gymnastics training for the Wageningen Student Gymnastics Association (WSTV) Split (60 members). You will teach together with the head coach on Mondays between 20:00 and 22:00.
A few times a year, you will attend teacher meetings, in-service training, We-Day, AID and/or staff outings outside your regular working hours.

(Senior) Ecological Modeller in Animal Ecology

Are you an ecological modeller who can develop, adapt and apply models for use in wildlife management, landscape and species conservation? Do you like to collaborate with colleagues who are experts in different fields of ecology and environmental sciences, and together develop conceptual, mathematical and computational models? Are you the motor for the implementation of such models and interested in delivering high quality research for our clients? Then this vacancy will be of interest to you.

The Animal Ecology team at Wageningen Environmental Research (WENR) consists of researchers/project leaders, laboratory and field staff who work in the domain of wildlife ecology (mammals, birds, insects, reptiles/amphibians) and genetics. We conduct high-quality, independent research aimed at protecting, restoring and managing wildlife. Our research is funded by (local) governments, land managers, NGOs, companies, and (inter)national research grants. Through applied research we make our knowledge and expertise available to maintain the quality of our (natural) living environment, now and in the future.

There is a need to expand capacity within the team. We are looking for a (senior) Ecological Modeller (28 to 36 hours per week) whose primary task is to take up (applied) ecological modelling, and to help develop and adapt methods to our specific research needs. You will carry out projects in a team, interpret research results in a project context and write publications, including reports (in Dutch and English) and peer-reviewed scientific articles in international journals. You think along about new acquisitions and may also take the lead in this in the longer term.

As a (senior) ecological modeller you will be:

• Acting as the researcher/modeller in a number of wildlife-related projects, with a variety of clients in close collaboration with colleagues within and outside the AE team. In this role, not only you ensure scientific quality of the work, but also make sure that the planned financial results and deadlines are met.
• Publishing results in reports and scientific journals and present them at (inter)national conferences.
• Acquiring projects and building an (inter)national network.
• Further strengthening and enlarging the research field based on your expertise, together with the team.

Assistant/Associate Professor in Bio-Organic Chemistry

We have a vacancy for an assistant professor or associate professor in Bio-Organic Chemistry, to strengthen the chair group Organic Chemistry in the cluster Biomolecular Sciences of the Department of Agrotechnology and Food Sciences at Wageningen University. The position includes both teaching and research responsibilities.

Due to the current gender balance, we strongly encourage women / x to apply.

What are you going to do?
In this attractive career trajectory you will be responsible for developing a strong research group that initiates and implements new research in the synthesis and evaluation of (bio-)organic compounds. We expect you to set up your own synthetic organic chemistry-based research line, that should be complementary to the existing research areas within our laboratory, and pursue biological investigations of such compounds as expected for fields like bio-organic chemistry and chemical biology.

You are expected to actively seek funding for new research projects via national and international grant opportunities.Other specific tasks include

• supervising the research of PhD candidates, postdocs, technical staff and thesis students,
• writing scientific publications, and presenting research results at international conferences
• Guidance of graduate and undergraduate students and teaching analytical and organic chemistry at all levels of the curriculum (lectures, lab sessions, course development and course responsibility) are an essential part of the job.

Training courses and coaching are provided for the new Assistant or Associate Professor to enhance teaching and leadership skills.

You will work in a multidisciplinary and international team of eight faculty members engaged in research and teaching in organic and analytical chemistry.

You will be expected to grow to more senior functions within the group as part of the academic career framework. Promotion is based on an evaluation of research, teaching, project acquisition, outreach, and academic services.

You will work here
The research is embedded within the chair Organic Chemistry, which is led by Prof. dr. Han Zuilhof.

Wageningen University offers talented young scientists an attractive career trajectory. By introducing this trajectory, our aim is to attract top talent and to stimulate excellence.

From the position of Assistant/Associate Professor, candidates can grow into a Professor position, holding a personal chair in a manner solely determined by personal success. In addition, they will be given the chance to build up their own research line. Coaching of candidates is tailored to the specific needs during the trajectory. While you are operating in a broader and collaborative research context, there is sufficient room for developing independence and own initiative. Candidates are expected to be assertive and pro-active. Moreover, this transparent career path can lead to a permanent employment contract.

As we will be selecting only candidates of high potential to take part in this trajectory, for all participating candidates, this will be a good stepping stone to a further career within Wageningen University & Research.

PhD position - Influence of farmer behaviour on the effectiveness of vaccination and biosecurity to control avian influenza

The present PhD student position and associated research project is part of the 13 PhD projects of the VIVACE Doctoral Network, funded by the Marie Sklodowska-Curie action of the Horizon Europe programme.

Context on the VIVACE doctoral Network
While outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (HPAIV) in Europe used to be rare and geographically contained, the situation has dramatically changed in the last few years with thousands of outbreaks reported in domestic poultry and wild birds.

