A note on emails about positions

For many years I personally answered every email I received about PhD, postdoc and internship positions. That mattered to me, and I'm sorry to say I can no longer do it. The number of such inquiries has grown enormously, and many of them now appear to be generated automatically. As a result, I can no longer reply to all inquiries about positions.

This page explains how joining my group works, which I hope is more useful than a short reply would be.

How PhD and postdoc positions work here

At many universities, particularly in the US, a graduate school admits a new group of PhD students every year. You apply to the program, and if you're admitted you find a supervisor, often after your first year.

Most European universities, including the University of Copenhagen, work differently. A PhD position here is a job, not a place in a program. It's usually tied to a specific research project. A position exists only once that project has been funded, typically by an external grant. It's then announced publicly, and anyone can apply by the deadline. Successful candidates are employed and paid a salary. Postdoc positions work the same way.

This means there's nothing to apply for until a position is announced, and contacting me in advance doesn't give you an advantage in the hiring process. All open funded positions in my group are announced on the department's job page and I post them on LinkedIn.

All positions in the ELLIS PhD and Postdoc programs are announced on the corresponding website.

If there is no call, I currently have no funded position available.

If you have your own funding

If you want to join my group as a PhD student or postdoc with your own funding (for example a scholarship from your home country), please first check that it really covers the cost of living in Denmark and, if you are not from the EU, tuition fees, which is high. If it does, you're welcome to contact me with a short description of your funding and the research you'd like to do.

I co-supervise ELLIS PhD students and postdocs.

Internships and undergraduate students

At the moment, I don't offer internships at BSc and MSc. The only way to work with me as an undergraduate is to enroll in a BSc or MSc program at the University of Copenhagen and then take my courses or do a project with me as part of your studies. However, I do host PhD exchange students.

For MSc stipends in the GeoAI Africa program, please check the program website.

Thank you for your understanding, and for your interest in our work.

You always have to apply for positions via the official portals, not by sending mails to me.