The cooperation and research project „Spatial Dynamics of Marshrutkas in Central Asia and the Caucasus“, directed by the Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography (IfL) and funded by the Volkswagen Foundation, is seeking qualified candidates to fill
one PhD position
based at the Nazarbayev University, Astana. The PhD project will be jointly supervised by Alima Bissenova (Nazarbayev University, Astana), and Sebastian Lentz (IfL Leipzig).
The project tackles the relevance of the marshrutkas mobility phenomenon for the post-Soviet production of urban spaces and the emergence of new spatially relevant orders in the fields of economy, morale, urban development and migration. The PhD candidate is expected to design and implement an own research project leading to a PhD/Cand.Sc. degree.
Your tasks include:
- own research in cooperation with supervisors and project partners;
- active participation in workshops, summer schools and other network-wide events;
- presentation of results through conference participation and publications, other knowledge transfer and outreach activities.
What we offer you:
- An own research project in a multinational and multidisciplinary research team, starting in November 2015;
- tailored trainings in research methods, theories and transferable skills;
- participation in international conferences, summer schools, workshops and round tables in the framework of the project;
- two research secondments (six months in total) at the co-supervising institution;
- a scholarship of 550€ per month (1400€ for the secondment phase), plus fieldwork allowances and travel grants.
What we expect:
- A proactive, motivated, autonomous person with a well-developed team spirit;
- a high-quality university degree in humanities or social sciences (human geography, anthropology, sociology, Eastern European studies or the like);
- very good knowledge of English and Russian languages and working knowledge of further languages of the target region;
- very good knowledge of qualitative research methods;
- very good knowledge of theories on mobility, transformation and urban research in a post-Soviet context;
- willingness and ability for frequent travels to the case study region and beyond;
- relevant fieldwork, research and publication experience is welcome.
How to apply:
Please send your application package in English language, including
- letter of motivation;
- CV;
- list of publications and conference presentations;
- research proposal of two pages max.;
- other relevant documents and certificates
as e-mail attachment in a single pdf file of no more than 20 pages, to personal@ifl-leipzig.de. As subject, please mention "PhD scholarship application Kazakhstan". The deadline is the 20th of October 2015. The (co-)supervisors and the project coordinator will jointly select the shortlist candidates to be invited for a video interview in late October 2015.
The project pursues a policy of gender equality and explicitly welcomes candidatures of qualified women. Applications from equally qualified persons with disabilities will be preferentially considered for this position.
For further questions, please contact the project coordinator:
Wladimir Sgibnev (w_sgibnev@ifl-leipzig.de).