Ph.D. Network

The Faculty of Business and Social Sciences
University of Southern Denmark, campus Sønderborg

Profile

“Europe of Regions” has become an increasingly fashionable way to describe European integration, but politicians, businesses and civil society usually do not have a clear picture of what “Europe of Regions” actually means. The aim of the Sønderborg profile in the European Studies program offered in cooperation with the University of Flensburg is to make the students familiar with ‘regions’ in the broadest sense, using historical, cultural, political, administrative and economical approaches to the term ‘region’ and illustrate the concept within European integration. The program includes a sophisticated course of qualitative social science methods. A special focus will be put on borders and border regions. Borders still represent barriers to integration, and border regions are laboratories of European integration.

A special feature of the study program is the opportunity to take electives at the University of Flensburg in the third semester, including the possibility to earn a dual degree. Other options are to specialize by taking electives within the other master programs offered at the Department of Border Region Studies in Sønderborg, or take a company/institution internship or study abroad.

The master programme European Studies (two years) is offered in co-operation with the University of Flensburg. All classes are taught in English. In the first year, you have to choose between two tracks: a track offered in Sønderborg focussing on the popular concept of the “Europe of Regions”, where you will be introduced to regions in an interdisciplinary program with a special focus on borders and border regions as laboratories of European integration. A track offered at the University of Flensburg focuses on more general aspects of European integration. In the third semester, students choose electives from either campus to specialise according to their interests. The master thesis is written at SDU in the fourth semester.

Career opportunities

The study program intends to provide the students with broad and specialized knowledge within political, economic and cultural aspects of the “Europe of Regions”, along with the ability to use scientific methods. This offers a broad range of qualified career opportunities with leadership potential:

• Senior officers in EU institutions
• Senior officers/European consultants at institutions on the level of national, regional, local and cross-border governance (regional offices, euro regions, municipalities Senior positions in private enterprises and the media European consultants
• Senior positions in private enterprises and the media
• European consultants
• Academia

MSc. European Studies

Scandinavian Consortium for Organization Research, Stanford University

Application deadline: 1 December 2011

The Scandinavian Consortium for Organization Research (SCANOR) at Stanford University invites applications for a one-year postdoctoral fellowship beginning 1 September 2012. The fellowship is open for high-quality organizations researchers who work in the fields of management, education, sociology, political science, and the other social sciences. We especially welcome applications from researchers working on the following topics: organizational learning and design, user-driven innovation, forms of open innovation, sustainability and clean technologies, globalization, public-private interfaces, welfare reform, democracy and equality, higher education, and the knowledge society.

In this application cycle the program will award one fellowship to a scholar who has trained at a participating Danish university.

The fellow will be affiliated with a disciplinary department or school at Stanford University, and with SCANCOR. The fellowship provides opportunity to learn new topics and skills, and work closely with a Stanford faculty member, while participating in SCANCOR activities. Although there will be time for the fellow to pursue his/her current lines of scholarship, the expectation is that the fellow will collaborate with Stanford scholars and pursue research in tandem with their faculty sponsors.

The fellow also will act as bridge between the Nordic countries and Stanford University, while deepening the skills necessary for an international academic career: a depth of methodological knowledge, and the ability to write successfully for English-language journals.

Among the Stanford faculty who may be potential fellowship fellow/mentors are: Dan McFarland, Roy Pea and Mitchell Stevens at the School of Education; Karen Cook, Mark Granovetter, David Grusky, and Doug McAdam in the Department of Sociology; Steven Barley, Kathy Eisenhardt, and Riitta Katila in the Department of Management Science and Engineering; William Barnett, Glenn Carroll, Huggy Rao, and Jesper Sorensen at the Graduate School of Business; Dan Jurafsky and Chris Manning from the Departments of Linguistics and Computer Science; Fred Turner in Communication; and Ray Levitt in Civil Engineering.

The annual fellowship stipend is $53,000, plus the standard benefits that postdoctoral fellows at Stanford University receive. The fellowship program falls under U.S. Immigration J-1 Exchange Visitor Visa activities.

