UNIVERSITY OF DAR ES SALAAM

SUSTAINABLE SANITATION IN THEORY AND ACTION

(SUSTAIN)

Call for Application into the admission for PhD

Programme in Sustainable Sanitation in Theory and
Action (Two (2) positions)

Background
The University of Dar es Salaam through Department of Water Resources
Engineering and in partnership with Lund University Centre for
Sustainability Studies (LUCSUS) in Sweden has recently been granted funds
to implement the program titled Sustainable Sanitation in Theory and
Action SUSTAIN project number 2240-2014 for the period of five years
(2015 2020). The project is to be implemented within the framework of
strengthening capacity in postgraduate research with the financial support
from Sida-Sweden and University of Dar es Salaam.

By proceeding from a Sustainability Science approach the SUSTAIN

capacity building program intends to train Masters and PhD students to
generate actionable knowledge in Integrated Sanitation Management, thus
taking into account both the environmental aspects and boundaries
inherent in the water and waste cycle and the differing societal values and
political interests of the users oft hese systems to come up with sustainable
solutions to the problems faced. As such students will also during their
thesis writing phase of their training be encouraged to drawupon and work
in close partnership with sanitation practitioners to generate knowledge
that can be applied in practice to solve some of the most pressing
sustainability issues in the sanitationsector.
The main objective of the SUSTAIN program is to increase the human
resources base necessary to tackle the complexity of sanitation
management in Tanzania in the face of impacts of Climate Change and
beyond and contribute to achieving the Post 2015 Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs).

PhD Position on Sustainable Sanitation

The growth of slums in the last 15 years has been unprecedented. A billion
slum dwellers in the developing worlds cities, a billion people in fragile
lagging areas within countries, a billion at the bottom of the global
hierarchy of nations these overlapping populations pose todays biggest
development challenges (World Bank, 2009). According to the MDGs report
2008, more than 60% of the urban population in Sub-Saharan Africa lives in
slums. Where as it is considered good to give a slum dweller access to
sanitation, it is never straightforward to state how it can be achieved. We
have in the literature review re-examined the relevance of sanitation in
achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); the effect of
sanitation on the quality of life of an urban poor from and beyond the health
dimensions. We have explored the linkage between sanitation, health and
quality of life and have pointed out knowledge gaps that this particular
program seeks to address. Emphasis will be placed on the quest for
acceptable and affordable sanitation options for slums; sustainable
sanitation financing in slums; appropriate and effective institutional
management for slum sanitation; and sociological dimensions of alternative
sanitation solutions in relation to the quality of life of a slum dweller. One of
the biggest challenges is lack of capacity in terms of sanitation management
and thus the PhD program is intended to fill in this gap by producing
qualified and skilled staff that would go and train the needed sanitation
managers at masters and bachelors degree level.

The PhD candidates will spend up to 6 months of their study time in Lund,
Sweden to expose them to the cutting edge research field of sustainability
science.The SUSTAIN program will provide scholarship for the PhD
candidates and cover all the extra costs for travel and living in
Sweden during their studentship there. This is going to be a
research based programme with a maximum duration of three (3)
years.

Qualifications
Admission to the programme is in accordance to the University of Dar es
Salaam general minimum entry requirements for PhD Degree programmes.
Applicants should possess a Masters Degree in Natural Sciences,
Engineering or Social Sciences. Candidates from other professions and have
an experience of working in the Sanitation sector for a minimum of three
years may be considered. Experience ofdoing fieldwork and data collection
and workingin a multi-disciplinary environment is a merit.

Application
Application should be accompanied by the following;
A short concept note and proposalincluding the following: title,
statement of the problem, methodology, budget and work plan
Motivation Letter for getting accepted into the PhD program in
Integrated Sanitation Management
A copy of your Masters thesis
Latest CV
Three (3) Reference Letters
Commitment letter
Women are strongly encouraged to apply.
After completing their studies, PhD graduates are expected to work in
the academic institutions in Tanzania
All parts must be written in English.

Deadline
The starting date is 15th March 2017 and the research based PhD positions
are for three years, until April2019. Applications are due by 17.00 on
February 20th 2017

Send your application to:

Dr Richard J. Kimwaga rjkimwaga@udsm.ac.tz and

rkimwaga2007@yahoo.com
Copied to Dr Sara Gabrielsson - sara.gabrielsson@lucsus.lu.se