About the Opportunity
The Institute for Plant Science at the Karl-Franzens-University Graz, Austria, is offering a PhD student position in vegetation and landscape history (project assistant without doctorate, 30 hours a week; fixed-term employment for the period of three years) as a part of the Interreg V-A Slovenia-Austria 2014-20 cooperation program between Austria and Slovenia funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). This project as well as the University of Graz research core area “Environment and Global Change” providing a stimulating interdisciplinary research environment.
The successful candidate will work within an international project team on Styrian landscape (parts of Southwest Austria and Northwest Slovenia) vegetation history from prehistory up to the discovery of the New World. It is expected to complete the doctoral program in biology during the three-year employment period.
Job specification
The goal of our project part is to give a complete picture of the changes in the natural and cultural landscape of the Slovenian and Austrian Styria lowlands from the settlement of the first farmers 7,000 years ago until the discovery of America. The vegetation of the region is the focus of investigations. Their results are used in the basis for the development of tourism concepts. First data will be evaluated for the development of the natural landscape in the last 10,000 years, which have the geology of the border landscape, its waterways and its potential natural vegetation on the subject. Research in the cultural landscape based on historical sources on land use and settlement structure. As the core of the project remains of cultivated plants and domesticated animals are evaluated, which were excavated scientifically before and during the project at selected archaeological sites. All results are finally combined into a cultural landscape study and displayed digitally in GIS.
Professional qualifications
- Master's degree in biology or similar subject
- Knowledge in vegetation mapping, vegetation history, palynology, and historical land use
- Skills in the application of geographical information systems (GIS), statistics and vegetation databases
- Keen interest in historical landscape development, historical land use and ancient crops
- Fluency in German and English, basic knowledge in Slovenian desirable
Benefit
- Gross salary according to the Austrian Science Fund (FWF): € 2,045.10 p.m. (14 times a year).
How to Apply
Please send your application (CV, motivation letter, list of grades and references) to christian.berg@uni-graz.at
Deadline to Apply
Applications should be received no later than 31.8.2016
To learn more about the opportunity, you can contact the institution
Tel. +43-316-3805747
