Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark recruits a PhD scholar for studying the hearing abilities of penguins in air and under water. The position is for three or four years.

The research of the candidate will focus on training penguins in Odense Zoo for psychophysical studies of their hearing in air and under water. Also other marine birds and mammals will be trained for similar tasks at the Marine Biological Research Centre in Kerteminde. The work will include:

1) Developing training plans for psychophysical measurements of penguins in a zoo setting;

2) Training penguins for psychophysical experiments in a zoo setting;

3) Performing acoustic measurements of background noise and stimulus levels and adjusting experimental setups to lower ambient noise levels to avoid masking;

4) Analysing psychophysical and acoustic data from the experiments.

The candidate must have a BSc degree in biology or equivalent and should have a background in animal training.

Funding for the project will partly be provided through a third party, i.e. by Umweltbundesamt through German Oceanographic Museum, which is still pending, and the University of Southern Denmark.

Expected starting date: 31 January 2018. Application deadline: 20 December 2017.

For further information please contact Magnus Wahlberg, tel.: +45 22163950, e-mail: [email protected] .

Application, salary etc.
Appointment as a PhD Research Fellow is for three (students who have completed their MSc) or four years (students who have not yet completed their MSc). Employment stops automatically at the end of the period. The holder of the scholarship is not allowed to have other paid employment during the three-year period.

The successful applicant will be employed in accordance with the agreement of 10 November 2015 on salaried PhD scholars between the Ministry of Finance and AC (the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations).

The successful candidate will be enrolled at this university in accordance with faculty regulations and the Danish Ministerial Order on the PhD Programme at the Universities (PhD order).

The University wishes our staff to reflect the diversity of society and thus welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of personal background.

Application must be made in the form of a Declaration of Interest including the following:
• A research proposal/description of your approach to the above project (max one page excluding references)
• A letter stating your specific interest, motivation and qualifications for the project in question (max. two pages) (please attach this under box “Application form”)
• Detailed CV, including personal contact information
• Copies of diplomas, Bachelor as well as Master’s degree, including transcript of notes/grades
• At least two signed reference letters. Should your referees wish to send their letters directly to us, please have them use e-mail: [email protected] mentioning your name and the title of the position in the subject line. And please note that these also need to reach us before deadline.

Further information about the PhD-study can be found at the homepage of the University .

Applications must be submitted electronically using the link below. Attached files must be in Adobe PDF or Word format. Each box can only contain a single file of max. 10 Mb. We strongly recommend that you read How to apply before you apply.

Incomplete applications and applications received after the deadline will neither be considered nor evaluated. This also applies to reference letters.

Further information for international applicants about entering and working in Denmark.