European Research Council (ERC) PhD scholarships

Three PhD scholarships are open in sustainable food systems at the University of Copenhagen, within the ERC Consolidator project TRANSFORM-FARM led by Associate Professor Laura Vang Rasmussen. The project studies forgotten foods, also described as neglected and underutilized species, opportunity crops, or orphan crops, and how they can help address nutrition, poverty, and biodiversity loss.

The three PhD fellows will join an international, highly interdisciplinary team based at the Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. The research themes include common portfolios of forgotten foods such as amaranth, pigeon pea, and okra; baobab; and moringa. The work involves field data collection in Tanzania and Malawi, collaboration with local communities, and co-creating scenarios for equitable scaling of forgotten foods.

Relevant study areas include agriculture, environmental science, geography, land system science, agroecology, agronomy, health, nutrition, biodiversity, and social justice. The post highlights desirable experience in remote-area data collection, quasi-experimental methods, R or Python, food consumption and nutrition surveys, poverty surveys, bird surveys, and equity-focused research.

Eligibility: applicants should hold a master’s degree in a related field and have strong communication skills plus excellent English. The positions are full-time for 3 years under the regular PhD programme (5+3 scheme), subject to enrolment at the PhD School at the Faculty of Science.

Application deadline: 10 May 2026 at 23:59 GMT+2. Start date: 1 August 2026 or as soon as possible thereafter. Applicants must submit a motivated letter, a one-page research proposal, CV, diplomas, transcripts, and a publication list through the university job portal.