The Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn is an international research university that offers a wide range of degree programs. With 200 years of history, about 38,000 students, over 6,000 employees, and an excellent domestic and international reputation, Bonn University is among Germany's leading universities. The Cluster of Excellence PhenoRob – Robotics and Phenotyping for Sustainable Crop Production seeks to employ, beginning October 2020 (or as soon as possible), max. until December 31, 2023

2 Doctoral Students (65%)
(TV-L 13)

The Cluster of Excellence "PhenoRob" is a large-scale research initiative that has been funded in the context of the Excellence Strategy by the German Science Foundation ( www.phenorob.de). PhenoRob aims to improve sustainability of crop production by taking a novel technology-driven approach; integrating robotics, digitalization, and machine learning on one hand, and modern phenotyping, modeling, and crop production on the other. The Doctoral Students will work in the Junior Research Group focusing on eco-efficiency evaluations of novel technologies. The group is part of Core Project 6 – "Technology Adoption and Impact at the Farm and Landscape Scale" which aims to understand how the adoption of new technologies will change crop farming systems, landscape, and markets. The focus of the research group in this context is to conduct and improve eco-efficiency evaluation of novel technologies and management practices. For this it takes a quantitative/data driven research approach and aims to leverage the potential for interdisciplinary collaboration within PhenoRob. Particularly it aims to (i) improve access to detailed farm management data, (ii) enhance our understanding of farmers input and technology use decisions, (iii) improve measuring environmental effects in eco-efficiency evaluations, and (iv) move eco-efficiency assessments to a field or subfield level while at the same time taking into account (spatial) ecosystem scale interactions. The work of one doctoral student will focus on the role of risk for adopting sustainable enhancing technologies. While the other will work on overcoming limitations in terms of the way environmental effects are measured in current eco-efficiency evaluation studies. Your tasks:

• Conducting an independent research project in the area of eco-efficiency evaluations
• Acquisition and application of scientific methods
• Publishing results in peer reviewed journals and presenting them at conferences
• Acquisition of skills and experiences in project/research management

Your profile:

• An excellent MSc degree in Agricultural Economics or related fields in economics
• Econometric and/or Data science skills
• Willingness to engage in interdisciplinary collaboration
• Very good English communication and writing skills

We offer:

• Participation in the international research hub The Cluster of Excellence "PhenoRob – Robotics and Phenotyping for Sustainable Crop Production"
• An advanced training program that will give you a competitive advantage when seeking a permanent position and help you balance work and family life
• Numerous training opportunities offered at the University of Bonn
• Part time employment (65%) according to TV-L E13 on the salary scale for University based researchers

Applicants must submit: (1) A letter of motivation including your specific research interest (max. 2 page), (2) a detailed curriculum vitae, (3) a copy of your MSc diploma and related transcripts, (4) the name and contact of two referees (position, professional address and e-mail). The University of Bonn is committed to diversity and equal opportunity. It is certified as a family-friendly university and aims to increase the number of women employed in areas where women are under-represented and to promote their careers. To that end, it urges women with relevant qualifications to apply. Applications will be handled in accordance with the Landesgleichstellungsgesetz (State Equality Act). Applications from suitable candidates with a certified disability or equivalent status are particularly welcome. If you are interested in this position, please submit your complete application documents by August 31, 2020 to Hugo Storm (Email: hugo.storm@ilr.uni-bonn.de) (application code: 45/20/3.202)