PhD position in Geography in the research project “Monitoring of Tourist Flows for Sustainable Development in alpine Tourism Destinations” 75%

The Institute of Geography of the University of Bern and the Research Unit Tourism (CRED-T) commit themselves to contributing knowledge for societal transformation. They understand that interdisciplinarity is required to analyze human-environment interactions and to address current challenges toward a more sustainable world.

As a successful candidate you will work in an interdisciplinary team developing different models for alpine tourism destinations toward more sustainable development. The conflicting goals of protecting and simultaneously utilizing the natural potential of destinations will be addressed conceptually. Destination-specific considerations will be developed to measure, monitor and forecast the development of tourism destinations toward sustainability according to different types of tourism flows. The project aims to propose appropriate indicators for sustainable spatial development at destination levels, including identifying necessary multi-criteria data and data collection strategies. Together with one PhD student from the Institute of Computer Science this project will develop a monitoring system, including a dashboard of tourist flows, which will provide real-time region-specific spatial information and the consequences regarding sustainability in destinations. This will make it possible to set concrete sustainability goals and assess the effectiveness of measures to reduce conflicting goals. Under the guidance of the senior members of the project, you will conduct your main research in two to three tourism destinations in Switzerland.

You will be part of the project “Monitoring and Forecasts Tourist Flows regarding Sustainability in Tourism Destinations”. You will be affiliated with the research unit of tourism at the Center for Regional Economic Development (CRED-T) of the University of Bern and with the research unit “Political urbanism and sustainable spatial development” at the Institute of Geography of the University of Bern. You will work closely together the research team based at the Institute of Computer Science of the University of Bern and with the partners of the tourism destinations.

PhD position in Geography in the research project “Monitoring of Tourist Flows for Sustainable Development in alpine Tourism Destinations”

• Write a doctoral thesis in the project field (PhD in Geography).
• Participate in project data collection, dashboard development, publications, research workshops and other events, build network with practitioners, and contribute to the project's outputs.
• Supervise bachelor and master theses in the project field.

We invite applications from candidates with the following credentials:
• A very good (research) master's degree in Human geography, spatial planning, regional economic or related fields (e.g. urban studies, political science, sustainability, political ecology).
• Proven strong interest in land-use planning, tourism and sustainability topics, and skills and commitment to work in an interdisciplinary research team.
• Fluency in English both spoken and written is a key requirement; a good knowledge of German – or a clearly expressed aim to improve this skill – is essential.
• Excellent conceptual and qualitative research skills, also familiarity with conducting and analyzing in-depth interviews and field observations, interest or experience with quantitative research methods. Strong interest in actual debates on sustainability in tourism.
• affinity for the alpine tourism and interest in understanding the local system and context of tourism development.

• An exciting interdisciplinary project in a tourism, spatial planning and computer science research team. Opportunity to develop your own PhD project in the field, leveraging synergies with the described project.
• Close and supportive supervision of and collaboration with the project leaders and partners.
• The appointment will initially be for three years and renewal up to 4 years upon satisfactory evaluation of the project, the appointment can be renewed for up to 4 years for academic development.
• Remuneration is according to Swiss NSF standards: Swiss National Science Foundation standards.

• Location: Center for Regional Economic Development (CRED), Schanzeneckstrasse 1, and Institute of Geography, Hallerstrasse 12, 3012 Bern
• Starting: 1 April 2024 (alternative starting date by agreement)
• Duration: three years with potential renewal up to 4 years in total
• Application documents: Please submit the following documents as one single pdf file to info.cred@unibe.ch:
o A letter of motivation (not more than one page)
o A curriculum vitae (including copy of university transcripts) and names and contact details of two academic referees
o Details of publications if any and one sample writing (e.g. chapter from master thesis)
o Employment reference, if available
• Application deadline: For full consideration, please submit your materials by Tuesday, April 2, 2024. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis after that deadline until the position is filled.
• For more information: Dr. Monika Bandi Tanner – Head of Research Unit Tourisms (CRED-T) (monika.bandi@unibe.ch) – or Prof. Jean-David Gerber (jean-david.gerber@unibe.ch)

The University of Bern values diversity and is committed to equal opportunities; applications are welcome from all suitably qualified candidates who meet the stated criteria.