Empowering women to tackle energy poverty in the Mediterranean

An international project led by the ICTA-UAB, Engineers without Borders Catalonia (ESF), and the Catalonia Energy Research Institute (IREC) contributes to address energy supply problems in 1,500 households in the Barcelona Metropolitan Area.

Global fisheries could alleviate a global food emergency in extreme situations

A new international study argues that, if managed sustainably in advance, global fisheries could alleviate food shortages even after a nuclear war.

Tackling shocking decline in nature needs a ‘safety net’ of multiple and ambitious goals

Researchers from the BC3, ICTA-UAB and the University of La Laguna evaluate the criteria of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

Restoring 30% of the World’s Ecosystems in Priority Areas Could Stave Off More than 70% of Projected Extinctions

A new report in Nature involving ICTA-UAB demonstrates that this measure would allow the absorption of nearly half of the carbon built up in the atmosphere since the industrial revolution.

Diet of pre-Columbian Societies in the Brazilian Amazon Reconstructed

A new study shows that hunting and agroforestry management, and not fishing, were the foundations of subsistence economy for pre-Columbian societies in the Amazon coast of Brazil.

Wildlife conservation undermines the rights of indigenous people and local communities in India

A new EJAtlas map launched by the ICTA-UAB denounces that the current model puts growth and gains before human lives and the nature it is intended to protect.

Ocean Warming and Acidification Effects on Calcareous Phytoplankton Communities

A new study led by researchers from the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB) warns that the negative effects of rapid ocean warming on planktonic communities will be exacerbated by ocean acidification.

ICTA-UAB economist Joan Martínez Alier wins the Balzan Prize for Environmental Challenges

Economist Joan Martínez Alier from the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology  of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB) is one of the winners of the 2020 Balzan Prize in the category of "Environmental Challenges: Responses from the Social Sciences and Humanities".

Indigenous People Essential to Understanding Environmental Change

An international research involving ICTA-UAB scientists shows how local and indigenous knowledge can help manage ecosystems and wildlife.

New publication in the MAGIC project takes a critical look at circular economy

With the world’s attention focussed on COVID-19, issues that were in the forefront of public concern just a few months ago seem to have magically disappeared.

Economic Benefits of Protecting 30% of Planet’s Land and Ocean Outweigh the Costs at Least 5-to-1

First-of-its-kind report involving ICTA-UAB researcher shows the global economy is better off with more nature protected.

ICTA-UAB awarded the "María de Maeztu” Unit of Excellence Award for the second consecutive time

The Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB) has been accredited a Maria de Maeztu Unit of Excellence Award for the second consecutive time by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation.

Proyecto experimental de agricultura urbana, local y tradicional en Sabadell

El ICTA-UAB y el Ayuntamiento de Sabadell constituyen la comunidad FoodE, que reúne a todos los actores implicados en el sistema de producción alimentaria de la ciudad y en esta iniciativa.

What do we breathe when in the forest?

For the first time, a study characterizes the forest chemistry of the air under the canopy of a Mediterranean holm oak forest and detects maximum concentrations in July and August.

Catalonia's Scientific Contributions to Fighting Covid-19

Sixty ICREA researchers, including Isabelle Anguelovski of the ICTA-UAB, lead more than a hundred research activities on Covid-19.

Academia in the Time of COVID-19: Towards an Ethics of Care

                                                                                                                                                                       .

Computer Platform Gives Visibility to Catalonia's Small Villages

A research team from the UAB, in collaboration with the Association of Microvillages of Catalonia, has created a Geographic Information System (GIS) for Active and Sustainable Hamlets (GISASH), which gathers information on the state of and services offered by the more than 330 municipalities in Catalonia with fewer than 500 inhabitants.

Environmental justice defenders victims of violence and murder

Grassroots movements halt environmental degradation in up to 27% of environmental conflicts worldwide, according to a study by the ICTA-UAB.

Technological changes and new low-carbon lifestyles, key to mitigating climate change impacts

In order to mitigate climate change impacts and achieve a more sustainable society, it is necessary to transform the current energy system based on fossil fuels into a model based on renewable energies.

