Are you an aspiring researcher with strong skills in statistics, mathematics, or machine learning and a keen interest in plant biology and agriculture? Would you like to contribute to multi-disciplinary research and develop new statistical methods for modelling high-dimensional production ecological data? Then we are looking for you!

Production ecology is a science that tries to understand and predict the productivity of agricultural systems as a function of their biological components, the production environment and human management. Achieving sustained and sustainable food production in a changing world thereby requires the ability to learn from diverse and complex sets of production ecological information, including data collected on-farm, through remote sensing or generated by crop growth simulation models. This collaborative PhD project, hosted by the Applied Statistics and Plant Production Systems groups of Wageningen University (WU), aims to develop methodologies for modelling high-dimensional empirical and simulated data, emphasising the use of graphical models. It offers rich and challenging opportunities for research on the interface between the statistics and crop ecology and is particularly suited for candidates with a strong statistical and mathematical background who wish to apply their skills to solve real problems in ecology and agriculture.

The Teams
You will be joining two dynamic and complementary groups working on quantitative aspects of plant sciences and agriculture. The chair group of Applied Statistics is part of Biometris. Biometris, one of the largest groups of quantitative scientists in North-Western Europe, develops statistical and mathematical methods for the quantification of biological processes and processes in our living environment. These methods are applied and validated in practice with the goal of bringing quantitative methods to life! The Plant Production Systems group focuses on the study of agricultural production across the world, using diverse methods from production ecology, systems analysis and statistics to identify environmental and productivity constraints, with the aim of designing more sustainable systems.

We are looking for someone who:

• Holds an MSc degree in Statistics, Data Science, or a related discipline;
• Has an interest in plant sciences and is looking forward to learn about plant ecology, agriculture, and crop growth modelling and to collaborate with scientists from other disciplines;
• Has excellent programming skills and experience using statistical software such as R;
• Has good communication skills and is proficient in English (both oral and written).

CAO WU
Wageningen University & Research offers excellent terms of employment. A few highlights from our Collective Labour Agreement include:

• sabbatical leave, study leave, and paid parental leave;
• working hours that can be discussed and arranged so that they allow for the best possible work-life balance;
• the option to accrue additional holiday hours by working more, up to 40 hours per week;
• there is a strong focus on vitality and you can make use of the sports facilities available on campus for a small fee;
• a fixed December bonus of 8.3%;
• excellent pension scheme.

In addition to these first-rate employee benefits, you will of course receive a good salary. Depending on your experience, we offer a competitive salary of between € €2.434, and € €3.111 for a full-time working week of 38 hours, in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreements for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU) (scale P). We offer a temporary contract for 12 months which will be extended for the duration of the project if you perform well.

Wageningen University & Research encourages internal advancement opportunities and mobility with an internal recruitment policy. There are plenty of options for personal initiative in a learning environment, and we provide excellent training opportunities. We are offering a unique position in an international environment with a pleasant and open working atmosphere.
You are going to work at the greenest and most innovative campus in Holland, and at a university that has been chosen as the "Best University" in the Netherlands for the 16th consecutive time.

Coming from abroad
Wageningen University & Research is the university and research centre for life sciences. The themes we deal with are relevant to everyone around the world and Wageningen, therefore, has a large international community and a lot to offer to international employees. Applicants from abroad moving to the Netherlands may qualify for a special tax relief, known as the 30% ruling. Our team of advisors on Dutch immigration procedures will help you with the visa application procedures for yourself and, if applicable, for your family.

Feeling welcome also has everything to do with being well informed. Wageningen University & Research's International Community page contains practical information about what we can do to support international employees and students coming to Wageningen. Furthermore, we can assist you with any additional advice and information about helping your partner to find a job, housing, schooling, and other issues.

Wageningen University & Research

Wageningen University & Research
The mission of Wageningen University and Research is "To explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life". Under the banner Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen University and the specialised research institutes of the Wageningen Research Foundation have joined forces in contributing to finding solutions to important questions in the domain of healthy food and living environment.

With its roughly 30 branches, 6.800 employees and 12.900 students, Wageningen University & Research is one of the leading organisations in its domain. An integrated approach to problems and the cooperation between various disciplines are at the heart of Wageningen's unique approach. WUR has been named Best Employer in the Education category for 2019-2020.

Read the 5 reasons why your future collaegues enjoy working at WUR and watch this video to get an idea of our green campus!

We will recruit for the vacancy ourselves, so no employment agencies please. However, sharing in your network is appreciated.