PhD positions (2x) for 'OFFGRID: Energy Futures in Southeast Asia' 100 %

The Department of Social Anthropology and Cultural Studies (ISEK) invites applications for two fully-funded doctoral positions in Social Anthropology to contribute to the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)-funded project 'OFFGRID: Energy Futures in Southeast Asia'.

About the project
OFFGRID investigates how small-scale, off-grid energy system shape emerging energy futures in the global South. Adopting a multi-sited research design across urban and rural contexts in Indonesia and Vietnam, the project takes a comparative approach to understanding energy transitions beyond purely technical dimensions. It examines how decentralised solar infrastructures reconfigure everyday practices, labour arrangements, and power relations among state actors, private sector stakeholders, civil society organisations, and local communities across diverse socio-spatial settings.

Subprojects
While the Principal Investigator will lead research on urban Vietnam and the Postdoctoral Researcher will focus on rural Indonesia, the two doctoral researchers will each develop and carry out one of the subprojects outlined below.

Rural Vietnam: This subproject explores the proliferation of household-scale solar systems and agricultural solar applications in rural Vietnam. A diverse set of initiatives has already emerged, including solar distribution programmes for off-grid communities, solar lighting schemes in remote ethnic minority areas and gender-focused initiatives supporting women's engagement in solar farming. More recently, Vietnam has launched dedicated research programmes on agrivoltaics, combining solar energy production with agricultural livelihoods. This PhD project investigates how rural households or farming communities adopt, adapt, and sustain solar technologies, and how these processes reshape livelihoods, gender relations, and rural energy futures.

Urban Indonesia: This subproject examines the rapid uptake of rooftop solar in Indonesian cities, where households and commercial actors increasingly invest in small-scale photovoltaic systems. Key developments include state-led programmes such as PLTS Atap (rooftop solar panel), installations across commercial infrastructures, and emerging collective ownership models within residential neighbourhoods. Notably, households represent a significant share of adopters in major urban centres. The PhD project explores how urban solar transitions intersect with policy frameworks, affordability constraints, and urban inequality, and how these dynamics shape access to and control over energy.

The positions are full-time (100%) for a duration of four years. Your salary is commensurate with the rates set by SNSF.

The project is part of the Chair of Social Transformation Processes at ISEK and led by Prof. Dr. Annuska Derks (Principal Investigator) and Dr. Annisa Sabrina Hartoto (Postdoctoral Researcher). At ISEK, you will be embedded in a vibrant, international academic community that values exchange and innovation, with outstanding opportunities for academic growth-including the option to join the Swiss Graduate Program in Anthropology.