The PhD position falls under the Sustainable Entrepreneurship in a Circular Economy chair group. At the moment, five Assistant Professors and eight PhD students are taking part in the Faculty’s teaching and research activities. Key topics that we focus on in our group comprise sustainable business models, sustainable start-ups, organizational change, sustainable decision-making in organizations, and promoting sustainable human behaviour. Research within our group is both interdisciplinary (combining psychology and business for example) and transdisciplinary (working closely with regional firms and organizations on circularity challenges). As such, we value carrying out fundamental research with high societal relevance.

We are looking for a PhD candidate with a passion for interdisciplinary research on sustainable entrepreneurship. Notably, together with your supervisors dr. Berfu Ünal and Prof. dr. Gjalt de Jong, you will combine theories from the disciplines of psychology and sustainable entrepreneurship to investigate the process of how entrepreneurs, as leaders of an organization, could foster sustainability goals in an organization, and how they could influence individual behaviour towards higher sustainability. In your research you will initiate and maintain partnerships with practitioners and sustainable entrepreneurs that pioneer circular economy in the region, and collaborate with them closely. You will publish the results of your studies in international scientific journals, which will be part of your PhD thesis. Moreover, you will present your studies at international conferences.

In addition, you will support teaching in various course units for the Master’s degree programme in Sustainable Entrepreneurships, and supervise student projects. Please note that for PhD Scholarship students, teaching activities are voluntarily and may be performed if the teaching is embedded in the Career Perspectives course Start to Teach as part of the PhD Training Programme.

The candidate should have the following qualifications:
- a completed or almost completed (research) master’s degree in Psychology/Business/Economics or a related degree programme
- a strong affinity with sustainability/circular economy/corporate environmental responsibility (CER); behavioural influence
- a key interest in conducting theory-driven research with high societal relevance
- willingness to work interdisciplinary
- relational skills for making connections between the Faculty and the professional field of Friesland/the Northern Netherlands and the willingness to build intensive regional collaborations
- very good knowledge of written and spoken English
- enthusiasm in contributing to innovations in the chair group/Faculty
- conceptual ability
- presenting skills
- planning and organizational skills.

We encourage applications from candidates with a background in environmental, social and organizational psychology or from candidates who are willing to combine theories of psychology, business and economics. International applications are also strongly encouraged.

Fixed-term contract: 48 months.

You enroll in the PhD Scholarship Programme and receive a scholarship of €2,120 per month (gross) from the University of Groningen. For more information on the RUG PhD scholarship programme and its benefits please check the website at www.rug.nl/(...)holarship-programme/.

The PhD Scholarship contract is offered for four years. A successful candidate will first be offered a temporary contract of one year with the option of renewal for another three years. Prolongation of the contract is contingent on sufficient progress in the first year to indicate that a successful completion of the PhD thesis within the contract period is to be expected.

A PhD training programme is part of the agreement and the successful candidate will be enrolled in the Graduate School of Campus Fryslân (GSCF). As part of the programme, the PhD student will take part in the Career Perspectives Series, which provides a thorough preparation on the career after the PhD, inside or outside academia. During the course of the doctorate, the student will develop research and teaching competencies as well as leadership skills. For this, the PhD students will receive a tailor-made programme from the GSCF.

Campus Fryslan

Since its foundation in 1614, the University of Groningen has enjoyed an international reputation as a dynamic and innovative university of higher education offering high-quality teaching and research. Balanced study and career paths in a wide variety of disciplines encourage the 31,000 students and researchers to develop their own individual talents. Belonging to the best research universities in Europe and joining forces with prestigious partner universities and networks, the University of Groningen is an international place of knowledge.

Campus Fryslân is the ambitious eleventh and newest faculty of the University of Groningen, located in Leeuwarden. We are an interdisciplinary faculty that works closely together with regional, national and international partners on worldwide (sustainability) problems and local solutions. The sustainable development goals of the United Nations thus serve as an important guideline.

We offer challenging Bachelor’s, Master’s and PhD degree programmes. The research institute covers four research domains: Governance, Sustainable Economy, Culture, Language & Technology and Health & Food. In the summer of 2019, we will move to the new faculty building De Beurs: the first all-electric, monumental educational building in the Netherlands.