The European Training Network RurAction (“Social Entrepreneurship in Structurally Weak Rural Regions: Analysing Innovative Troubleshooters in Action”) announces 10 positions for Early-Stage Researchers with the option of awarding the doctoral degree. The positions last 36 months and are expected to begin between September and November 2017. Early-Stage Researchers (ESRs) with a strong interest in research about regional development, social entrepreneurship and social innovations are invited to apply for positions at leading research institutions and acknowledged social enterprises in Austria, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Poland and Portugal.
RurAction is an integrated research and doctorate programme funded by the European Union in the Horizon 2020 Marie Sklodowska-Curie ITN Action. RurAction recognizes a lack of knowledge and cross-sectoral trainings at the intersection of rural development, social innovation and social entrepreneurship research. It addresses this gap by systematically integrating these three fields of research. RurAction offers a unique opportunity to 10 Early-Stage Researchers to investigate highly relevant topics about social innovations and social entrepreneurship in rural regions. The 10 EarlyStage Researchers will benefit from transnational high quality trainings, bringing together both academic education and practical skills trainings provided by social enterprises with great expertise in innovative rural development. The enrolment as PhD students in the contributing universities enables the ESRs to contribute to their institutionalized PhD courses, complementary to the RurAction trainings.
The European Training Network RurAction (“Social Entrepreneurship in Structurally Weak Rural Regions: Analysing Innovative Troubleshooters in Action”) announces 10 positions for Early-Stage Researchers with the option of awarding the doctoral degree. The positions last 36 months and are expected to begin between September and November 2017. Early-Stage Researchers (ESRs) with a strong interest in research about regional development, social entrepreneurship and social innovations are invited to apply for positions at leading research institutions and acknowledged social enterprises in Austria, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Poland and Portugal.
Project
RurAction is an integrated research and doctorate programme funded by the European Union in the Horizon 2020 Marie Sklodowska-Curie ITN Action. RurAction recognizes a lack of knowledge and cross-sectoral trainings at the intersection of rural development, social innovation and social entrepreneurship research. It addresses this gap by systematically integrating these three fields of research. RurAction offers a unique opportunity to 10 Early-Stage Researchers to investigate highly relevant topics about social innovations and social entrepreneurship in rural regions. The 10 EarlyStage Researchers will benefit from transnational high quality trainings, bringing together both academic education and practical skills trainings provided by social enterprises with great expertise in innovative rural development. The enrolment as PhD students in the contributing universities enables the ESRs to contribute to their institutionalized PhD courses, complementary to the RurAction trainings.
ESR 1-project: Dynamics of rural regions in Europe – an economic investigation
Supervisor: Prof. Stryjakiewicz (UAM), co-supervisor Prof. Ferreiro (IUL).
Institutional affiliation: The holder of the post will be enrolled as a PhD student at the AdamMickiewicz University Poznan (Poland), Institute of Socio-Economic Geography and Spatial Management. Secondments will take place at Otelo eGen (3 months, Austria), ADCMoura (3 months, Portugal) and ISCTE-IUL (3 months, Portugal).
ESR 2-project: The political framework for rural development and social entrepreneurship
Supervisor: Prof. Tsobanoglou (UAE), co-supervisor Dr. Lang (IfL).
Institutional affiliation: The holder of the post will be enrolled as a PhD student at the University of the Aegan (Greece), Department of Sociology. Secondments will take place at ADC Moura (3 months, Portugal), Otelo eGen (3 months, Austria), Stevia Hellas (3 months, Greece).
ESR 3-project: Discourses on regional problems and cultural knowledge patterns
Supervisor: Prof. Christmann (IRS), co-supervisor Dr. O’Shaughnessy (UCC).
Institutional affiliation: The holder of the post will be enrolled as a PhD student at the Technical University Berlin, Faculty VI Planning Building Environment. Secondments will take place at Ballyhoura Development LTD (3 months, Ireland), Otelo eGen (3 months, Austria), Social Impact (3 months, Germany).
ESR 4-project: Social entrepreneurial actors as troubleshooters in rural regions
Supervisor: Dr. O’Shaughnessy (UCC) and Dr. Enright, co-supervisor Prof. Sousa (IUL). ESR 4 will be hosted and mentored by Pádraig Casey (Ballyhoura Development, Ireland).
