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Benefits include professional development, social events, sabbaticals and health services such as annual flu vaccinations and UI wellbeing hub.

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 Vacancies
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Applications are submitted online on the Icelandic State Recruitment (ISR) website. You can switch the language to English by clicking the flag at the top right corner. If you haven't registered yet, start by creating an account before signing in.

PhD student in a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions- Project in Life Cycle Impact Assessment method development for water use

A full time PhD position is available at the Faculty of Food Science and Nutrition at the University og Iceland. The position is for three years and is a highly interdisciplinary project, FrameBio, where the PhD student will learn and develop skills in Life Cycle Impact Assessment method development for water use. The project is funded by Marie Sklodowska-Curie Doctoral Network FrameBio, a European training network committed to advance Multi-Scale Framework for Single-Cell Protein (SCP) BioSolutions that are more environmentally sustainable than current protein production systems. The PhD student will be in close collaboration with other PhD students in the FrameBio project, e.g., PhDs at UI, DTU and SSSA working on everything from product development to advancing sustainability assessments methods, including prospective LCA to identify environmental hotspots and potential improvements. Part of the work will be done up to six months at the Univerity of Padova, Italy. 

Field of work

  • Review state of the art LCIA methodologies that consider green water use
  • Develop a new set of characterization factors to be used in LCA that account for green water use in the agriculture sector
  • Participate in training and networking activities within the project 
  • Support in teaching duties or student supervision

Qualification requirements

  • Master's degree (120ECTS) in the fields of industrial/management engineering, environmental engineering, food science, or similar fields
  • Experience with Life Cycle Assessments and LCIA method development
  • Experience with programming languages, preferably Python
  • Good skills in written and spoken English
  • A proactive and independent work style
  • Prior experience in EU-funded or other international research collaborations is a plus.
  • A collegial and open mindset, with a genuine interest in contributing to a positive, inclusive, and knowledge-sharing research environment

Special requirements from the grant provider:

  • Applicants must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Iceland for more than 12 months in the 36 months before recruitment.
  • The applicants must be in the first four years of his/her research career calculated from the date of obtaining the master's degree and have not yet been awarded with a doctoral degree at the time of recruitment.

Salary 

  • The doctoral candidate's salary will be based on the terms of the Marie Sklodowska-Curie salary scheme and is governed by the grant agreement, which specifies the amount of the funding.
  • The expected salary for the position is EUR 4,528 (living allowance), with an additional allowance of EUR 577 (mobility allowance) paid in accordance with the grant agreement, bringing the total salary to EUR 5,106. Where applicable, a family allowance may also be available, for further information read here.
  • The salary will be paid in Icelandic króna (ISK) in accordance with the current collective agreement between the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs and the Association of University Teachers and will be subject to Icelandic taxation. The salary will be adjusted in line with exchange rate developments.

Application process

The starting date is preferably 1st of May 2026 or according to mutual agreement. Recruitment is conditional on the student formally applying for and being accepted into the doctoral program at the faculty.

The following documents must accompany the application: 

  • Curriculum vitae 
  • Cover letter describing how the applicant meets the qualification requirements stated in the advertisement and what they consider they can contribute to the position 
  • Certified copies of diplomas and transcripts
  • Copy of TOEFL or IELTS documents
  • Copy of passport
  • Contact information for two referees 

All applications will be answered, and applicants will be informed of the outcome once a decision has been made. Applications may remain valid for six months after the application deadline. 

In hiring for positions at the University of Iceland, the University's equality policy is taken into account. 

Attention is also drawn to the University of Iceland's language policy. 

Since 1911, the University of Iceland has been a leading institution for business and societal progress in Iceland. It is a forward-looking research university and an active participant in international scientific collaboration. 

The University of Iceland is the largest university in the country, offering nearly 400 programs at the undergraduate, master's, and doctoral levels. Approximately 14,000 students are enrolled, including over 2,000 international students. 

More than 1,800 staff members work at the University of Iceland. The university emphasizes attracting a diverse community of employees and students to an international academic environment, where academic freedom, professionalism, equality, diversity, and inclusion are prioritized. 

About the University of Iceland 

Schools, faculties and interdisciplinary studies 

International Staff Services 

Further information may be obtained from Ólafur Ögmundarson (olafuro@hi.is) (main-supervisor, UI), Clara Vásquez-Mejía (claramaria@hi.is) (co-supervisor).