Descriptions of past and current fellows can be found at http://www.scancor.org/post-doc/

The postdoctoral fellowship application can be found at http://www.scancor.org/post-doc/application-process/postdoctoral-fellow-application/

Please include the following information:

1.) A cover letter detailing the reasons for the applicant’s interest in coming to Stanford and suggestions as to which faculty members they would be interested in working with if that faculty member have a reciprocal interest.

2.) A curriculum vitae.

3.) A fellowship proposal detailing the research that the fellow would undertake while at Stanford (five page limit).

4.) A writing sample consisting of either a dissertation chapter or a recent published paper.

5.) Graduate school transcripts in English (with proof that applicants have completed all the requirements for the PhD, or a letter from their PhD advisor stating they will do so by June 2012)

6.) Three letters of recommendation.

All materials must be received by 1 December 2011.

Questions about the program should be directed to Annette Eldredge, eldredge@stanford.edu

http://www.scancor.org/post-doc/

The SCANCOR Postdoctoral Fellowship program is organized by the Scandinavian Consortium for Organization Research (www.scancor.org). SCANCOR facilitates inquiry in organizational social science among a transnational network of scholars. Its member institutions in Scandinavia and greater Europe support working visits and residencies at Stanford University. SCANCOR also sponsors conferences, workshops, and mentoring opportunities worldwide. 500 scholars have worked at SCANCOR/Stanford since its founding in 1988.

Job description

At the Department of Border Region Studies (IFG), University of Southern Denmark, Campus Sønderborg, applications are invited for a position as Assistant Professor within the priority area Business-to-Business Relations & Supply Chain Management. The position has a time limit of three years. Expected start is autumn 2011.

The Department is situated in the beautiful premises at Alsion on the shore facing Sønderborg and the island of Als. From here there is only 30 minutes by car to the Danish-German border, only 35 minutes by plane to Copenhagen. Hamburg, Kiel, Aarhus and Odense can be reached by car within 1½ – 2 hours. Sønderborg has a rich cultural life and is surrounded by pretty landscapes inviting for recreational activities. The SDU-Campus Sønderborg houses Social Sciences, Humanities as well as Technical Sciences.

The Department of Border Region Studies (IFG) is rooted in the unique history of the Southern Danish border region. At the same time, the department has a close relationship with the business community and the cultural institutions of the region. The comparative aspect including other (border) regions in Europe is particularly strong within the regional studies and within the border region studies. Due to a strong focus on comparative aspects the department has developed a broad international research network within Europe. In addition, the department has a special obligation to carrying out research relating to the German minority in Southern Jutland.

The IFG has three research priority groups: 1) Business-to-Business Relations & Supply Chain Management; 2) Regional Economics and the Spatial Dimension of Economics, and 3) People and Society in Border Regions. Research results disseminate in English, Danish and German in monographs, in national as well as international peer reviewed journals, and to the general public in the regional and national printed and digital media.

International Business-to-Business Relations and Supply Chain Management

The research priority group in Business-to-Business (B2B) Relations and Supply Chain Management (SCM) is still in the first phase of being established and manned. Its aim is to create new knowledge as to the interaction of the businesses. The focus is on relations in the total chain of activities from sub-supplier to the end-customer. The research in Supply Chain Management (SCM) is concentrated on international marketing. In order to create the desirable coverage it is therefore necessary to consolidate the competences in B2B marketing and create new competences within especially SCM and Logistics – important subjects at the Master of Science programme in Sønderborg.

The research in B2B as well as in SCM has natural interfaces with the other business-, regional- and macroeconomic research areas at IFG.

Selection Criteria

Applications are welcome from candidates working in any area of relevance to International Business-to-Business Relations and Supply Chain Management, but preference will be given to candidates with competence and interest to stimulate and strengthen collaboration with the other research groups at the department.

The successful candidate will be expected to

• engage in research of an international standard corresponding to his or her position
• contribute to the further development of the priority area,
• play an active role in securing research funding,
• publish in peer-reviewed academic journals as well as engage in other forms and levels of research dissemination,
• participate in the teaching and administrative work of the Department, including but not restricted to the candidate’s area of specialisation.
• supervise, or assist in the supervision of students as required,
• undertake administrative duties as requested by the Head of Department.

