15 PhD positions at the University of Eastern Finland by MSCA

Applications are now open for the Doctoral Programme for Advancing Forest-Based Bioeconomy (DP-FOBI) at the University of Eastern Finland (UEF).This is a prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) COFUND international doctoral programme offering 15 fully funded 4-year PhD positions focused on interdisciplinary research in sustainable forest-based bioeconomy.

The programme spans natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, and health sciences, addressing key challenges in forest inventory and ecosystem modelling, novel forest-based products, and market behaviour in the bioeconomy.. You can check out BS, MS, PhD and postdoc positions here.

Key Details:

• Degree Level: PhD (Doctoral Researcher positions)
• Host Country: Finland
• Application Deadline: Varies by position
• Start Date: January – March 2027 (4-year full-time contracts)
• Open to: All nationalities
• Application Fee: None
• Funding Type: Fully funded
• Number of Positions: 15 fully funded PhD projects

What this Scholarship Offers:

• Fully funded 4-year employment contract as a Doctoral Researcher (full-time position).
• Competitive MSCA COFUND salary with possible family and mobility allowances (depending on individual circumstances).
• Full social security benefits and standard Finnish employment conditions (including paid vacation, parental leave, and occupational healthcare).
• Comprehensive structured doctoral training programme with high-quality interdisciplinary supervision.
• Access to international research networks, industry collaborations, and intersectoral opportunities in the forest-based bioeconomy.
• Dedicated funding for research activities, travel, conferences, and secondments (international mobility is mandatory as per MSCA rules).
• Extensive skills training in research methods, innovation, science communication, entrepreneurship, and other transferable competencies.
• Membership in the vibrant FOBI research community at the University of Eastern Finland.
• Access to excellent research facilities, resources, and a supportive environment for high-impact, societally relevant research.
• Career development support and guidance for long-term professional growth in academia, industry, or policy roles.

Also Check: PhD, Postdoc & Professor positions at the University of Freiburg, Germany.

Eligibility Criteria:

• Hold a Master’s degree (or equivalent) in a field relevant to the chosen PhD project.
• Not already hold a doctoral degree (or have defended a thesis without formal award).
• Comply with the MSCA mobility rule: must not have resided or carried out main activity (work/studies) in Finland for more than 12 months in the 36 months before the deadline (10 August 2026).
• Excellent English proficiency (proof required; specific doctoral programme language requirements apply).
• Strong motivation for interdisciplinary research in forest bioeconomy. Full details and project-specific requirements are in the individual position descriptions.

Also Check: Technical University of Denmark PhD and Postdoc Scholarships 2026 (Fully Funded)

Offered PhD positions:

Forest inventory and ecosystem modelling

• Coupling artificial intelligence and simulation-optimization for numeric forest management planning
  Forest inventory, ecosystem modelling, deep learning/generative AI for forest management (Forestry/Data Science background preferred).
  Deadline: 10 August 2026.
  APPLY HERE (via central application).
  
  
• Dead wood dynamics in Fennoscandian forests
  Dead wood decay in boreal forests, tree/environment influences (Forest Ecology/Ecology background preferred).
  Deadline: 10 August 2026.
  APPLY HERE (via central application).
  
  
• European landscape-level assessment and modelling of forest plantations’ growth dynamics and ecosystem services
  Biometric modelling, data-mining of European forestry datasets, plantation forests (Forest/Environmental Sciences background preferred).
  Deadline: 10 August 2026.
  APPLY HERE
  
  
• Multisource approach for mapping canopy and habitat composition in boreal forests
  Multisource data for canopy/habitat mapping (Geography/Forestry/Ecology/Geoinformatics background preferred).
  Deadline: 10 August 2026.
  APPLY HERE
  
  
• Multi-temporal laser scanning for characterizing tree structure, growth, and wood quality Forest mensuration using laser scanning (Forestry/Geography/Geoinformatics background preferred).
  Deadline: 10 August 2026.
  APPLY HERE

Also Check: PhD, Postdoc & Professor positions at the University of Freiburg, Germany.

Novel forest-based products:

• Bioactivity of biomass-derived chemical fractions in material applications Isolation/purification/evaluation of bioactive compounds from forest biomass/side streams (Biorefining/Chemistry/Chemical Engineering background preferred).
  Deadline: 10 August 2026.
  APPLY HERE.
  
  
• Efficient enzymatic conversion of biomass to bio-based compounds
  Enzyme-driven conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to bio-oils/chemicals (Chemistry/Chemical Engineering/Biotechnology background preferred).
  Deadline: 10 August 2026.
  APPLY HERE
  
  
• Nutritional, functional, and business potential of Finnish forest-based resources
  Forest resources for food/health ingredients, business models (Food Science/Nutrition/Biochemistry background preferred).
  Deadline: 10 August 2026.
  APPLY HERE.
  
  
• Sustainable innovation and IPR law
  Legal/regulatory frameworks for bioeconomy innovation, IP/patent law (Law background preferred).
  Deadline: 10 August 2026.
  APPLY HERE

Also Check: PhD, Postdoc & Professor positions at the University of Freiburg, Germany.

Market behaviour in bioeconomy

• Sustainability assessment models for forest-based businesses
  Methodology for sustainability assessment of forest businesses (Forestry/Business/Engineering background preferred).
  Deadline: 10 August 2026.
  APPLY HERE
  
  
• Behavioural biases in the adoption of bio-based innovations in the forest sector
  Decision-making, heuristics, consumer uptake of bio-based solutions (Business/Marketing/Cognitive Sciences background preferred).
  Deadline: 10 August 2026.
  APPLY HERE
  
  
• Contested conceptualizations of forest in bioeconomy-related discourses
  Conceptualizations of forest/nature in discourses (Languages/Linguistics/Media/Cultural Studies background preferred).
  Deadline: 10 August 2026.
  APPLY HERE.
  
  
• Environmental discourses and the spread of multilingual (dis)information in social networks Discourses/(dis)information on climate/environment in social media (Linguistics/Computational Linguistics/Translation Studies background preferred).
  Deadline: 10 August 2026.
  APPLY HERE
  
  
• Sensory marketing to promote sustainable consumer choices
  Sensory cues, consumer perceptions, sustainable choices (Business/Marketing/Psychology background preferred).
  Deadline: 10 August 2026.
  APPLY HERE
  
  
• Strategic orientations driving bioeconomy transition in forest-based SMEs
  Strategic orientations (market/innovation/entrepreneurial) in SMEs (Business/Marketing/Entrepreneurship background preferred).
  Deadline: 10 August 2026.
  APPLY HERE.

Also Check: Deakin University Postgraduate Research Scholarship (DUPR) Australia

How to Apply:

1. Review the offered positions and choose up to your preferred research theme(s).
2. Prepare all required documents in English (Master’s diploma/transcript, CV, Master’s thesis copy + summary, motivation letter, English proficiency proof, ethics self-assessment, etc.).
3. Submit online
4. Applications must be complete and follow the guidelines. Late or incomplete submissions will not be considered.

Also Check: Deakin University Postgraduate Research Scholarship (DUPR) Australia