Vaccination of poultry against avian influenza, which used to be prohibited in the European Union (EU) due to trade restrictions, is now being given full consideration, as it is becoming clear that traditional prevention and control approaches alone will not curb the accelerating pace of occurrence of devastating HPAIV epidemics. However, vaccinating poultry does not come without important challenges.
The project VIVACE, gathering 15 leading universities or research institutes and 5 private companies, puts together an ambitious doctoral network to integrate poultry vaccination approaches into efficient management strategies for HPAIV. This interdisciplinary project offers funding for 13 PhD scholarships along the continuum from virology and immunology to spatial and molecular epidemiology, computer sciences and social and behavioural sciences. Irrespective of their background, all doctoral candidates from VIVACE will benefit from a unique international training in these fields, as well as state-of-the-art soft skill development. In doing so, the VIVACE consortium ambitions to train the next generation of scientists with integrated understanding and expertise in avian influenza management.

More information about the project can be found here:
https://www.inrae.fr/en/news/management-avian-influenza-vaccination-context

Description and objectives of the PhD project
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) is a serious disease affecting poultry, with significant economic and public health implications. Vaccination and biosecurity measures (e.g., hygiene protocols or restricting farm access) are critical for controlling outbreaks, but not all farmers adopt these measures.
This PhD project investigates the behavioural and economic factors that influence farmers' willingness to vaccinate and adopt biosecurity measures for controlling HPAI outbreaks. The research integrates a survey experiment conducted in the Netherlands and France with quantitative risk assessment approaches.

The project aims to:

• Characterize farmer preferences and behavioural factors for HPAI-relevant vaccination scheme attributes:

The project explores the factors that make vaccination schemes appealing to farmers. This includes aspects like cost, effectiveness, or side effects of vaccines.

• Quantify the impact of vaccination uptake on farm biosecurity compliance:

Examine whether farmers who vaccinate are more or less likely to comply with other biosecurity measures, such as disinfecting equipment or restricting visitor access.

• Assess how vaccination uptake and biosecurity compliance together impact the risk of HPAI outbreaks:

Evaluate the combined effects of vaccination uptake and biosecurity measures on the risk of HPAI outbreaks.

The candidate will collaborate with an interdisciplinary team of researchers in economics, social sciences, and veterinary sciences to achieve these objectives.

PhD position - Environmental and welfare impacts of vaccination to control avian influenza

The present PhD student position and associated research project is part of the 13 PhD projects of the VIVACE Doctoral Network, funded by the Marie Sklodowska-Curie action of the Horizon Europe programme.

Context on the VIVACE doctoral Network
While outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (HPAIV) in Europe used to be rare and geographically contained, the situation has dramatically changed in the last few years with thousands of outbreaks reported in domestic poultry and wild birds.

Vaccination of poultry against avian influenza, which used to be prohibited in the European Union (EU) due to trade restrictions, is now being given full consideration, as it is becoming clear that traditional prevention and control approaches alone will not curb the accelerating pace of occurrence of devastating HPAIV epidemics. However, vaccinating poultry does not come without important challenges.
The project VIVACE, gathering 15 leading universities or research institutes and 5 private companies, puts together an ambitious doctoral network to integrate poultry vaccination approaches into efficient management strategies for HPAIV. This interdisciplinary project offers funding for 13 PhD scholarships along the continuum from virology and immunology to spatial and molecular epidemiology, computer sciences and social and behavioural sciences. Irrespective of their background, all doctoral candidates from VIVACE will benefit from a unique international training in these fields, as well as state-of-the-art soft skill development. In doing so, the VIVACE consortium ambitions to train the next generation of scientists with integrated understanding and expertise in avian influenza management.

More information about the project: https://www.inrae.fr/en/news/management-avian-influenza-vaccination-context

Description and objectives of the PhD project
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) is a serious disease affecting poultry, with significant economic and public health implications. Vaccination and biosecurity measures (e.g., hygiene protocols or restricting farm access) are critical for controlling outbreaks, but not all farmers adopt these measures.
This PhD project aims to develop a multiple burden model of avian influenza. This means that in close collaboration with other PhD projects within VIVACE (particularly with a project aimed at the economics and two projects aimed at the epidemiology of avian influenza) the environmental and animal welfare disease burden will be modelled. The developed model can be used to evaluate control strategies at farm level that can be updated with newly available information.

Specific objectives of this project are to:

1. identify animal-based welfare indicators that are physically affected by the occurrence of avian influenza and elicit welfare impairment weights,
2. develop a farm simulation model to study the animal health and welfare burdens of avian influenza and control strategies,
3. integrate the environmental burden in the farm simulation model and identify the trade-offs between animal health, welfare, and the environment,
4. (quasi-)optimize the model with newly available and farm-specific information to accurately represent the multiple burden effect on farm-specific level.

The candidate will collaborate with an interdisciplinary team of researchers in economics, social sciences, and veterinary sciences to achieve these objectives.