45 FB 6 Research Assistant / PhD Candidate (m/f/d) DFG-funded Research Training Group ECORISK C5a

The DFG-funded Research Training Group "Ecological Regime Shifts and Systemic Risk in Coupled Social-Ecological Systems" (ECORISK), which has been running since 2024, brings together perspectives from behavioural economics, ecological modeling, environmental systems science, geography, geoinformatics, political science and sociology. Within the framework of three thematic clusters (Ecosystem Dynamics, Human activities and Governance), ECORISK deals with the causes of ecological regime shifts and the systemic risks they pose as well as their consequences in socio-ecological systems. Intensive agriculture serves as a guiding example. The Research Training Group is located at Osnabrück University, whose diverse research attracts students and scholars from around the world to a liveable city.

In the subproject (C5a) “Multi-method modelling of farmers adopting agricultural practices: How do policy instruments tip collective action?” at the Institute of Mathematics and its working group of Applied Systems Science, a position as

Research Assistant / PhD Candidate (m/f/d)
(Pay grade 13 TV-L, 75%)


is to be filled on a fixed-term basis for three years, starting on October 1, 2026.


Your Duties:

  • Research on modeling land-used decision-making of individual farmers and its upscaling to the collective level, using equation-based approaches from evolutionary game theory
  • Research on modeling behavioural, socio-economic, and bio-physical conditions under which policy instruments (e.g. subsidies, taxation, or regulations) may be efficient—or prove unattractive or even show undesired side effects, especially with respect to promoting regime shifts
  • Peer-reviewed publication of your research results, which also forms the basis for your own academic qualification in the form of a doctoral degree
  • Participation in and contribution to the events of the Research Training Group

Requirements:

  • An above-average academic degree in environmental systems science, applied mathematics, theoretical ecology, physics, or in a related discipline or interdisciplinary study program
  • Expertise in process-based mathematical and computer-based modeling of environmental systems (e.g., with ordinary differential equations)
  • Very good written and spoken English language skills

Additional Qualifications:

  • Very good knowledge of one or more of the following methods
    • Behavioral modelling with approaches such as imitation dynamics, replicator equation, or stochastic best response
    • Application of dynamical systems modelling
    • Ecological modelling
  • Experience in interdisciplinary and international collaboration

We offer:

  • Participation in an exciting and highly topical research project
  • A structured doctoral program at Osnabrück University with interdisciplinary and subject-specific support
  • A highly motivated and international team
  • Tailored training opportunities
  • Flexible working hours and excellent facilities

Osnabrück University is a family-friendly university and is committed to helping working/studying parents balance their family and working lives.

Osnabrück University seeks to guarantee equality of opportunity for women and men and strives to correct any gender imbalance in its schools and departments.

If two candidates are equally qualified, preference will be given to the candidate with disability status.

Please send your application (motivation letter of max. two pages, CV, transcripts of academic degrees (Bachelor/Master), transcripts of records, and the contact details of a potential reference) by email in a single PDF file to  ecorisk@uni-osnabrueck.de (subject: PhD position C5a) no later than April 30, 2026.

For questions regarding this job advertisement, please contact the subproject leader Prof. Dr. Frank Hilker (phone +49 541 969 3441,  frank.hilker@uni-osnabrueck.de).

Further information about this subproject and the Research Training Group can be found at:  https://www.uni-osnabrueck.de/ecorisk