The Department of Asian Studies, Palacky University in Olomouc, welcomes expressions of interest from young foreign researchers who intend to apply to the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship scheme 2022.

PALACKY UNIVERSITY, THE DEPARTMENT OF ASIAN STUDIES & SINOPHONE-PROJECT

Palacký University in Olomouc is the third-largest university in the Czech Republic. It was founded in the 16th century and is today a modern higher education institution with a wide range of study areas. It is a home for ground-breaking research (a total of 22 projects have been funded within Horizon 2020). The European Commission awarded the HR Excellence in Research Award to Palacký University in the second half of 2021. The university strives to create an open, tolerant and respectful environment. The Department of Asian Studies is a research center hosting an excellent research project, Sinophone Borderlands – the interaction at the edges (funded: EU/CZ-OPVVV; https://sinofon.cz/) producing academic contributions in various subfields of Asian studies. The department is proud to have attracted excellent postdoctoral researchers under MSCA-IF framework.

SUSTAINABILITY GROUP & “SOYACENE” 

WP Sustainability is one of the research groups created as part of the Sinophone Project. The group studies post-socialist agrarian transformation, with a particular focus on Siberia and the Russian Far East. We aim to understand how environmentally friendly the current capitalist changes in rural areas are. In conducting this study, we “discovered” the rapidly growing importance of soybean monocropping and shifted its focus on different “Soyacene” matters [plant knowledge production & soybean experiments; moral vs market models in plant breeding; soybean cultivation & changes in rural lives]. In addition to Sustainability Group, the DAS employs colleagues whose projects relate to social research of plants, namely: (1) the causal nexus of crisis-learning from crisis-changes in cultural practices & (2) artifacts associated with cultural plants and their promotion.

TOPICS WE FOCUS ON AND WELCOME FROM POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHERS

Are approaches toward monocropping and agrobiodiversity management different in various institutional contexts? How does innovations in plant breeding/plant introduction differ in various institutional contexts?

We look at these topics using soybeans as an example, but we are sure that other crops are just as interesting. We would welcome colleagues who are studying these issues in regions in Inner Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Northern China, Uzbekistan), but also welcome researchers focusing on other post-socialist countries.

ABOUT MSCA INDIVIDUAL FELLOWSHIPS MSCA

Individual Fellowships are open to applications from individuals with a doctoral degree by the time of the call deadline. More information is available here: Postdoctoral Fellowships | Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (europa.eu)

The application consists of a research proposal written jointly with the host organization. We will be delighted to offer support in the preparation of an application for interested parties. To express your interest, please send a two-page proposal and a two-page CV to natalia.ryzhova@upol.cz