Doctoral student in Industrial Engineering and Management with focus on logistics for carbon capture and storage (CCS)

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xNWaxr2o3c

Description

The Faculty of Health, Science and Technology invites applications for a doctoral studentship in Industrial Engineering and Management at the Department of Engineering and Physics.

The cement industry accounts for around 4 % of the carbon emissions in Sweden and is actively working for climate neutral production of cement. Their solutions target to lower the carbon footprint, where one concept is carbon capture and storage (CCS). CCS aims to capture carbon and then transport it for final storage under the earth surface. This concept creates multiple challenges related to logistics, which implies that carbon logistics, and the connect to the cement supply chains, have an important role to conduct CCS.

Within the frame of a research project, related to the logistics role in the Swedish cement industry CCS, we are looking for a PhD student motivated to develop their research within our group. The research is planned to be conducted within supply chain and logistics, focusing on the climate transition of energy-intensive manufacturing. The specific orientation and focus area of the PhD project will be defined in detail in consultation between PhD student and the supervisory team. The PhD student will be responsible for creating and disseminating new knowledge through empirically driven research in supply chain management and logistics. Potential research questions may involve the role of logistics in the climate transition and its interaction with production aspects, as well as, resilience within such supply chains.

Duties

As a doctoral student, you will primarily dedicate time to your own studies. The doctoral programme comprises 240 credits for a Degree of Doctor and 120 credits for a Degree of Licentiate. The doctoral appointment is a paid position that offers a combination of studies and work, and a great opportunity for a potential career in academia. Doctoral students are expected to work independently and be prepared to contribute to the activities and development of the discipline and the department. You are given the opportunity to deepen your interests in collaboration with others. Teaching and administrative duties may also be included upon agreement, but will not constitute more than 20% of full-time. Work as a doctoral student allows for great freedom and flexibility in terms of how you organise your tasks. This requires commitment, drive and the ability to structure your work to successfully complete the doctoral thesis.

To contribute to a positive work environment and further both the department’s activities and your own development as a researcher, we expect you to be a present and active part of the day-to-day operations and workplace community.

Entry requirements and admission

To be eligible for a doctoral studentship, applicants must meet the general and specific entry requirements (Higher Education Ordinance, Chap. 7, Sect. 35).

To meet the general entry requirements, applicants must have been awarded a second-cycle qualification, satisfied the requirements for courses comprising at least 240 credits of which at least 60 credits were awarded in the second-cycle, or acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad (Higher Education Ordinance, Chap. 7, Sect. 39).

Special eligibility requirements for admission to doctoral studies in Industrial engineering management meet those who have been awarded a Master of Science or Master in Industrial engineering management or in adjacent subject areas such as Mechanical engineering (in particular with specialisation in Industrial production) and Computer science (in particular with specialisation in Industrial IT), provided that the studies and thesis work have a direction that is relevant to the envisaged doctoral studies. The thesis work must be an individual work of at least 15 ECTS on advanced level with relevance to the envisaged doctoral studies. An applicant who does not meet these specific entry requirements but who has acquired relevant knowledge in some other way may be deemed eligible following a special assessment.

To be eligible for doctoral studies, the applicant must be considered to have the ability required to benefit from the programme (Higher Education Ordinance, Chap. 7, Sect. 35). Admission is based on individual assessment.

Assessment criteria

The assessment of eligible applicants is based on the criteria listed below.

The selection will be based on the applicant’s previous study records, with an emphasis on the quality of independently written work of a scholarly and investigatory nature, particularly at Master's level, previous research and investigatory work and work experience of relevance to the doctoral programme, ability to communicate verbally and in writing in English, and the extent to which the applicant is able to be physically present and an active member of the research environment.

Furthermore, it is an advantage to intent to be a present and active part of the research environment and have good knowledge in Swedish, Norwegian or Danish. Previous experience and knowledge within areas of the doctoral position are also considered advantageous for the assessment.

Research requires professional curiosity and the courage to explore the unknown. Therefore, we will give weight to the candidate’s ability to take initiative and work independently. Since our research is conducted in teams with other researchers and in collaboration with external partners, we will also give considerable weight to relationship building and teamwork skills.

Terms

Upon admission to doctoral studies, the person will be offered the appointment of doctoral student (Higher Education Ordinance, Chap. 5, Sect. 3). The position comprises four years of full-time studies consisting of research only. If teaching or other departmental duties become relevant, the appointment will be extended by a corresponding period, up to a maximum of five years full-time. The position is fixed-term, one year initially, followed by possible extensions of a maximum of two years at a time (Higher Education Ordinance, Chap. 5). Start date as agreed by both parties.

The salary for the doctoral studentship corresponds to the standard level of salary for doctoral students and progresses in accordance with a local collective agreement. As a PhD student you have the same benefits as other empolyees at Karlstad University. Read more about benefits at kau.se/en/work-us/work/benefits.

Application

Submit the application via the university’s web-based recruitment tool, Varbi. Applicants are responsible for submitting a complete application in accordance with the advertisement, for providing translations of any documents written in a language other than Swedish, Norwegian, Danish or English, and for ensuring that the documentation allows for objective and qualitative assessments. A complete application should be submitted by the application deadline. An incomplete application may jeopardise a fair assessment of qualifications. The application should include:

• a cover letter where the applicant details the reasons behind their interest in the position,
• information about language proficiency
• a list of qualifications (CV)
• degree certificate with a complete transcript of the courses included, or a certified list of completed courses with grades and dates
• copy of Master’s thesis or equivalent
• where applicable, copies of publications or certificates for other qualifications
• any letters of recommendation
• two references, such as a teacher, supervisor, or previous or current superior.

Attach all the documents and publications you wish to be considered to the electronic application (do not just provide links). Name each uploaded document to clearly indicate its content.

Documents that cannot be submitted electronically should be sent to the following address:
Karlstads universitet
HR-avdelningen
HR-administratör
651 88 KARLSTAD
Sweden

Application deadline: 12 January 2026

State the reference number: REK 2025/244

Applicants with qualifications from abroad

If you have qualifications from a university outside Sweden or if they have not been recognised by a Swedish authority before, it is important that you attach degree certificates and official transcripts to facilitate the recognition of foreign qualifications.
Provide a contact for the degree-awarding institution (phone number or email) who can verify your qualifications.

We look forward to your application!

Karlstad University has chosen advertising channels for this recruitment and firmly declines any contact with advertising or recruitment agencies.

In case of discrepancy between the Swedish original and the English translation of the job announcement, the Swedish version takes precedence.