The Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University Invites applications from qualified candidates to a full-time Postdoc position in ERC Project: Collaborative Planning in China.
The postdoctoral researcher will work on the ERC Starting Grant project CoChina “Collaborative Planning in China: Authoritarian Institutions, New Media, Power Relations, and Public Spheres”. This project focuses on the public spheres. It will differentiate forms of online public spheres through the platform of the internet and social media, and analyze how they interact with offline public spheres to affect collaborative planning.
The aim of this project is to examine collaborative planning practices in China and identify the challenges to the assumptions of the theory about institutions, power relations, and public spheres. This ERC project will lead to a new understanding of collaborative planning in China, and a reconceptualization of collaborative planning theory to fit authoritarian contexts.
The postdoctoral researcher will conduct both theoretical and empirical research, and closely collaborate with two Ph.D. students and the PI within the ERC project.
Vacancies
The main tasks include (but not limited to):
- Conceptualize public spheres in collaborative planning in China;
- apply computer-assisted content analysis to analyze data collected from online platforms (social media, websites, etc.);
- conduct questionnaire surveys in Chinese cities and statistical analysis to understand citizens’ motivation and participation;
- work with the PI for the reconceptualization of collaborative planning theory;
- publish results in scientific journals and present at international conferences;
- contribute to the organization of workshops, a conference and other activities of the project;
- teaching duties within the Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning (0.1 FTE/year).
Salary
- A gross monthly salary ranging from €3,217 to €4,012 (depending on experience) per month.
- Also, Salaries are supplemented with a holiday bonus of 8% and a year-end bonus of 8.3% per year.
- An attractive retirement scheme.
- Partly paid parental leave and flexible employment conditions.
Job Requirements
- A Ph.D. degree in media studies, urban planning, public administration, geography or a related field, and international experience is a plus;
- knowledge of the impact of new media (e.g. social media, online forums, participatory tools) on public spheres and/or urban planning;
- a strong research profile documented through high-quality publications;
- research experience in computer-assisted content analysis, statistical analysis, and questionnaire surveys;
- experience in project acquisition and proposal writing;
- an interest in academic theory development and theory application;
- excellent command of written and spoken English and Mandarin;
- strong social and communicative skills.
Application Process
The University of Utrecht welcomes employees with a wide variety of backgrounds and perspectives. To apply, the following documents should be uploaded via the ‘apply’ button below.
- curriculum vitae,
- a letter of motivation,
- a research statement,
- digital copies of university degrees, and
- additional documents (two key publications)
To apply, click here
Application Deadline: January 31, 2021.
For more information, visit the official site.
