PhD Position: Rural Engagements with Hyperscale Data Centers in Fiji

Vacancy title: PhD position on rural residents’ engagements with hyperscale data centers and promised infrastructural integration – Subproject: Fiji

The Sociology of Development and Change (SDC) Group welcomes applicants for a fully salaried PhD position in the NWO-Vidi funded project ‘Sprawling Servers.’ The project investigates rural residents’ encounters with the promises for development that surround hyperscale data centers and related data infrastructures such as undersea cables. The project is particularly interested in how these promises, and people’s reactions to them, are embedded in broader experiences with rural revitalization and infrastructural development initiatives. The project also explores visions for liveable rural futures with, and beyond, hyperscalers. The project is based on comparative ethnographic research and brings together insights from: Fiji, Brazil, and the Netherlands.

The research is carried out by a project team consisting of three researchers: 2 PhDs and the Principal Investigator (PI), Dr Stephanie Ketterer (Associate Professor, SDC). The team will work together to further elaborate and refine the research approach, analyse the data, participate in conferences, and (co-)author publications.

You will be based at Wageningen University and conduct twelve months of in-depth ethnographic fieldwork in Fiji. The focus of your research will be on how residents engage with reports and rumours about data centers and other data infrastructures such as undersea cables in their daily lives, and how they relate to concerns about, among others, development, employment, the environment and the state. Your research will include a multi-temporal perspective, in that you will consider the history of infrastructural development in the region, its current iteration (focused on data infrastructures), and likely competing visions for the future.

Your duties and responsibilities include:

• setting up and carrying out ethnographic fieldwork in a complex environment;
• setting up and completing a PhD dissertation within four years;
• authoring and co-authoring publications with other team members;
• participating in conferences, workshops, seminars and other scholarly activities;
• being part of the research team and help organise the overall work and strategy of the team;
• being an active member of the Sociology and Development and Change Group and the Section Space, Place and Society (participating in group activities, meetings, and seminars); and as a secondary affiliation also at the School of People, Environment, and Planning, Massey University, New Zealand

You will work here
You will be part of the ‘Sprawling Servers’ research team, led by the PI Stephanie Ketterer. The team is team is embedded in the chair group of Sociology of Development and Change led by Prof. Robert Fletcher, and the Section Space, Place and Society. Your supervisors will be Dr Stephanie Ketterer (co-promotor), Dr. Martijn Koster (promotor) and, from the School of People, Environment, and Planning, Massey University, Prof. Glenn Banks.

You are:

• a dedicated, curious researcher who has a critical mindset and wishes to build a deeper understanding of debates in political anthropology as they relate to issues of development, infrastructure, digitalization and datafication;
• a team player who contributes to making a collaborative research project a success, but you also have the creativity, aptitude and qualities needed to do individual and independent work when needed, especially when it comes to 12 months of ethnographic fieldwork;
• willing to nurture these qualities further over the course of the project, including how these could serve you in a further career in academia or beyond after the PhD.

You also possess:

• a completed (Research) Master’s Degree in anthropology, development studies, geography, media studies or a related field;
• demonstrated passion and aptitude for research;
• proven experience with ethnographic and other qualitative research methods, ideally in Fiji (or elsewhere in the Pacific) and/or on topics related to political anthropology, digitalization, infrastructure development;
• broader experience with living, working or studying in the ‘Global South’ for an extended period of time, ideally in Fiji (or elsewhere in the Pacific)
• excellent command of written and spoken English and ideally knowledge of iTaukei; or a willingness to learn and a proven track record of foreign language acquisition
• good skills in planning, taking initiatives, organizing events, presenting your work to a wider audience;
• proven skills in academic writing;
• affinity with teaching, possibly already some experience (e.g. as a student assistant)
• interest in being part of and contributing to a lively, caring and engaging academic environment.

Since you are to become an active member of the chair group’s intellectual community and work closely together with the project team, you are expected to live in the Netherlands, and it is advisable to live near Wageningen. Exceptions are fieldwork and additoinal time spent at Massey University in New Zealand. Doing this PhD remotely will not be possible.

The expected start date for the position is August 15, 2026.

For this position your command of the English language is expected to be at C1. Sometimes it is necessary to submit an internationally recognised Certificate of Proficiency in the English Language. More information can be found here.

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

• Partially paid parental leave;
• working hours that can be discussed and arranged so that they allow for the best possible work-life balance;
• 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 year-end bonus of 8.3%;
• excellent pension scheme.

In addition to these first-rate employee benefits, you will receive a fully funded PhD position and you will be offered a course program tailored to your needs and the research team.
The gross salary for the first year is € 3.059,- per month rising to € 3.881,- in the fourth year in according to the Collective Labour Agreements for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU) (scale P). This is based on a full-time working week of 38 hours. We offer a temporary contract for 18 months which will be extended for the duration of the project if you perform well.

Wageningen University & Research offers plenty of opportunities for growth and development, with a strong internal recruitment policy and excellent training programmes.

You will work on the greenest and most innovative campus in the Netherlands, in an international and open working environment.

The mission of Wageningen University & 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, 7,600 employees (6,700 fte) and 13,100 students and over 150,000 participants to WUR’s Life Long Learning, Wageningen University & Research is one of the leading organisations in its domain. The unique Wageningen approach lies in its integrated approach to issues and the collaboration between different disciplines.

Read the 5 reasons why your future colleagues enjoy working at WUR and watch the video below 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.

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.

Because we expect you to work and live in the Netherlands 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. We can assist you with any additional advice and information about for example helping your partner to find a job, housing, or schooling. Finally, certain categories of international staff may be eligible for a tax exemption on a part of their salary during the first five years in the Netherlands.