"PhD How Rural Youth (Dis)engage with Debates on Sustainable Development"

Job Summary: Applications are invited for a fully-funded four-year PhD position exploring how rural youth (ages 18–30) use online and offline methods to understand sustainable development and the future of their village communities. This project uses an interdisciplinary framework from cultural and rural geography and media literacy education, with a participatory and longitudinal approach to ethnography in regions in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Responsibilities:

• Engage in regular meetings with supervisors to discuss project development.
• Carry out longitudinal ethnographic research in three selected regions.
• Write four publishable articles/chapters with supervisory guidance.
• Organize participatory workshops for co-creating policy recommendations with stakeholders and supervisors.
• Participate in activities of The Netherlands Research school for Media Studies (RMeS) and the Netherlands Graduate School of Urban and Regional Research (NETHUR).
• Attend and present research at conferences, colloquia, and summer/winter schools.
• Provide education to students of the Faculty of Spatial Sciences (up to 15% of the appointment).
• Move to Groningen or its immediate environs and complete the PhD within four years.

Qualifications and Requirements:

• A Research Master’s or Master’s degree in Media Studies, Communication, Geography, or related SSH disciplines with documented ethnographic research experience.
• Excellent command of English and a very good command of Dutch.
• Affinity with ethnographic research and qualitative methods; preference for experience in observations, interviews, and focus groups.
• Excellent analytical skills and capacity for innovative interdisciplinary research.
• Clear motivation for pursuing PhD research.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to work with vulnerable groups.

What the Employer Offers:

• A temporary 1.0 FTE appointment for four years, starting with a 12-month contract and assessment after nine months.
• Salary from €2,901 to €3,707 gross per month based on a full-time position.
• Holiday allowance of 8% and an 8.3% end-of-year allowance.
• Opportunities to work in an international environment at the University of Groningen.