The successful applicant will be part of an international research team working on the project "Migration, Knowledge and Development: Role of Knowledge and Skills in the Migration Process", which is funded through the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research North-South (NCCR N-S), with financial support from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF).
The project takes a critical perspective on the recently surfaced new "optimistic" discourse on migration, highlighting migrants' potential as agents of global development. While usefully underscoring migrants' ability to create and spread knowledge and resources, this perspective risks portraying migrants as one homogenous group and ignoring individual or large-scale factors, like personal motivation or societal context, which can limit their contributions to overall development. Drawing on case studies from Central and South Asia this research project aims to achieve a more differentiated understanding of the dynamics of knowledge and skill flow in the migration process and its possible linkages with development. The project's concept note can be obtained from the contact given below.
Applicants should have a Master degree in Human Geography, Migration or Development Studies or any relevant Social Sciences discipline. The successful candidate is expected to carry out fieldwork either in rural and/or urban areas of Kyrgyzstan or in Kyrgyzstan and Nepal in a comparative way. Candidates are requested to send:
- A letter of application and a full curriculum vitae including two names of possible referees;
- A draft PhD research sketch in English (about 4 pages) within the broader theme of the project on "Migration, Knowledge and Development", incl. core research question and its justification; links to ongoing theoretical debates; possible empirical field research; relevant literature. Basic knowledge of Russian is an asset but no pre-condition, but must be acquired at a later stage. At Zurich, we offer a challenging position among a dynamic team of PhDs and senior researchers involved in critical development studies, with opportunities for international contacts, further training through Graduate Schools, and the gaining of teaching experience in our Bachelor and Master courses.
Please send your application by e-mail to Regina Kohler: regina.kohler@geo.uzh.ch.
Inquires to Dr. Susan Thieme: susan.thieme@geo.uzh.ch
Closing date: April 7th, 2010
Method of Application can be found here (http://www.geo.uzh.ch/fileadmin/files/content/abteilungen/human/PDFs/Zuerich_PhD_2010.pdf).
For more information: PhD Scholarships in Human Geograpghy at University of Zurich (http://www.geo.uzh.ch/en/units/human-geography/about-us/open-positions/)