Carolina Castaldi

Utrecht University is recruiting a fully funded PhD candidate for a 4-year project titled Global Talent Interdependence and Europe’s Strategic Innovation Ambitions . The project sits at the intersection of Economic Geography , Innovation Studies , Migration & Mobility , and Science and Technology Policy . It examines how the international mobility of STEM talent shapes innovation, competitiveness, and technological sovereignty in Europe. The research will use large-scale longitudinal datasets together with publication and patent data, and will combine quantitative and mixed-method approaches. The PhD candidate will be based in the Economic Geography Section of the Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, with close collaboration with the Innovation Studies Section at the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development. Supervision is by Dr Burcu Özgün , Dr Giovanna Capponi , and Professor Carolina Castaldi . Applicants should have a strong interest in innovation, human capital, and international mobility. The call welcomes candidates from economic geography, economics, sociology, innovation studies, development studies, or related social science fields. Strong quantitative skills, experience with data analysis and statistics, and excellent academic writing are important. Experience with web scraping and large datasets is an advantage. English proficiency at C1 level is required, and motivation to develop teaching skills is expected. The position is fully funded , initially for one year and extendable to four years upon successful assessment. The salary is €3,059–€3,881 gross per month for full-time employment, plus holiday pay and year-end bonus. Deadline: 25 May 2026. Apply through Utrecht University’s application portal and include a motivation letter, CV, writing sample, and two referees. International candidates may need to provide diploma and grade list documents if shortlisted.

Utrecht University’s Faculty of Geosciences is advertising multiple PhD openings across geosciences, human geography, education, innovation studies, environmental science, and planetary health. The post highlights nine interdisciplinary PhD projects, with the first vacancies now open and more to follow. Open PhD projects include: - Global Talent Interdependence and Europe’s Strategic Innovation Ambitions : a fully funded four-year PhD in the Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, focusing on global talent mobility, innovation systems, migration, and geography. Methods include longitudinal data, publication and patent data, quantitative and mixed methods. - Geosciences students’ professional identity development : a PhD in education/geoscience education exploring how students develop confidence, motivation, self-efficacy, and professional identity, using surveys, interviews, focus groups, curriculum analysis, and longitudinal narrative study. - Parenting and caregiving in contaminated water landscapes : a PhD on PFAS contamination, toxic geographies, planetary health, and the lived experience of raising children in polluted environments, combining qualitative methods with soil/water measurements and PFAS modelling. - Fine Particles in Shallow Groundwater Systems : a PhD in Earth Sciences on particle dynamics, aquifer stratigraphy, groundwater flow, and clogging in Utrecht ATES wells, using subsurface data, experiments, and numerical modelling. Funding and conditions: The positions are fully funded doctoral appointments with an initial one-year contract and extension to four years after a successful assessment. Salary is listed at €3,059–€3,881 gross per month for full-time work, plus holiday pay, year-end bonus, pension, and other employment benefits. Eligibility highlights: Applicants should have a relevant Master’s degree, strong motivation for research, and the skills relevant to the specific project. Depending on the vacancy, this may include quantitative analysis, mixed methods, qualitative research, programming, web scraping, numerical modelling, English proficiency, and in one case Dutch C1 level. Application window: Deadlines shown in the post and vacancy pages include 25 May 2026, 7 June 2026, 10 June 2026, and 21 June 2026. Applicants should apply through the online application button on the relevant Utrecht University vacancy page and upload the requested documents.