Job Description

Title: PhD Fellowship

Company Name: The Center for Climate and Health glObal Research on Disasters (CORD)

Vacancy: --

Location: Dhaka

Minimum Salary: Negotiable

Published: 6 Feb 2024

Education:
∎ A candidate must have an M.Sc. Engg./M.Engg. degree in Civil Engineering/ Water Resources Engineering/ Environmental Engineering/ Agricultural Engineering or M.Sc. degree in Water Resource Development or its equivalent from any recognized Institution with a minimum GPA of 2.75 out of 4.0
∎ A candidate must have an M.Sc. Engg./M.Engg. degree in Civil Engineering/ Water Resources Engineering/ Environmental Engineering/ Agricultural Engineering or M.Sc. degree in Water Resource Development or its equivalent from any recognized Institution with a minimum GPA of 2.75 out of 4.0

Requirements:

Additional Requirements:
∎ Excellent MSc results demonstrated by grades and thesis in a relevant field
∎ Affinity and interest in academic research
∎ Outstanding analytical skills
∎ Good grasp on coastal systems, including process understanding of coastal hazards and disasters and risk reduction strategies
∎ Good conceptual and formal modeling skills
∎ Ability to work and share knowledge in an interdisciplinary team and a strong ambition to accomplish the research goals of the project
∎ Excellent communication skills
∎ Good command of English in speaking and writing
∎ Willingness and ability to spend considerable periods at case sites in the coastal region of Bangladesh for field work
∎ Publications will be considered an added qualification
∎ Full-time availability from March 01 for a period of 4 (four) years.
∎ Criteria for Fellowship
∎ Excellent MSc results demonstrated by grades and thesis in a relevant field
∎ Affinity and interest in academic research
∎ Outstanding analytical skills
∎ Good grasp on coastal systems, including process understanding of coastal hazards and disasters and risk reduction strategies
∎ Good conceptual and formal modeling skills
∎ Ability to work and share knowledge in an interdisciplinary team and a strong ambition to accomplish the research goals of the project
∎ Excellent communication skills
∎ Good command of English in speaking and writing
∎ Willingness and ability to spend considerable periods at case sites in the coastal region of Bangladesh for field work
∎ Publications will be considered an added qualification
∎ Full-time availability from March 01 for a period of 4 (four) years.

Responsibilities & Context:
∎ Applications are being invited from highly motivated PhD candidates for two Fellowship positions at the Institute of Water and Flood Management (IWFM) of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) under the project The Center for Climate and Health glObal Research on Disasters (CORD). This project, funded by National Institutes of Health (NIH), United States Department of Health and Human services, is being implemented by seven universities in the USA, Bangladesh, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, the Philippines, and Uganda.
∎ Appointment:
∎ Full-time; Fixed term, 4 years
∎ Brief description of Project
∎ Climate change is causing an increase in extreme weather hazards, including floods, droughts, and heatwaves, and these disasters are responsible for immense increases in food-, water-, and vector-borne diseases, heat-related illness, and mental health consequences. There are many potentially effective strategies to break the link between disasters and negative health outcomes.
∎ CORD is a partnership between seven universities in the USA, Bangladesh, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, the Philippines, and Uganda. The overarching aim of CORD project is to develop action-oriented strategies to protect health in climate-related disasters globally. The specific goal of CORD is to engage with target communities to collect critical data on the health effects of climate-related disasters and to recommend feasible and culturally appropriate adaptation policies and practices that reflect the actual needs of those communities.
∎ The specific aim of CORD’s Research Project is to establish the research infrastructure and case studies that will improve Anticipatory Action before disasters to protect health and improve health equity. With the rise in frequency and severity of climate hazards, early warning systems are critical to enable Anticipatory Action before disasters strike. The United Nations, governments, and humanitarian actors have increased their investments in early warning systems and Anticipatory Action plans that trigger action before climate-related disasters and CORD partners have already collaborated on research and agenda-setting efforts in this field. However, there are still numerous and serious health impacts after predictable disaster events, including illnesses, premature deaths, malnutrition, and impacts on mental health. There is enormous potential to use weather warnings better to avoid these health impacts in a world with increasing climate hazards. Through our research, we intend to inform the design of Early Warning Systems to protect health in climate disasters. We will use community-engaged research practices to engage affected communities, practitioners, and policymakers to improve health equity based on our research findings.
∎ PhD research
∎ In Bangladesh, the PhD researchers will investigate how health impacts and warning comprehension for climate-related disasters are different for women vs men, and more specifically, to determine how and why maternal and fetal health is affected differently from other populations during flood disasters and how women perceive early warning of floods.
∎ The research hypothesis is: “Anticipatory Action can improve health outcomes if it is tailored for equity, supportive of community-based action, and supported by health governance”. There are ‘gendered’ differences among the marginalized people/ groups in baseline vulnerabilities and in ways how they are impacted by disasters (e.g., cyclonic storm surge and associated salinity impacts), and how they perceive warnings and act upon them. With reduced baseline vulnerabilities, and with supportive community-based actions and health governance system, they will be able to take more fruitful and effective anticipatory actions which will produce better health outcomes for them, especially the pregnant women.
∎ The research would thus focus on (but not limited to) baseline vulnerabilities of women (and men) in disaster prone coastal area, different intensities and duration of disasters affecting capacities to take anticipatory actions by men and women differently in different geographical contexts, anticipatory actions taken individually and collectively, feasible anticipatory actions at individual, household, and community levels, with integrated strategies around disasters, gendered vulnerabilities, health governance systems, and anticipatory actions for better health outcomes, with particular focus on pregnant women.
∎ The two PhD researchers are expected to work on the following themes:
∎ PhD research theme -1:
∎ Challenges with and opportunities for anticipatory actions for better health outcomes for women in cyclonic storm surge-prone coastal areas
∎ PhD research theme -2:
∎ How can a systems approach be used to analyze links between disasters, gendered vulnerabilities, and health governance systems, and anticipatory actions for better health outcomes?
∎ More information on the project and PhD Fellowship can be obtained from Professor Mashfiqus Salehin and Md. Muammer Jumlad (Email: careercord@gmail.com).

Compensation & Other Benefits:
∎ The PhD candidate will be provided with a fellowship amounting to BDT 6,00,000 - 6,50,000 on an annual basis.
∎ Amount of Fellowship
∎ The PhD candidate will be provided with a fellowship amounting to BDT 6,00,000 - 6,50,000 on an annual basis.

Employment Status: Full Time

Job Location: Dhaka

Read Before Apply: "PhD Fellowship" must mention in the application subject line; otherwise, application will be rejected.

Contact and Application

Shortlisted candidates will go through a multi-stage selection process before appearing at the final selection interview which will take place at IWFM, BUET, Dhaka. The date of the interview will be communicated after short-listing.

At the final stage of the recruitment, the selected applicant should be admitted into the Ph.D. program to the Registrar, BUET.

Apply Procedure:

Email your CV:
∎ Send your CV to the given email careercord@gmail.com

Company Information:
∎ The Center for Climate and Health glObal Research on Disasters (CORD)
∎ Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh

Address::
∎ Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh

Application Deadline: 20 Feb 2024

Category: Research/Consultancy