Are they passionate about tackling climate-related challenges and empowering climate-affected communities in Africa? Do they aspire to complete academic research with a real-world impact? They should join Climares, a groundbreaking research project that supports the climate resilience of at-risk populations in five African countries.
PhD Positions Available
Location: Makerere University, Uganda, Department of Geography, Geoinformatics, and Climatic Sciences Joint/Dual Degree: Wageningen University, The Netherlands (PhD A – Smallholders) or Erasmus University Rotterdam (PhD B – Refugees)
Expected Starting Date: July 1st – August 1st, 2025, or as soon as possible thereafter
Application Deadline: march 25th, 2025
Position Details
For their work in Uganda, Climares is looking for 2 PhD candidates who will work with either smallholders or refugees and other stakeholders using innovative, participatory research methods. The positions are initially for one year, extended, conditional upon good performance, to a maximum of five years, on a full-time basis.
Project A: Smallholders
Focus on the climate-related challenges and innovation strategies of smallholders engaged in cash crop production, notably highland coffee cultivation.
Project B: Displacement
Focus on refugees and other forcibly displaced persons in Uganda, and their resilience strategies in relation to climate-related threats and uncertainties.
Job Description – What They Will Do
They will be part of an exciting new research project called Climares (www.climares.nl). Climares is a consortium of 7 African and 7 Dutch universities, along with societal partners, working in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Morocco, Senegal, and Uganda. Their mission is to support at-risk populations—smallholders, fisherfolk, urban outdoor workers, pastoralists, and displaced people—by transforming weather and climate data into actionable insights that enhance resilience and enable early adaptation.
Climares uses participatory digital and in-person research, co-created climate storylines, and advocacy methods to ensure that weather and climate information becomes accurate and actionable and integrated with local knowledge systems. Within the scope of the project, they are expected to develop their own PhD research focus and thematic interest, in close collaboration with their supervisors. The supervision team consists of African and Dutch academics with a range of research areas. They will also be part of an interdisciplinary group of eleven PhD researchers, who are recruited from the five African countries and who will be the core of the Climares project.
The PhD projects in Uganda center around action-oriented research with communities and other stakeholders, such as civil society actors, private actors, and government representatives. The projects aim to support the agency and resilience of communities by creating and supporting Knowledge∞Action (K∞A) networks. These networks are composed of all stakeholders that have an interest in the resilience of a population group, including affected communities. As PhD researchers, they will be responsible for setting up and facilitating these networks over a five-year period, and for collecting data on the process.
For the duration of the project, they will be part of the Climares Academy that meets online for one day per week for training, supervision, and meetings with their peers.
Where They Will Work
These PhD positions are based in Uganda, with occasional travel to the Netherlands (or other countries) for training purposes and consortium meetings. The PhD trajectories will start with an intensive two-month training in the Netherlands. After this, they will return to Uganda to spend significant periods of time with either smallholders or refugees and to start working on the Knowledge∞Action (K∞A) networks. During this period, they will attend online training and reflection meetings one day per week. They will be members of the Climares PhD school, called the Climares Academy.
Training and Support
Training will include academic courses as well as training on skills and content required for Climares, and individual career development support. Training will be provided by members of the Climares consortium, including academic partners and societal partners such as the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, Deltares, and the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute. PhD candidates will receive cutting-edge teaching and mentoring from a diverse range of experts, combining theoretical knowledge with practical applications.
Supervision and Degree
The supervision teams for these PhD projects will consist of scholars from Makerere University and Wageningen University for PhD A, and scholars from Makerere and Erasmus University for PhD B. With their supervisors, they will develop a detailed PhD project plan, including research activities and milestones. They will also jointly develop and regularly monitor their own career development plan. They will be admitted to and graduate from Makerere University, as well as – through a joint/dual degree arrangement – from Wageningen University (PhD A) and Erasmus University (PhD B) in the Netherlands.
Requirements
They are looking for an interdisciplinary team of PhD researchers. They invite candidates with various profiles to apply. Requirements for both candidates include:
- A master’s degree or an equivalent diploma in social sciences, climate sciences, geographical sciences, environmental sciences, or a related field.
- Experience with, and a strong affinity for, research related to climate change, climate resilience, climate change impacts, or climate vulnerability.
- Strong research skills, either qualitative or quantitative, and experience working with communities, preferably using participatory methods.
- Motivation to develop methodological skills in both qualitative and quantitative research.
- Residency in Uganda, or extensive experience working in Uganda, preferably with either smallholders (PhD A) or refugees (PhD B). Familiarity with local customs and languages relevant to the communities is important.
- Ability to carry out work independently and proactively, and also work well in a team, supporting interdisciplinary teamwork and knowledge sharing.
- Excellent academic skills (analytical thinking, scientific writing, and presentation), evidenced for example by a good review of their master’s thesis and potentially some scientific publications.
- Excellent social skills for working with communities, other stakeholders, and other PhD candidates over a long period of time.
- Proficiency in English is a must, as graduation at one of the Netherlands universities must be done based on a dissertation in English.
What They Offer
They offer an interdisciplinary PhD position where candidates will obtain academic skills with practical application, in an enthusiastic team of world-renowned scholars and organizations working on climate issues. The expected start date of this position is between July 1st and August 1st, 2025, or as soon as possible thereafter. Candidates will be based at Makerere University, the Department of Geography, Geoinformatics, and Climatic Sciences. They offer competitive remuneration as well as research costs. The initial contract has a duration of one year (12 months), extendable to five years conditional upon performance.
