The Department of Urban and Rural Development conducts undergraduate and postgraduate education, research and collaboration. About 175 people are employed in five departments. The department is the largest at SLU within social sciences, humanities and design.
This position will be placed at the Division of Rural Development. In the Division of Rural Development, they conduct research, teaching and collaboration that focuses on issues of justice, knowledge and power in agriculture and forestry, natural resource management and development in rural areas. They see rural areas as dynamic spaces created by a network of relationships that span between the urban and rural and across the globe.
Read more about SLU’s benefits and what it is like to work at SLU at: https://www.slu.se/en/about-slu/work-at-slu/
Name of research project/thesis:
Attitudes, needs and preferences in the energy transition of Sweden’s food system
Description:
Rural Development
Qualifications:
The PhD candidate will conduct their research as part of the AgroDrive centre, which is funded by the Swedish government research council FORMAS. The objective of AgroDrive is to facilitate the transition to fossil-free energy in Sweden’s agricultural and food systems, for improved competitiveness, higher resilience, and better climate performance. AgroDrive brings together dozens of actors from academia, the public, and the private sectors. Thus, it offers a transdisciplinary platform on which to collectively develop and implement fossil-free solutions in the food system.
The PhD candidate will work within Work Package (WP) 6 of AgroDrive, which explores attitudes, needs and preferences for the adoption of different renewable fuels and fossil-free energy solutions in the Swedish food system to understand their socio-economic potentials and how to achieve an equitable and inclusive energy transition. This will be implemented through living labs and workshops in two Swedish regions (Västra Götaland and Östergötland), a policy lab, as well as other qualitative research. The work is carried out in close collaboration with the other AgroDrive WPs.
Job description:
The PhD candidate will theoretically anchor the PhD project in the field of rural development with a focus on energy transitions. They will be involved in empirical work in relation to the different WP 6 activities, and develop a mixed-methods approach grounded in qualitative research that will cater for comparative research and analysis as well as considering equality and inclusion aspects.
The candidate will also be affiliated with the AgroDrive Academy, which links the research of three PhD candidates with each other. The Academy serves as a meeting place and support network for the three candidates. It will arrange regular activities such as bi-weekly online meetings, in-person seminars and writing retreats. The Academy is led by two experienced researchers from Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies and the Division of Rural Development who will support the candidates within their PhD studies, or programs.
Place of work:
Uppsala
Forms for funding or employment:
Employment (4 years)
Starting date:
According to agreement. Preferably 1 September 2025.