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This PhD project will merge the knowledge of traditional irrigators and irrigation scientists in a model to quantify the volume of water globally used by irrigation. Specifically, it will implement state-of-the-art uncertainty and sensitivity analysis to examine how the activation of each specific knowledge system modifies the model output. A key goal of the research will be to understand how epistemic diversity shapes our estimates of irrigation water use and to identify pathways toward more inclusive and robust global water assessments.

The precise scope of the project will be finally defined between the successful candidate and the PhD supervisor/s after the candidate has been appointed. The successful candidate will hence be able to shape the PhD project to their specific interests.

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Project background

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The successful candidate will join the £1.7M Frontier Research Grant project "DAWN: Illuminating Deep Uncertainties in the Estimation of Irrigation Water Withdrawals", funded by the UK Research and Innovation. DAWN merges philosophy, anthropology, hydrology and mathematical modelling to explore how ambiguities, vaguenesses and pluralities of perspectives affect our understanding of water use in irrigation. DAWN’s proof-of-concept is summarized in these publications [1–6].

The candidate will be based at the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham. S/he will be supervised by Dr Arnald Puy and another scholar from Birmingham.

The candidate is expected to join the University of Birmingham and start the PhD research in September 2025 or as soon as possible thereafter.

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Project benefits

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Besides an exciting and caring interdisciplinary research environment, we also offer:

1.  A fully funded 3-year PhD studentship that will cover home tuition fees and provide the student with a tax-free stipend according to UKRI rates.

2.  A brand new Macbook Pro for the whole duration of the project.

3.  Funding available to cover attendance to congresses, workshops or training courses.

4.  Integration into a highly interdisciplinary team with a wide international network, with extraordinary opportunities for career development.

5.   An impressive range of benefits to help the student settle and stay at theUniversity, and deal with problems that may affect their learning through professional advice and help. Click here for more details.

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Student profile

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1.   This studentship is only for UK-based students. No international students will be considered.

2.  We are looking for candidates with a skeptical mind, used to think out-of-the-box and willing to go out of their comfort zone as the PhD project will be interdisciplinary by design.

3.  We especially encourage women to apply.

4.  Applicants should have a good first degree (at least a 2:1 Honours Degree) in a relevant subject. Candidates with Masters in Hydrology, Environmental Sciences, Sustainability, Computer Science or cognate disciplines are especially encouraged to apply.

5.  The candidate does not need to have finished the Masters by the time of application. We expect the candidate to have completed his/her master studies before starting over in Birmingham.

6.   Programming skills (in R) will also be valued, although training will be provided within the context of the PhD as needed.

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How to apply?

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The deadline for receiving applications is the 8th of May 2025. Please send the following documents via e-mail to Dr Arnald Puy [a.puy@bham.ac.uk; with “DAWN: PhD studentship application (Integrating Traditional and Scientific Knowledge in Global Irrigation Modelling)” in the e-mail subject line]:

1.  Application form filled out with the required information. You can download the application form here.

2.  CV (2 page max) with details on your grades and studies.

3.  Details of two academic referees. Please note that we will not contact your referees for references. You must arrange for references to be submitted by your referees.

Please apply as soon as possible as we will evaluate applications as they come through. We reserve the right to remove the advert if suitable candidate/s are found before the closing date (7 May 2025). Interviews with shortlisted applicants will take place the second and third weeks of May 2025. The successful candidate is expected to take up the post in September 2025 or as soon as possible thereafter.

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References

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[1]    A.Puy, E. Borgonovo, S. Lo Piano, S. A. Levin, and A. Saltelli. “Irrigated Areas Drive Irrigation Water Withdrawals”. Nature Communications 12.1 (2021), p. 4525. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-24508-8.

[2]    A.Puy, B. Lankford, J. Meier, S. van der Kooij, and A. Saltelli. “Large Variations in Global Irrigation Withdrawals Caused by Uncertain Irrigation Efficiencies”. Environmental Research Letters 17.4 (2022), p. 044014. doi: 10.1088/1748-9326/ac5768.

[3]    A.Puy, M. Massimi, B. Lankford, and A. Saltelli. “Irrigation Modelling Needs Better Epistemology”. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment (2023). doi: 10.1038/s43017023-00459-0.

[4]    A.Puy and B. Lankford. “The Water Crisis by the Global Commission on the Economics of Water: A Totalising Narrative Built on Shaky Numbers”. Water Alternatives 17.2 (2024).

[5]    A.Puy, P. Beneventano, S. A. Levin, S. Lo Piano, T. Portaluri, and A. Saltelli.“Models with Higher Effective Dimensions Tend to Produce More Uncertain Estimates”. Science Advances 8.42(2022), eabn9450. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abn9450.

[6]    A.Puy, R. Sheikholeslami, H. V. Gupta, J. W. Hall, B. Lankford, S. Lo Piano, J.Meier, F. Pappenberger, A. Porporato, G. Vico, and A. Saltelli. “The Delusive Accuracy of Global Irrigation Water Withdrawal Estimates”. Nature Communications 13 (2022), p. 3183. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-30731-8.

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