New Year ... new chances ...

13 Early Stage Researchers and 3 Experienced Researcher positions

(Leibniz-Institut für Länderkunde, Leipzig, Germany)

13 Early Stage Researcher (ESR, PhD) and 3 Experienced Researcher (ER, PostDoc) positions open in the Marie Curie ITN project "Socio-economic and Political Responses to Regional Polarisation in Central and Eastern Europe" (RegPol²). 

The project RegPol² coordinated by the Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography focuses on new patterns of regional disparities between metropolitan core regions and the remaining parts of Central and Eastern European countries (CEE). 16 subprojects will be dealing with the socio-economic forms of regional polarisation, their wider impacts on society as well as the responses conveyed by social, economic and political actors. RegPol² trains 16 young researchers for careers in academia, public administration, NGOs and the private sector. It aims (1) to educate self-reflexive specialists in complex multi-agent decision making for regional policy under uncertain framework conditions; (2) to train young researchers in better understanding regional polarisation and interrelated policymaking processes in different contexts and in communicating relevant information for decision making; (3) to raise the employability of trained researchers due to better knowledge of different disciplinary and cultural planning and policy traditions in the EU. All fellows will have the unique opportunity to work in interdisciplinary and multinational teams with excellent links to national and international research networks. 

Applications are invited for the following topics: 

ESR, PhD-projects:
1. Territorial mobility and socio-spatial polarisation in Romania and Hungary (Cluj-Napoca, Romania) 2. Fuzziness and softness in spatial patterns of regional policies. The example of the Slovak Republic, the Czech Republic and Germany (Bratislava, Slovakia) 3. European and national regional and innovation policies reproducing peripheries? - A critical analysis (Tartu, Estonia) 4. Production of core-periphery relations through the social nexuses of economic agents settled in backward regions (Békéscsaba, Hungary) 5. Development perspectives of village communities in rural Estonia (Tartu, Estonia) 6. Leadership and institutional change in peripheralised municipalities (Tartu, Estonia) 7. Path-contingency and path-innovation of regional policies in old and new economy locations. The examples of Czech Republic, Hungary and Estonia (Prague, Czech Republic) 8. The role of policy paradigms for the governance of core-periphery relations in Germany and Romania (Leipzig, Germany) 9. Multilevel governance for balanced development between core and peripheral spaces. A regional comparison between the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Germany (Bratislava, Slovakia) 10. Everyday practices of adaption and resistance to peripheralisation at household scale (Békéscsaba, Hungary) 11. The role of social innovation, social entrepreneurship and social business in regional development. A comparative study between Germany and Hungary (Potsdam, Germany) 12. The role of business innovation in the development of "peripheral" and "backward" regions" in East Germany and peripheral Estonia (Leipzig, Germany) 13. The role of renewable energy in the development of peripheral rural areas in North-West Romania (Cluj-Napoca, Romania) 

ER, PostDoc projects: 

1. The formation and (re-)production of spatial social and economic polarisation (Békéscsaba, Hungary) 2. Theoretical foundations for transnational comparative research on the governance of core-periphery relations (Tartu, Estonia) 3. Theoretical and conceptual thoughts around the ways of adaptation, the formation of strategies and the potentials for new developments (Leipzig, Germany) 

We are now looking for highly motivated candidates for 13 ESR positions (36 months) with the starting date of 1 September 2014 and 3 ER positions (10 months) with the starting date of 1 July 2014. Full information about the RegPol² project, the individual positions available and the eligibility criteria of Marie Curie ITN actions can be found by visiting our project website http://www.regpol2.eu. We only accept online-applications via the website from 07 January 2014. The first closing date for receipt of applications will be 18 February 2014. Further available positions might be advertised at the end of March. In case of any questions regarding the project, eligibility or the jobs available please contact Ms. Franziska Görmar at the Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography (f_goermar@ifl-leipzig.de).