Exploring climate change impacts through popular proverbs

Members of an irrigation community doing maintenance work in an acequia de careo (irrigation canal built at the top of the mountain) to improve the circulation of water for irrigation and human consumption.

Neolithic vessels reveal dairy consumption in Europe 7,000 years ago

Pottery from the site located in Verson (Francia) analysed during the research (Picture by Annabelle Cocollos, Conseil départemental du Calvados ou CD14 publicada en Germain-Vallée et al.

Economic growth is incompatible with biodiversity conservation

A study involving more than 20 specialists in conservation ecology and ecological economics highlights the contradiction between economic growth and biodiversity conservation.

Power struggles hinder urban adaptation policies to climate change

Transformative actions implemented by cities to address and mitigate the impacts of climate change may be hindered by political struggles for municipal power.

Analysis of tropical fire soot deposited in the ocean will help predict future global climate changes

The ICTA-UAB begins a scientific expedition in the Atlantic Ocean to collect dust and smoke samples from the fires of tropical Africa deposited in marine sediments.

Red coral effectively recovers in Mediterranean protected areas after decades of overexploitation

Protection measures of the Marine Protected Areas have enable red coral colonies (Corallium rubrum) to recover partially in the Mediterranean Sea, reaching health levels similar to those of the 1980s in Catalonia and of the 1960s in the Ligurian Sea (Northwestern Italy).

Sub-national “climate clubs” could offer key to combating climate change

‘Climate clubs’ offering membership for sub-national states, in addition to just countries, could speed up progress towards a globally-harmonised climate change policy, which in turn offers a way to achieve stronger climate policies in all countries.
Education
PhD in Environmental Science and Technology

The PhD in Environmental Science and Technology is a UAB program adapted to the new European Higher Education Area (EHEA), leading to an EU officially recognized doctoral degree. The PhD candidate develops a doctoral dissertation supervised by at least one member of ICTA's staff while an internal scientific committee monitors her/his progress annually. ICTA allows PhD students to have co-supervisor(s) from other Spanish or international research institutions.

Degree and Learning Outcomes

Students will obtain a PhD degree from UAB, recognized all across the EU. No dedicated training is provided to students but they have the chance of attending MEISAES, JEMES CiSu or other UAB courses to improve her/his theoretical and methodological skills. The PhD program is aimed at setting the intellectual foundations of prospective academic scholars, ensuring that they develop a detailed knowledge of their field of study and writing skills to publish in internationally renowned scientific journals, to write books and to prepare research grant proposals. The PhD program also equips PhD candidates with critical thinking, writing and presentation abilities that can be of substantial value in other job markets, including but not only NGOs, public administration, multilateral organisations and businesses where environmental issues are of paramount importance. Students are expected to present in ICTA's Seminars and in international academic conferences during their period of study.


Funding and Eligibility

The PhD in Environmental Science and Technology does not have a funding program of its own. Therefore, our PhD candidates are funded by the following sources: ICTA-managed projects; government scholarships; multi-lateral research organisations; and research foundations. The first type is employed after competitive open calls for project posts -with vacancies advertised at ICTA's website and circulated nationally and/or internationally. The others have first approached an ICTA scholar to discuss her/his research ideas and, after obtaining such support, they have prepared an application to the correspondent funding body (and been subsequently successful).

 
Requirements

The PhD in Environmental Science and Technology welcomes candidates with diverse education backgrounds and from anywhere in the world. However, prospective applicants should be aware that ICTA's senior staff is limited in number and very often is not available for supervision due to time and administrative constraints. Holding at least one MSc degree from an internationally recognised institution is mandatory and candidates should show proof that they have excelled in the MSc, for example through essay-writing, publication record and/or prizes. High competence in written and spoken English is preferable, insofar as most social interactions at ICTA are in English and outputs of the dissertation should be written in English for international peer-reviewed journals.


Further Information
Coordination support

Cristina Durán Díez
Phone: +34 93 586 8626
Adreça electrònica: doctorat.icta@uab.cat

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