(ref. BAP-2025-417)
Laatst aangepast: 01/07/25
The Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at KU Leuven (Belgium), within the Science and Technology Group at KU Leuven, is a department with 38 full-time professors, about 240 researchers and 24 full-time administrative and technical staff.
The main mission of the Department is to conduct high quality scientific research on the functioning of geo- and ecosystems at different temporal and spatial scales, including human-environment interactions and the sustainable management of natural resources.
The members of the Department provide high quality education in the fields of bioengineering, geography, geology and tourism. The Department aims to play a major role in societal issues such as environmental pollution, food production, climate change, forest, green and nature management, soil and water management, subsoil exploitation, urban and rural issues, development cooperation and tourism.
The Division of Geography & Tourism is seeking a full-time PhD candidate for 4 years. As part of the Earth surface processes and climate research group, you will work on a PhD project examining the occurrence and impacts of urban gullies in the Global South. The Earth surface processes and climate research group is an interdisciplinary team focused on understanding the changing and complex relationships between society and nature in both Global North and South contexts. More specifically, the team of Prof. Matthias Vanmaercke explores how processes of global change (e.g. urbanization, land cover/use and climate change) affects geomorphic processes like gully erosion and landslides and what the societal impacts of these processes are.
Project
Urban gullies are a rapidly growing concern in many cities of the tropical Global South. They typically result from inappropriate urban planning and insufficient infrastructure to safely store and evacuate rainfall in environments that are already highly sensitive to soil erosion. While they are often not considered in risk and disaster assessments, recent research by our team showed that they are a severely underestimated geohydrological hazard. For example, in the Democratic Republic of Congo alone, around 12,000 persons per year likely lose their house due to the formation and expansion of urban gullies. Over 3 million Congolese currently live in the potential expansion zone of urban gullies and are directly exposed to this risk.
While our team conducted considerable research on this problem over the past six years, many questions remain unanswered. Depending on the profile and interests of the PhD candidate and the outcome of other, complementary projects we applied for, this PhD will focus on one or more of the following research themes: (i) understanding the spatial patterns of urban gully occurrence and its impacts at a global scale; (ii) developing (semi-)automatic remote sensing approaches that can detect the occurrence of urban gully formation and expansion events at higher temporal resolutions; (iii) developing data-driven and/or geomorphic models that can predict the location and timing of urban gully formation and expansion events at high resolution; and/or (iv) assessing how urban planning and characteristics of the built-up environment interact with the formation and expansion of urban gullies. Alternative/complementary themes can be discussed.
Profile
We are looking for a highly motivated candidate who meets the following criteria:
- You hold a master’s degree in geography, bio-engineering, or another relevant discipline in environmental sciences.
- You have obtained excellent academic results in your previous studies.
- You have a strong interest in quantitative research methods and wish to have a positive impact on the world through academic research.
- Experience with programming, remote sensing, geomorphic and/or geostatistical modelling is preferred.
- Familiarity with gully erosion, geohydrological hazards, hydrology urban planning and/or disaster impact assessment are an advantage.
- Fluency in English (spoken and written) is required.
- Proficiency in Dutch, French and/or Portuguese is an advantage.
- You are willing to relocate to Belgium
- Depending on the final topic, you are willing to conduct fieldwork as required.
- As a PhD student, you will assist in teaching activities and supervise master’s theses (a few hours per week on average)
Offer
- A fully funded PhD scholarship for one year, extendable to 4 years after positive evaluation.
- A dynamic and interdisciplinary research group within the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Division of Geography & Tourism at KU Leuven.
- Office space at KU Leuven’s Arenberg campus.
- Expected starting date: 1st of October 2025 (negotiable)
Division of Geography and Tourism
Interested?
To apply for this position, please submit: your CV, academic records (Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees), a motivation letter, and a letter of recommendation. In addition, provide the reference and abstract of any academic work (e.g. research article, book chapter) that you find inspiring. Linked to this, briefly explain (max. 250 words) why you find this work inspiring or interesting within the context of this PhD project.
Application process: Only pre-selected candidates will be invited for an interview. Pre-selected candidates will be asked to submit a three-page research project proposal (including bibliography) prior to this interview.
For more information please contact Prof. dr. Matthias Vanmaercke, tel.: +32 16 37 21 67, mail: matthias.vanmaercke@kuleuven.be.
You can apply for this job no later than August 04, 2025 via the online application tool
KU Leuven strives for an inclusive, respectful and socially safe environment. We embrace diversity among individuals and groups as an asset. Open dialogue and differences in perspective are essential for an ambitious research and educational environment. In our commitment to equal opportunity, we recognize the consequences of historical inequalities. We do not accept any form of discrimination based on, but not limited to, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, age, ethnic or national background, skin colour, religious and philosophical diversity, neurodivergence, employment disability, health, or socioeconomic status. For questions about accessibility or support offered, we are happy to assist you at this email address.
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