SAGE is one of four Global Centres for Climate and Environment funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) with funds from the German Federal Foreign Office. It is coordinated by An-Najah National University (Nablus, Palestine) and the University of Tübingen (Germany).

The aim of the SAGE Centre is to empower societies in the Middle East to find science-based solutions to adaptive and sustainable management of natural resources in an era of global change. Based in the Jordan River region, SAGE will collect, assess and make available data about the current and future situation with regard to regional climate and natural resources. Furthermore, SAGE aims to contribute to capacity building and conduct multilateral and interdisciplinary research on areas of concern.

SAGE hosts a Research School on Climate Change Studies, delivered by a regional and international consortium of eminent scientists. Within this frame, we have designed several PhD research projects that address local stakeholder’s interests, novel scientific problems and a transdisciplinary perspective that enables the PhD students to receive an integral training. The SAGE PhD fellows will be associated to a German University and conduct their research in Jordan and/or Palestine. All fellows will be co-supervised by researchers from the study region and Germany.

The Fellowships shall start in May 2026 and run for at least three years. An extension may be granted based on clear criteria related to the quality of the work. In addition to the fellowship, SAGE provides funds for the research and the annual stays abroad, as well as skills training within the SAGE Research School.

General requirements:

1. Master degree or equivalent scientific university degree in a field related to the topic (see individual project descriptions)

2. Excellent communication skills in English and Arabic

3. High level of creativity, motivation, and organization

4. Critical and analytical mindset

5. Experience/keen interest in working within an international and interdisciplinary team.

We expect the candidates to formulate their motivation letter and the application on their own, i.e. without the use of AI. If AI has been used (e.g. for spelling check), this must be clearly indicated by the candidate.

Application instructions:

A successful application requires the submission of: 

motivation letter, 

1. A complete CV. 

2. A transcript of records (Bachelor and Master degrees) 

3. Two letters of reference. 

Applications should be submitted to [email protected] as a single PDF document until 25. January 2026.

Please make sure that the letters of reference are sent directly by the reference contact to the address above. Candidates may apply to up to three different projects, given that their particular qualifications for each project are indicated separately.

We are committed to diversity and equal opportunity and therefore encourage female scientists and other underrepresented groups to apply. The positions are also open to candidates that come with their own funds. If this is the case, it should be indicated in the motivation letters.

For more information about the call please click here.