Two-year postdoc in satellite remote sensing and land-use modeling of grassland management in Europe

We have exciting new post doc position to work on satellite remote sensing and land-use modeling of grassland management in Europe. Therefore, we are looking for a highly motivated and enthusiastic postdoc for a two-year position starting from 1 May 2023 or as soon as possible thereafter.

This position is linked to an international project, “ALPMEMA – Alpine Mountain Hay Meadows Management: Best practices to maintain their Favorable Conservation Status against underuse under different property right regimes.” Short description of the project https://ign.ku.dk/english/alpmema/

The postdoc will support the research team with the analysis of grassland land-use intensity with the aid of satellite imagery (Landsat, Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2, PlanetScope) across study areas in Austria, Armenia, Denmark, Germany and Sweden.

Your job

You will work on the development of approaches to monitor land management regimes in Nordic countries across the Alps and the Caucasus. You will work with Landsat, Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2, and PlanetScope products. Jointly with colleagues from remote-sensing R&D company DHI https://www.dhigroup.com/ you will work on the scalability and transferability of developed approaches across study sites and implementing remote sensing solutions in the cloud. In close collaboration with the working package leader on satellite remote sensing (Alexander Prishchepov), you will develop grassland management maps and indicators of different land regimes in grassland ecosystems. Jointly with the project partners, you have full capacity to conduct supporting fieldwork across selected study sites in studied countries. You will continue developing your research portfolio and professional growth, including publishing the results in international peer-reviewed journals, attending joint events and professional conferences, and being linked with the science, policymakers, and research and development company. The ALPMEMA project provides a great opportunity for collaboration with international partners and involvement in other research areas according to your interests. Being affiliated with the “Environment and Society in the Global South” research group at the University of Copenhagen gives another excellent opportunity for interdisciplinary knowledge exchange, a fruitful environment, being engaged in various professional activities, planning your career ahead, and also keeping good work-personal life balance. Postdoc also has the capacity to develop and deepen teaching skills relevant to extending professional skills, soft skills on project management, and other relevant skills to succeed in the professional career.

Profile

You are a highly motivated and enthusiastic scientist with the following competencies and experience:

Essential experience and skills:

• You have a Ph.D. in geoinformatics, environmental science, geography,
• You have advanced expertise in the analysis of satellite remote sensing products, preferably with a focus on grasslands and evaluation of land-use intensity,
• Your expertise in classification with machine-learning methods, statistics, spatial analysis and land-use modeling,
• Experience and interests in conducting fieldwork,
• You are skilled in R, Python or any other relevant programming environments in the satellite remote sensing field,
• Possession of skills in academic writing and publishing,
• Ability to work independently and also with an international team,
• Excellent English skills, written and spoken.

While some skills can be a core (e.g., analysis of satellite remote sensing products), others can be preferential or which person wants to develop during the postdoc (e.g., land-use modeling).

Place of employment

The place of employment is in the Geography Section at the Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen. We offer creative and stimulating working conditions in a dynamic and international research environment, in a vibrant research group “Environment and Society in the Global South” https://ign.ku.dk/english/research/geography/environment-society-developing-countries/ and subgroup “Integrative landscape analysis- ILTAS” with a strong focus on interdisciplinary use of satellite remote sensing products (leader: Associate professor Alexander Prishchepov).

About the University of Copenhagen

The University of Copenhagen has often been ranked among the top 50 world universities based on the quality of research and teaching, among other factors. The University of Copenhagen strives to offer a family-friendly and flexible working environment with a sustainable balance between work- and private life, including parental leave schemes (up to 47 weeks for both parents) and up to six weeks of paid holidays per year. Researchers that have not been tax liable in Denmark for the last ten years can apply for a special (reduced) tax scheme. The university and city offer a variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families. Copenhagen and Denmark, in general, are international hubs and often were highly evaluated based on the quality of life, work-private life balance, and personal satisfaction. Copenhagen has international schools and kindergartens and there is an option to learn Danish for free. Copenhagen is a valuable place for culture, business and science, thus making this place attractive for great cultural experiences and joyful life.

Terms of employment

The average weekly working hours are 37 hours per week.

The position is a fixed-term position limited to a period of 2 years. The start date is 1 June 2023 or as soon as possible thereafter.

Salary, pension and other conditions of employment are set in accordance with the Agreement between the Ministry of Taxation and AC (Danish Confederation of Professional Associations) or other relevant organizations.

Foreign and Danish applicants may be eligible for tax reductions if they hold a Ph.D. degree and have not lived in Denmark for the last ten years.

The position is covered by the Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities 2020.

Questions

For further information, please contact Alexander Prishchepov; alpr@ign.ku.dk; https://ign.ku.dk/english/employees/geography/?pure=en/persons/501467/.

Foreign applicants may find this link useful: www.ism.ku.dk (International Staff Mobility).

Application procedure

Your online application must be submitted in English by clicking "Apply now" below. Furthermore, your application must include the following documents/attachments – all in PDF format:

• Motivated letter of application (max. one page).
• CV incl. education, work/research experience, language skills and other skills relevant to the position.
• A certified/signed copy of a) Ph.D. certificate AND b) Master of Science certificate with the list transcripts. If the Ph.D. is not completed, a written statement from the supervisor will do.
• List of publications.

Deadline for applications: 26 March 2023, 23:59 pm CET.

We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline and not to consider applications that do not live up to the above-mentioned requirements.

The further process

After the expiry of the deadline for applications, the authorized recruitment manager selects applicants for assessment on the advice of the hiring committee. All applicants are then immediately notified whether their application has been passed for assessment by an unbiased assessor. Once the assessment work has been completed, each applicant has the opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment that relates to the applicant him/herself.

You can read about the recruitment process at https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/

The applicant will be assessed according to Ministerial Order no. 242 of 13 March 2012 on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities.

The University of Copenhagen wishes to reflect the diversity of society and encourage all qualified candidates to apply regardless of personal background.