Institutional affiliation: The holder of the post will be enrolled as a PhD student at University College Cork (UCC) (Ireland). Secondments will take place at IfL (3 months, Germany), Social Impact (3 months, Germany) and Stevia Hellas (3 months, Greece).
ESR 5-project: Social entrepreneurship as a collaborative process
Supervisor: Prof. Lentz (IfL), Dr. Lang (IfL), co-supervisor Prof. Stryjakiewicz (UAM).
Institutional affiliation: The holder of the post will be enrolled in the interdisciplinary Graduate Centre “Humanities and Social Sciences” at the University of Leipzig and will join the Graduate School “Global and Area Studies”. Secondments will take place at Stevia Hellas (3 months, Greece), ADC Moura (3 months, Portugal) and Social Impact (3 months, Germany).
ESR 6-project: Tackling social and economic exclusion in a sustainable manner
Supervisor: Dr. O’Shaughnessy (UCC), Professor Thia Hennessy, co-supervisor Dr. Lang (IfL)
Institutional affiliation: The holder of the post will be enrolled as a PhD student at the University College Cork. Secondments will take place at Ballyhoura Development Ltd (3 months, Ireland), Stevia Hellas (3 months, Greece) and ADC Moura (3 months, Portugal).
ESR 7-project: The emergence of social innovation in rural areas
Supervisor: Prof. Hulgård (RUC), co-supervisor Prof. Christmann (IRS)
Institutional affiliation: The holder of the post will be enrolled as a PhD student at the Roskilde Universitet, Department of People and Technology Organization, Ethics & Social Sustainability. Secondments will take place at Social Impact (3 months, Germany), Otelo eGen (3 months, Austria) and Stevia Hellas (3 months, Greece).
ESR 8-project: The spatial spread of social innovations. How and under which conditions do innovative social practices “travel”?
Supervisor: Prof. Christmann (IRS), co-supervisor Prof. Hulgård (RUC).
Institutional affiliation: The holder of the post will be enrolled as a PhD student at the Technical University Berlin, Faculty VI Planning Building Environment. Secondments will take place at Otelo eGen (3 months, Austria), Social Impact (3 months, Germany), ADC Moura (3 months, Portugal).
ESR 9-project: The impact of innovative solutions on regional discourses and the perception of rural development
Supervisor: Prof. Fink (Institute for Innovation Management at Johannes Kepler University Linz – JKU, Austria), co-supervisor Prof. Tsobanoglu (UAE). The practical supervisor is Martin Hollinetz and practical co-supervisor is Wolfgang Mader (Otelo eGen).
Institutional affiliation: The holder of the post will be enrolled as a PhD student at JKU. Secondments will take place at Ballyhoura Development Lt (3 months, Ireland), IRS (3 months, Germany) and Social Impact (3 months, Germany).
ESR 10-project: The socio-economic impact of innovative solutions on regional development
Supervisor: Prof. Ferreiro (ISTE-IUL), Prof. Henriques (ISTE-IUL), Prof. Sousa (ISTE-IUL), co-supervisor Prof. Stryjakiewicz (UAM).
Institutional affiliation: The holder of the post will be enrolled as a PhD student to the University Institute of Lisbon and associated to the Centre for Socio-Economic Change and Territorial Studies. Secondments will take place at ADC Moura (3 months, Portugal), Otelo eGen (3 months, Austria) and AMU (3 months, Poland).
The positions offers
- Excellent institutional environment, a stimulating high profile research programme with international focus.
- Measures for career development opportunities (training programme, secondments).
- Salary corresponding to MSCA-ITN 2016 European Training Network (including living, mobility and family allowances).
- 3 year full-time contract
Applications
Applicants are requested to send their application in English with the reference number RurAction ESR (from 1 to 10 accordingly) as a PDF file (max. 4MB) to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The application shall comprise a letter of motivation (at least one page), a curriculum vitae, copies of diplomas and language skills, a transcript of records (if applicable), two nominated referees that can be contacted and a chapter of the Master Thesis or a paper or a publication in English (if applicable).
Application deadline
March 26th 2017
Shortlisted candidates will be invited for the final interview in May 2017 in Erkner, Germany. Travel expenses will be reimbursed.
Picture credit: Horizon 2020 Marie Sklodowska –Curie