KU Supporting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals
The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals are the plan to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. They address the global challenges we face, including those related to poverty, inequality, energy crises, water and food shortage, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice. Khalifa University is committed to supporting the implementation of the SDGs at national and global scales.
Project Overview
This project will showcase a novel riparian area mapping and decision support tool in response to the recently announced and emphasized calls during COP28 held in Dubai, i.e., the ‘Joint Statement on Climate, Nature and People’ and the United Nations Freshwater Challenge (FWC) initiative 2030 goals. This investigation develops decision support tool which estimates potential riparian areas by processing oases, lowlands, wetlands, riparian buffers, headwater catchments, layers, assets, and information. Furthermore, this project will outline a method to estimate state descriptor of country’s riparian area human influence degree benchmarked against the respective country total area through a quantitative, geographically specific, and structured index, ranging from completely artificial to natural environment. This assessment of the relative state of disturbance between riparian areas and the country overall area is designed to assist governments and stakeholders around the UAE, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the world in evaluating movement towards the goals set by the calls and initiatives highlighted. The project is scheduled to last one year, with the possibility of extension to two years depending on the outcome of the performance review.
Job Purpose & Key Responsibilities
KU is seeking a highly motivated Post-doctoral Fellow to work on this internally funded project. The postdoc will build a dynamic robust decision support system that can inform stakeholders about the potential riparian areas and how they change with climate conditions over the United Nations Sustainable Development Region Northern Africa and Western Asia. The postdoc will employ the developed dynamic robust decision support system to estimate state descriptor of country’s riparian area human influence degree.
Qualifications
- PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering, Computer Science, or Applied Earth Sciences gained from a Top 200 QS or THE World University Rankings.
- Experience in writing scientific high-impact journal manuscripts in the investigation relevant fields.
- Ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
- Highly developed reasoning and problem-solving skills.
- Excellent English language communication skills (verbal and written).
Preferred Qualifications
The candidate is expected to have strong knowledge of remote sensing, climate data and substantial experience in programming languages such as Python, R, and Java, and familiarity with GIS systems and the Google Earth Engine platform.
Application
If you are interested in this position, please send your complete and meaningful application documents by email to Dr. Ibrahim Mohammed (Ibrahim.mohammed@ku.ac.ae). To ensure consideration for the position, applications are being accepted on a rolling basis up to 15 November 2025. The search may continue until the position is filled. The application package should include motivation letter, curriculum vitae and publication list, contact info of two references. Applicants are requested to include their citizenship information in their curriculum vitae. Questions and further information about this position should be directed to Dr. Ibrahim Mohammed.
Working at KU
The internationally top-ranked Khalifa University of Science and Technology (KU) is the one university in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with research and academic programs that address the entire range of strategic, scientific and industrial challenges facing the UAE’s knowledge economy transformation and our rapidly evolving world. KU has ranked top in the UAE in 10 subjects in the QS World University Rankings by Subject in 2025. KU offers several benefits, in addition to normal compensation, to meet the reasonable needs of employees and to comply with statutory requirements.
