项目介绍

2025年4月25日

Do you wonder how we can make Dutch landscapes more resilient to drought? Are you fascinated by the spatial and temporal patterns you see on satellite images? If you want to engage in research combining these two to study drought and recovery patterns in Dutch landscapes with forest patches and to be part of a team of researchers, practitioners and societal organisations, then this could be your call.

This research is part of the project COMBINED (Combatting biodiversity loss and improving climate change resilience through evidence-based, integrated, and adaptive landscape governance in the Netherlands). In COMBINED, 24 societal organisations and knowledge institutes, including municipalities, NGOs, businesses, and (applied) universities, team up to simultaneously improve climate change resilience and biodiversity in grassland, forest, and urban landscapes in the Netherlands.

You will combine and upscale knowledge on drought resilience of individual species and communities to the landscape level and monitor the spatio-temporal patterns of drought and recovery in forests and grasslands in peri-urban landscapes based on remote sensing. You will also combine (existing) biodiversity information on the forest and grasslands with remote sensing-based proxies of biodiversity to assess dependency on landscape settings. You will review the ability of existing monitoring strategies based on remote sensing and spatial statistics to evaluate and communicate the effectiveness of measures on biodiversity, climate and related ecosystem services to area managers. You will explore the impact of management practices and the robustness of landscape settings against climate scenarios, i.e. the ability to recover after a drought event.

Your profile

• An MSc degree (or close to defending) with a focus on remote sensing and spatial analysis/statistical modelling/data science, with an application to vegetation
• Experience with programming languages Python and/or R
• Good communication skills and an excellent command of English. Proficiency in Dutch is an advantage, given the interaction with area managers
• Enjoy engaging in team science with project partners and societal partners
• Motivated to contribute to knowledge dissemination and uptake activities for societal partners
• Excited about working with academics and practitioners from different backgrounds.

You can develop relevant skills on the job through dedicated learning and doctoral training.

Our offer

• An inspiring multidisciplinary, international, and academic environment. The university offers a dynamic ecosystem with enthusiastic colleagues, and internationalisation is an important part of the strategic agenda.
• Full-time position for four years with a mandatory qualifier after 6–9 months.
• A professional and personal development programme within Twente Graduate School
• Gross monthly salary of € 2,901.00 in the first year, which increases to € 3,707.00 in the fourth year
• A holiday allowance of 8% of the gross annual salary and a year-end bonus of 8.3%
• Excellent support for research and facilities for professional and personal development
• A solid pension scheme
• A total of 41 holiday days per year in case of full-time employment
• Excellent working conditions, an exciting scientific environment, and a lively green campus

This position is part of the NWO COMBINED project and offers integration into a dynamic research group of several organisations of research, governance and nature management, with peers exploring related themes. See for more info: https://www.combined-project.eu/.

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Information and application

For more information, you may contact Dr Wietske Bijker (email: w.bijker@utwente.nl) or Prof Wieteke Willemen (email: l.l.willemen@utwente.nl). You are also invited to visit our homepage.

For questions about working and living in the Netherlands, please consult the official website of the Netherlands Government or the website of the Expat Center East Netherlands.

Please submit your application before May 31, 2025, including:

• A motivation letter (one-page maximum) emphasising your specific interests, qualifications and motivation for this position
• Curriculum Vitae (including a list of all courses attended, grades obtained, the names and contact information of two references and – if applicable – a publication list)
• A written example of your scientific work, such as an MSc thesis, recent individual report or article

First-round (online) interviews are scheduled in the second half of June. A (possible) second round interview might take place in early July.