The successful candidate will also be expected to satisfy the following selection criteria:

• A doctorate in an appropriate field.
• Proven research ability as judged by, inter alia,
• the number and quality of monographs and refereed publications;
• experience in research and teaching;
• any research grant awards;
• the ability to make an appropriate contribution to graduate teaching, including PhD supervision as well as to contribute to undergraduate programmes;
• the ability to contribute to course development, including but not restricted to his or hers area of specialisation.

The department offers teaching at all levels within business administration (Bachelor of Science in Business Administration), in Business Relationship Management (Master of Science) and in European Studies. Fall 2012 a new master in Regional Economics and Development will be started. The department is also responsible for teaching the business economics components to the BSc Negot in Chinese in Sønderborg and is engaged in research and teaching collaboration with the Mads Clausen Department (Technical Faculty, Sønderborg, SDU) and with the neighbouring University of Flensburg, Germany.

App. 500 students from 50 countries worldwide are enrolled at the department. Teaching language is English only.

Further information can be obtained by contacting Research Director Svend Hollensen, e-mail or phone +45 6550 1221.

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Job description

At the Department of Border Region Studies (IFG), University of Southern Denmark, Campus Sønderborg, applications are invited for a position as associate professor within the priority area Business-to-Business Relations & Supply Chain Management.
Expected start is December 1st, 2011 or soon thereafter.

The Department is situated in the beautiful premises at Alsion on the shore facing Sønderborg and the island of Als. From here there is only 30 minutes by car to the Danish-German border, only 35 minutes by plane to Copenhagen. Hamburg, Kiel, Aarhus and Odense can be reached by car within 1½ – 2 hours. Sønderborg has a rich cultural life and is surrounded by pretty landscapes inviting for recreational activities. The SDU-Campus Sønderborg houses Social Sciences, Humanities as well as Technical Sciences.

The Department of Border Region Studies (IFG) is rooted in the unique history of the Southern Danish border region. At the same time, the department has a close relationship with the business community and the cultural institutions of the region. The comparative aspect including other (border) regions in Europe is particularly strong within the regional studies and within the border region studies. Due to a strong focus on comparative aspects the department has developed a broad international research network within Europe. In addition, the department has a special obligation to carrying out research relating to the German minority in Southern Jutland.

The IFG has three research priority groups: 1) Business-to-Business Relations & Supply Chain Management; 2) Regional Economics and the Spatial Dimension of Economics, and 3) People and Society in Border Regions. Research results disseminate in English, Danish and German in monographs, in national as well as international peer reviewed journals, and to the general public in the regional and national printed and digital media.

International Business-to-Business Relations and Supply Chain Management

The research priority group in Business-to-Business (B2B) Relations and Supply Chain Management (SCM) is still in the first phase of being established and manned. Its aim is to create new knowledge as to the interaction of the businesses. The focus is on relations in the total chain of activities from sub-supplier to the end-customer. The research in Supply Chain Management (SCM) is concentrated on international marketing. In order to create the desirable coverage it is therefore necessary to consolidate the competences in B2B marketing and create new competences within especially SCM and Logistics – important subjects at the Master of Science programme in Sønderborg.

The research in B2B as well as in SCM has natural interfaces with the other business-, regional- and macroeconomic research areas at IFG.

Selection Criteria

Applications are welcome from candidates working in any area of relevance to International Business-to-Business Relations and Supply Chain Management, but preference will be given to candidates with competence and interest to stimulate and strengthen collaboration with the other research groups at the department.

The successful candidate will be expected to

• engage in research of an international standard corresponding to his or hers position
• contribute to the further development of the priority area,
• play an active role in securing research funding,
• publish in peer-reviewed academic journals as well as engage in other forms and levels of research dissemination,
• participate in the teaching and administrative work of the Department, including but not restricted to the candidate’s area of specialisation.
• supervise, or assist in the supervision of students as required,
• undertake administrative duties as requested by the Head of Department.

The successful candidate will also be expected to satisfy the following selection criteria:

• A doctorate in an appropriate field.
• Proven research ability as judged by, inter alia,
• the number and quality of monographs and refereed publications;
• experience in research and teaching;
• any research grant awards;
• the ability to make an appropriate contribution to graduate teaching, including PhD supervision as well as to contribute to undergraduate programmes;
• the ability to contribute to course development, including but not restricted to his or hers area of specialisation.

