Job description
Do you have an interest in urban environments, climate change, and biodiversity? Do you enjoy working with spatial data, models, and decision-making approaches? Are you motivated to contribute to sustainable solutions for cities?
If so, we offer you the opportunity to pursue a Ph.D. within the international and interdisciplinary graduate school, Cluster 2 (Rethinking Urban Spaces), with partners at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), the University of Melbourne, and the University of Hohenheim.
The PhD position “Optimizing Blue-Green Infrastructure for Climate and Biodiversity” is based in Campus South at KIT in Karlsruhe within the junior research group lead by Dr. Benz, with close collaboration with the University of Melbourne. The position is embedded in a joint supervision framework, including a research stay of one year in Melbourne and a joint (cotutelle) PhD degree. In Melbourne the position is placed in the group of .
The overarching question of the doctoral research will be:
How can blue-green infrastructure in cities be designed to jointly enhance biodiversity conservation and urban climate adaptation under increasing land-use pressure?
Lines of research include:
1. Explore how biodiversity in urban areas can be assessed using conservation-based frameworks (e.g. Natura 2000 / FFH)
2. Analyze spatial patterns of urban green infrastructure and their ecological characteristics
3. Investigate how different urban green configurations influence urban climate, particularly heat stress
4. Compare alternative design strategies for blue-green infrastructure
5. Identify trade-offs and synergies between biodiversity conservation and urban climate adaptation
6. Contribute to the development of multi-objective optimization approaches for urban land-use decisions
7. Develop ideas for analysis, publications, and integration within the C4LaNd programme
Starting date
late 2026 (October/November)
Personal qualification
8. A M.Sc. degree in environmental sciences, geography, ecology, climate science, environmental engineering, urban planning, or related fields
9. Interest in urban sustainability, biodiversity, and climate adaptation
10. Experience with spatial data analysis (e.g. GIS)
11. Programming skills (e.g. Python or R) and/or modelling skills are an advantage
12. Experience in interdisciplinary research is an advantage
13. Interest in quantitative methods and decision-support approaches
14. Fluency in English
15. Motivation to work in an international and interdisciplinary research environment
16. Willingness to spend an extended research period (one year) at the University of Melbourne