PhD positions available at UNESCO-IHE

The SCUSA research program addresses one of the most relevant developmental issues worldwide: a reduction of under-5 child mortality rates due to water-borne diseases, and malnutrition in low-income unplanned urban settlements. As such, the project will contribute to the realization of Millenium Development Goal 7, Target 10 (i.e. to halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water). The SCUSA research program has identified three projects, centered around a slum area of Kampala. To carry out these research projects, three strongly interdisciplinary PhD positions are vacant.

Project description

The development and expansion of informal settlements in the peri-urban areas of African cities is widespread, while these cities harbour the majority of the urban population. Peri-urban areas, or slums, are characterized by, among other things, poorly constructed houses, poor water supply and sanitary conditions, and lack or inadequate support services.

Besides the spreading of diseases related to surface water (e.g. malaria), one of the main problems associated with sanitation and water in peri-urban areas is related to the pollutant load entering and leaving the peri-urban catchment, either as surface water or groundwater. This water is polluting drinking water (with increased incidence of cholera and diarrhoea) or eutrophying surface water, due to extremely high nutrient fluxes discharged from the surrounding catchments. As a result, the main research question of the SCUSA research program is: How to improve sanitation in peri-urban urban slum areas?

Ph.D. project 1: Wastewater and solid waste treatment and reuse

For a number of small, well defined, subcatchments of peri-urban Kampala, a set of environmentally, financially and institutionally sustainable sanitation solutions will be selected and the technological performance will be assessed. The PhD candidate will develop a technology selection tool, design the selected technologies for the different subcatchments in Kampala, and implement those sanitation solutions. Important questions are:

• What are the most sustainable sanitation solutions in densely populated slum areas, e.g. Urine Diversion Dehydration Toilet, Biolatrines, Fixed-Dome Biogas Installations, or primary off-site wastewater treatment?
• How to design, construct and operate these solutions in order to provide optimal excreta, greywater and solid waste disposal and reuse?
• What is the treatment performance of these sanitation treatment schemes for pollution control, i.e. pathogens, nutrients and organic removal efficiency?
• Based on obtained results, what are required design criteria and operation and maintenance parameters for the world-wide application of the selected technologies in slum areas?

This Ph.D. research project will be supervised by Prof. Dr. Ir. Piet Lens, Ir. Mariska Ronteltap (both UNESCO-IHE), Prof. Dr. Frank Kansiime and Eng. Charles Niwagaba (both MU).

Ph.D. project 2: The socio-economic aspects of improving sanitation

The second project focuses on a comparative financial and institutional analysis of alternative sanitation solutions for urban slums, and a comparative analysis of societal effects of alternative sanitation solutions in urban slums. Activities will include:

• Documentation of socio-economic characteristics of the population in Uganda’s slums.
• Assessment and comparison of the financial and economic elements of the various implemented options, including their financial benefits.
• Identification of the institutional structures in the communities and assessment of socio-economic impacts of the various implemented sanitation solutions on the society under consideration.
• Exploration of the possibilities for upgrading the various sanitation solutions.
• Exploration of the possibilities for financing the various sanitation solutions, from construction to sustainable operation and maintenance, and micro-crediting.

This study will be supervised by Prof. Dr. Meine-Pieter van Dijk, Drs. Marco Schouten (both UNESCO-IHE), Prof. Dr. J. Ddumba-Ssentamu and Dr. Peter Atekyereza (both MU).

Ph.D. project 3: Hydrology and contaminant transport

The third project focuses on water and nutrient budgets of the sanitized and unsanitized peri-urban subcatchments described above, in order to determine contaminant load on downstream eco-system water use, and to establish the effects of the sanitation concepts implemented in the various subcatchments of peri-urban Kampala. Thereto, the following activities are envisaged:

• Hydrological systems analysis of parts of the selected peri-urban area in Kampala and surroundings.
• Determining the water balance of the selected subcatchments.
• Actual flow path analysis and assessing transport velocities.
• Determining nutrient loads discharging from the subcatchments to quantify the water quality impacts.
• Assessing microbiological quality and potential health hazards associated with shallow subsurface transport in the subcatchments.

This study will be supervised by Prof. Dr. Stefan Uhlenbrook, Dr. Jan Willem Foppen (both UNESCO-IHE), Dr Andrew Muwanga and Eng. Robinah Kulabako (both MU).

The following applies to all 3 Ph.D. positions:

• All topics will be carried out in a so-called sandwich construction with different phases at UNESCO-IHE in the Netherlands and field research in Uganda (with regular contacts with Ugandan and Dutch supervisors).
• PhD positions are funded with a fellowship for which NUFFIC regulations apply.
• Starting date: January 1, 2009, for 4 years.
• Qualifications: MSc degree (average mark: 80% or above) in a discipline relevant to the topic, e.g. environmental engineering, sanitation, socio-economics of the water sector, water resource economics, hydrology and water resources.
• The applicant must demonstrate a strong interest and experience in conducting interdisciplinary research.
• The applicant must be willing to do research in a team, share his results with the SCUSA research team and advise fellow Ph.D. researchers when necessary.
• The applicant should be willing to co-supervise MSc research projects.
• The applicant must be fluent in English (e.g. TOEFL paper based score of at least 550).
• Excellent reporting skills and shown ability to publish in the scientific literature.
• Knowledge of the African sanitation field is desirable.

For questions, please mail Prof. Dr. Frank Kansiime (fkansiime@muienr.mak.ac.ug) or Dr. Jan Willem Foppen of UNESCO-IHE (j.foppen@unesco-ihe.org).

Applications, including curriculum vitae, a motivation letter and 2 letters of recommendation, as well as the names and contact details of three contactable referees, all in one pdf file, should be sent by email to t.morgenstond@unesco-ihe.org before September 1st 2008.

Please mention in the subject heading “PhD application SCUSA project x”, where x refers to the Ph.D. projects mentioned above. Short-listed candidates will be contacted before October 1st 2008 to set a date of an interview, possibly via video-conferencing.