The department offers teaching at all levels within business administration (Bachelor of Science in Business Administration), in Business Relationship Management (Master of Science) and in European Studies. Fall 2012 a new master in Regional Economics and Development will be started. The department is also responsible for teaching the business economics components to the BSc Negot in Chinese in Sønderborg and is engaged in research and teaching collaboration with the Mads Clausen Department (Technical Faculty, Sønderborg, SDU) and with the neighbouring University of Flensburg, Germany.

App. 500 students from 50 countries worldwide are enrolled at the department. Teaching language is English only.

Further information can be obtained by contacting Research Director Svend Hollensen, e-mail or phone +45 6550 1221.

Read more

International Conference SDU Sønderborg 2010, Sept. 30. – Oct. 2. 2010

Call for papers

On the threshold of a ‘borderless Europe’, research on every day life experiences with borders and border issues has become more relevant than ever. The mobility of everyday life reflected in increasing migration rates and cross-border commuting implies movements and activities crossing national, administrative, cultural and mental borders challenging dividing lines between European states, East and West, center and periphery, rich and poor within as well as conceptions of internal and external Europe.

Since the late 1990s, the European Union has had a new focus on the peripheries and borderlands of Europe. From considering them enclaves of stagnation and as more or less passive recipients of subsidies, the new profile in EU regional policies is that border regions are motors in the European integration process and encouraged to act as entrepreneurs of their own and the European developments. This shift marks new possibilities for cross-border and inter- regional cooperation.

However, even in today’s Europe, where we conceive the European state borders as more permeable than before, particularly within the ‘Schengenland’, the unambiguous absence of borders can prove hard to find. Historical conflicts, as well as politically discursive and mental barriers between the European populations seem to be more persistent than EU attempts to demolish border and integrate Europe. As for the European integration process, this point can be taken further, that integration is not a matter of overcoming the borders in Europe; rather it is a question of acknowledging the co-existence of many different versions of the European borders.

In contrast to considering borders to be mere physical dividing lines or easily dissolvable, this conference takes a cross-disciplinary perspective on borders and borderlands, discussing them as socially constructed, multiple practices and complex psychological patterns. Borders may thus represent boundaries as well as thresholds of passages, they can be symbolic or material, soft or hard, and they can appear permeable or extremely solid. This ambivalent character makes it crucial to investigate how the people of Europe practice and experience borders in everyday life.

This conference invites contributions that empirically as well as theoretically reflect on the challenges associated with living on, by, with and across the European borders. Contributions can have both contemporary and historical outlook. The conference committee welcomes contributions from all disciplines related to border issues (such as Ethnology, Anthropology, Sociology, European Studies, History, Political Science, Law, Economics, Geography, Business Studies, etc.)

The question of a ‘borderless Europe’ will be addressed from theoretical and empirical as well as practical perspectives:

1. How can we theoretically as well as methodologically conceive and conceptualise the complex character of European borders?
2. How are borders experienced in European every day life – not least among those living outside or at the external EU-borders?
3. Which kinds of challenges are connected to the governance of regions and cross-border cooperation?
4. How persistent are historical memory, discourse and imaginings in maintaining European borders?
5. What effect does EU’s regional policies have on cross-border mobility and the economic landscape of regional disparities in Europe?
6. How does new external EU-borders (Schengen) influence everyday life in border-regions?

The conference will be grouped into following themes:

I. Borders and regionalisation. Cross-border cooperation.
II. Borders and mobility. Migration and commuting.
III. Borders and Europeanisation/globalisation. Tracing links.

Abstracts should be between 300 – 500 words and send to the organising committee no later than April 15. 2010.

We intend to publish an anthology based on revised versions of selected conference papers. If you are interested in contributing to the anthology, please send full papers to the organising committee no later than September 1. 2010.

Further information about the conference

The Department of Border Region Studies, at campus Sønderbor, invites applications for a PhD Fellowship in Regional Economics. The position is available from Januarz 2010, or as soon as possible and for a period of three years.

Further information about the PhD Fellowship at the Deparment of Border Region Studies