Votre mission

The University of Mons (Belgium) is recruiting a Ph D candidate for the European Interreg FWVL Trans-Pest project.
The work will be entirely dedicated to the activities carried out in this project.
Climate change is a major obstacle to Europe’s ambition to reduce the use of synthetic pesticides. Climate change affects to varying degrees the interactions between crop plants and other organisms such as agricultural pests and their natural enemies (predators, parasitoids) that provide biological control services. They also affect the efficacy of green and natural products used for pest control purposes, such as essential oils, semiochemicals and lipopeptides.
The France-Wallonia-Vlaanderen cross-border area is a production basin mainly based on field crops (cereals, oilseeds, sugar beet and potatoes), market gardening (leeks, onions, strawberries and other crops) and orchards (apple and pear trees). The pests targeted are defoliators affecting plant growth and crop yield (e.g., Colorado potato beetles), biting-sucking arthropods causing tissue damage and transmitting viruses (e.g., aphids, psyllids, whiteflies, thrips, mites) or those attacking fruit or roots (e.g., wireworms, leafminers).
As part of the Trans-Pest project, the Ph D student will be tasked with developing innovative research on the subject of biological control and climate change, integrating several biological models, a multi-trophic vision of the problems raised, and approaches ranging from the ecophysiology of organisms in the laboratory to landscape ecology in agricultural environments. The first part of the project will evaluate the response and behavior of existing solutions to global change (e.g. parasitoid host system). The second part of the project will focus on improving bioinsecticide solutions or their use to meet the challenges posed by different climate change scenarios.
During the project, the candidate will be required to:

• Carry out innovative research into adapting systems to global change.
• Participate in a cross-border European research project, in collaboration with several scientific institutions and companies.
• Acquire skills in integrated crop protection and the development of bioinsecticide solutions.

Votre profil

• Training in ecology, evolutionary biology, environment, agronomy, ecophysiology and/or entomology.
• Prior knowledge or experience in agricultural entomology is an asset.
• Hold a recognized university degree at Master’s level or equivalent.
• Good command of English required.
• Scientific data analysis skills.
• Writing skills.
• Organizational skills.
• B driver’s license is an asset.
• A French and/or Dutch-speaking candidate would be appreciated for the cross-border project.

Notre offre

• Starting date – Date de début : 14/10/2024
• Duration – Durée : 4 years – 4 ans maximum
• Salary – Salaire : ~2.500€ net/m.
• Workload – Taux d’emploi : 100%
• Congés – Holidays : 28d per year, flexible schedule.
• Location – Localisation : Laboratoire d’écologie des interactions et changements globaux, plaine de Nimy, Université de Mons, 7000 Mons, Belgium

Intéressé(e) ?

Send your applications to kevin.tougeron@umons.ac.be before 15 September 2024.
Please enclose:

• A resume
• A short covering letter to be written directly in the body of the email
• A summary of your end-of-study / internship placement (Masters, engineering, etc.)

A contact person who mentored you, for reference

UMONS aims to be a diverse and inclusive community. Job vacancies respect the principle of non-discrimination and the recruitment procedure guarantees fair treatment of applications regardless of the gender, presumed race or ethnic origin, social origin, religion or beliefs, disability, age, sexual orientation or political opinions of applicants.