Application deadline

Application deadline is 11.02.2026

For further information contact

Ólafur Ögmundarson

olafuro@hi.is

Clara Maria Vasquez Mejia

claramaria@hi.is

Apply now

PhD student in a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Project - Life Cycle Assessments and Geographic Information System

A full time PhD student position is available at the Faculty of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Iceland. The position is for three years and is a highly interdisciplinary project, FrameBio where the PhD student will learn and develop skills in Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The project is funded by Marie Sklodowska-Curie Doctoral Network FrameBio, a European training network committed to advance Multi-Scale Framework for Single-Cell Protein (SCP) BioSolutions that are more environmentally sustainable than current protein production systems.The PhD student will be in close collaboration with other PhD students in the FrameBio project, e.g., PhDs at UI, DTU and SSSA working on everything from product development to advancing sustainability assessments methods, including prospective LCA to identify environmental hotspots and potential improvements.Part of the work will be done up to six months in Brazil.

Field of work

  • Environmental impact analysis of main feedstock sources in biochemical production
  • Integrate current water scarcity footprint methods with high-resolution GIS data, to provide more systematic and advanced LCA evaluations of water scarcity in feedstock use at different spatial and temporal resolutions
  • Integrate LCA and GIS at temporal and regional scale of selected feedstock sources
  • Participate in training and networking activities within the project as well as mandatory training at the University of Iceland
  • Possibility of support in teaching duties or student supervision

Qualification requirements

  • Master's degree (120 ECTS) in the fields of industrial/management engineering, environmental engineering, food science or similar fields or a similar degree with an academic level equivalent to a two-year master's degree
  • Experience with Life Cycle Assessments and/or GIS
  • Good skills in written and spoken English 
  • A proactive and independent work style
  • Prior experience in EU-funded or other international research collaborations is an advantage.
  • Ability to collaborate and a desire to contribute to a positive, inclusive and knowledge-driven research environment

Special requirements from the grant provider:

  • Applicants must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Iceland for more than 12 months in the 36 months before recruitment.
  • The applicants must be in the first four years of his/her research career calculated from the date of obtaining the master's degree and have not yet been awarded with a doctoral degree at the time of recruitment.

Salary 

  • The doctoral candidate's salary will be based on the terms of the Marie Sklodowska-Curie salary scheme and is governed by the grant agreement, which specifies the amount of the funding.
  • The expected salary for the position is EUR 4,528 (living allowance), with an additional allowance of EUR 577 (mobility allowance) paid in accordance with the grant agreement, bringing the total salary to EUR 5,106. Where applicable, a family allowance may also be available, for further information read here.
  • The salary will be paid in Icelandic króna (ISK) in accordance with the current collective agreement between the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs and the Association of University Teachers and will be subject to Icelandic taxation. The salary will be adjusted in line with exchange rate developments.

Application process

The starting date is preferably 1st of May 2026 or according to mutual agreement. Recruitment is conditional on the student formally applying for and being accepted into the doctoral program at the faculty.

The following documents must accompany the application: 

  • Curriculum vitae 
  • Cover letter describing how the applicant meets the qualification requirements stated in the advertisement and what they consider they can contribute to the position 
  • Certified copies of diplomas and transcripts
  • Copy of TOEFL or IELTS documents
  • Copy of passport
  • Contact information for two referees 

All applications will be answered, and applicants will be informed of the outcome once a decision has been made. Applications may remain valid for six months after the application deadline. 

In hiring for positions at the University of Iceland, the University's equality policy is taken into account. 

Attention is also drawn to the University of Iceland's language policy. 

Since 1911, the University of Iceland has been a leading institution for business and societal progress in Iceland. It is a forward-looking research university and an active participant in international scientific collaboration. 

The University of Iceland is the largest university in the country, offering nearly 400 programs at the undergraduate, master's, and doctoral levels. Approximately 14,000 students are enrolled, including over 2,000 international students. 

More than 1,800 staff members work at the University of Iceland. The university emphasizes attracting a diverse community of employees and students to an international academic environment, where academic freedom, professionalism, equality, diversity, and inclusion are prioritized. 

About the University of Iceland 

Schools, faculties and interdisciplinary studies 

International Staff Services 

Further information may be obtained from Ólafur Ögmundarson (olafuro@hi.is) (main-supervisor, UI), Clara Vásquez-Mejía (claramaria@hi.is) (co-supervisor).

Application deadline

Application deadline is 11.02.2026

For further information contact

Ólafur Ögmundarson

olafuro@hi.is

Clara Maria Vasquez Mejia

claramaria@hi.is

Apply now
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