Doctoral studies in the sustainability sciences: Apply now for a NEXtra scholarship

With “NEXtra – Resource Nexus for Sustainability Transformations”, the IOER, together with the United Nations University Institute for Integrated Management of Material Fluxes and of Resources (UNU-FLORES) and the TUD Dresden University of Technology, is offering a scholarship programme for doctoral students. The programme is funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) as part of the EPOS (Development-Related Postgraduate Courses) programme. Interested parties from the Global South can apply until 20 April.

The NEXtra programme offers fully funded doctoral positions to highly qualified candidates from various disciplines. The focus is on sustainability transformations using a Resource Nexus approach. The doctoral researchers will conduct interdisciplinary research on the sustainable management of environmental resources, contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Selected candidates will be enrolled in a joint doctoral programme and supervised by experts from UNU-FLORES, TU Dresden and the IOER. The scholarship covers a period of up to 42 months (3.5 years) and includes a monthly stipend, health insurance, travel allowance and a preparatory German language course.

The IOER is represented with the following five of the 13 listed topics:

Topic 1: Building the Circular City – A Resource Nexus lens on planning barriers and urban revitalisation
Topic 3: Construction follows availability – Resource Nexus strategies for urban-regional development minerals
Topic 4: Data-driven investigation into the spatial relationship between economic restructuring and the resource nexus in developing countries
Topic 8: Land Use Dynamics of Large-scale Infrastructure Projects in the Global South from a Resource Nexus perspective
Topic 9: Operationalizing transformative capacity for environmental resource governance – A mixed-methods assessment approach for urban and regional systems

Applicants may apply for up to two topics by submitting a single application package that includes two separate research proposals, each tailored to one of the topics.

Application Deadline (exteded): 20 April 2026, 23:59 CEST
Start date of the programme: 1 April 2027
(Please note that the programme includes a mandatory two-month German language course covered by the donor, beginning in February 2027.)

Detailed call for applications NEXtra Doctoral Scholarship Programme 2027

Complete list of topics (with detailed descriptions)

For more information on the application process, please visit the NEXtra page, which features past webinars and FAQs.

Contact at UNU-FLORES in case of questions and enquiries: nextraioer@unu.edu

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