Doctoral student – Supply strategies for bio-based industries

The department of Forest Biomaterials and Technology (SBT) forms part of the Faculty of Forest Sciences, has about 50 employees and is located in both Umeå and Uppsala. The department carries out high quality research and under- and postgraduate education on a high international level and collaborates with society and industry to develop a bio-based economy where forest biomaterials are an important resource. The major focus in Umeå lies on value chains in the bio-based industry, where different components of forest biomaterials are collected, characterized, separated, modified / processed, used and re-used cost-effectively for different purposes while forest ecosystem services are managed sustainably. In Uppsala, the focus lies on wood science and technology with research and education on wood materials from nano to macro levels and with accredited testing of wood products and treatments for the market.

Background and goals:
Raw material supply for bio-based industries is dominated by roundwood and secondary mill streams. With an increasing diversity of products and processes come new cost, quality and risk aspects for supply management. The management of raw material qualities towards increased product value provides new challenges, particularly for the lean supply chains. The requires developing new approaches to  supply strategy and supply planning methods.  Sources span an international and national supplier base with a variety of business models.  Consequently, new quantitative  methods must be developed for evaluating sources, developing supply systems and handling risk.   

The main goal  of the PhD project is  further development of methods for industrial supply planning and supply strategy analysis  for both existing and new bio-based industries. The ultimate aim is to contribute to competitive and resilient raw material sourcing in the forest industry ecosystem.

Work and duties:
The work follows two parallel tracks. The basic track concerns benchmark practices for developing supply strategies for existing forest industries and corresponding quantitative methods. This base will then be extended for a selection of new bio-based industries. The work will be done in collaboration with leading Swedish forestry and industrial clusters. 

The doctoral student combines both PhD-courses and practical research work. A considerable component of the research work will consist of communication with stakeholder organizations and collaborative development of data analysis methods. Lecturing and course management duties up to 20% of work time in the subject wood supply may be possible, with corresponding prolongation of employment time if needed.

Qualifications:
Students with a master’s degree in forestry, business administration or logistics are eligible to apply for this position. We are particularly looking for students with a master’s degree in forestry science, with focus on industrial wood supply and logistics. The applicant should have command of both Swedish and English at start of the PhD position in order to do both field work and communicate results. Much emphasis in the evaluation of applications is placed on analytical and problem-solving capacity, motivation and ability to collaborate as well as work individually. Experiences of academic publication is seen as a merit.

Place of work:
Umeå

Form of employment:
Temporary employment, 4 years

Extent:
100%

Starting date:
The position may start as agreed between both parties.

Application:
We welcome your application no later than 2020-05-11, use the button below.

An assessment and evaluation of applications is based on a written application that should contain a CV, thesis project report, possible additional publications, information about reference persons.

More information about SLU’s doctoral education is available at: https://www.slu.se/en/education/programmes-courses/doctoral-studies/

Academic union representatives:
https://internt.slu.se/en/my-employment/employee-associations/kontaktpersoner-vid-rekrytering/



The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) develops the understanding and sustainable use and management of biological natural resources. The university ranks well internationally within its subject areas. SLU is a research-intensive university that also offers unique degree programmes in for example rural development and natural resource management, environmental economics, animal science and landscape architecture.

SLU has just over 3,000 employees, 5,000 students and a turnover of SEK 3 billion. The university has invested heavily in a modern, attractive environment on its campuses in Alnarp, Umeå and Uppsala.

www.slu.se

SLU is an equal opportunity employer.