PhD scholarship in Sustainable Construction: Innovation and Institutionalisation

Copenhagen Business School, CBS, invites applications for a vacant PhD scholarship on the topic “Sustainable construction, innovation, and institutionalization”. The successful candidate will be associated with the CBS Sustainability Platform. The CBS Sustainability Platform ( http://www.cbs.dk/Sustainability ) facilitates the development of research, educational and outreach activities on sustainability at CBS. It serves as a catalyst and communicator of knowledge that can be used to address the challenges of ensuring social, environmental and economic sustainability in society. The lead supervisor will be Professor Andreas Rasche from CBS and secondary supervisor will be Professor Susse Georg from Aalborg University (Copenhagen campus). A mandatory secondment / research stay of 6 months will take place at The VELUX Group ( http://www.velux.com/sustainable_living ). There is a growing interest within the construction industry and amongst policy makers in promoting sustainable construction. Drawing on economic sociology and organisational theory, the research objective is to analyse the institutionalisation of sustainable construction and the technical, organisational and managerial innovations that this involves. The PhD project will explore the practices of key actors in the value chain – clients, architects, contractor companies, material suppliers, and urban planners – and examine the challenges and opportunities for inter-organizational collaboration. The research will be conducted in collaboration with VELUX based upon the Active House demonstration buildings and long-term vision on Sustainable Living in Buildings. The project can address the following research questions: 

1)      How do actors involved in the construction sector collaborate in creating standards for sustainability, e.g. sustainability labels, professional norms and certification systems, that shape collective understandings within the sector and facilitate the spread of new design templates and construction methods?

2)      How do these actors create innovative practices that can enable them to realize the business opportunities associated with sustainable construction, providing them and society with greater value than business as usual? 

3)      How do building and planning authorities meet, understand and accept new (voluntary) standards, design templates and construction methods? 

Mobility:

At the time of recruitment at CBS, the PhD candidate shall not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Denmark for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the date of hiring. Compulsory national service and/or short stays such as holidays are not taken into account.

Requirements:

Priority will be given to applicants with high grades from their universities. The PhD scholarship is funded through the EU FP7 Marie Curie Grant Initial Training Network (ITN) project entitled “Research and Competence Training Network for Sustainability-Driven Innovation”. This project funds 14 PhD students across Europe and connects leading European research institutions as well as other business and non-business partners offering a variety of opportunities to the PhD. The PhD is expected to participate in relevant knowledge sharing activities within this network. More information on this project is available here: http://www.eabis.org/projects/project-detail-view.html?uid=42 The three-year PhD programme at CBS allows you to conduct research under the supervision of CBS professors, supported by research training courses. The programme is highly international, and you are expected to participate in international research conferences and to spend time abroad as a visiting PhD student. See the CBS homepage for more information about the PhD programme, http://uk.cbs.dk/phd . CBS PhD graduates are held in high esteem not only in academia and research institutions but also in government and business where their research qualifications are increasingly demanded. One third of CBS PhD graduates go on to employment outside universities and public research institutions. Copenhagen Business School has a broad commitment to the excellence, distinctiveness and relevance of its teaching and research programmes. Candidates who wish to join us should demonstrate enthusiasm for working in an organisation of this type (highlighting, for example, relevant business, educational and dissemination activities). 

For further information please contact: 

Professor Mette Morsing, mm.ikl@cbs.dk.

Professor Andreas Rasche, ara.ikl@cbs.dkAppointment and salary will be in accordance with the Danish Ministry of Finance’s agreement with the Danish Central Academic Organisation and the European Commission FP7 rules.

General information:

A PhD scholarship runs for a period of 3 years, and includes an obligation to disseminate the research findings (e.g., via conferences). Scholarships are fully salaried positions, according to the national Danish collective agreement. The scholarship includes the tuition fees, office space, travel grants plus a salary, currently starting with per month app. DKK 23.770 (app. 3,160 euro) up to DKK 28.964 (app. 3,860 euro) depending on seniority, plus a pension contribution totalling 17,1 % of 85 per cent of the base salary.The salary level and appointment is determined by the Ministry of Finance’s collective agreement with the Central Academic Organisation.The PhD student will be enrolled at the PhD School in Organisation and Management.To be considered, the candidate should have a basic training at the Master’s level (similar to the 3 + 2 Bologna process). An educational background in the social sciences is necessary. The applicant must have successfully completed a Master’s degree before commencing a PhD at CBS. The applicant must be fluent in English.The application (see link below) must include a 5 page project description. This research proposal should contain a presentation of an original research question, a description of the initial theoretical framework and methodology, a presentation of the suggested empirical material as well as a work-plan.In addition to the research proposal, the application must include copies of a Master’s degree certificate or other certificates of a corresponding level, brief curriculum vitae (CV), a list of papers and publications, and one copy of a selected written work (e.g. Master’s thesis).A committee of experts in the field in question will assess the applications. The assessment of the applicants will be based on the quality and relevance of the project, including an evaluation of the applicant’s ability to accomplish it. Following this assessment, the management of the department will select the winner of the scholarship.Please find guidelines and further information on scholarships and the Doctoral Programme at http://uk.cbs.dk/phd .

Closing date: 31.01.2013

Application must be sent via the electronic recruitment system, using the link below.Copenhagen Business School must receive all application material, including all appendices (see items above), by the application deadline.

Details about Copenhagen Business School are available at www.cbs.dk .

 The award of the fellowship is contingent upon the EU FP7 Marie Curie Grant.