PhD fellowships in ENERPOL MSCA Doctoral Network

Department of Mathematical Sciences
Faculty of Science
University of Copenhagen

Within the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action (MSCA), University of Copenhagen is offering two PhD fellowships for a Doctoral Candidate (DC), starting 1 September 2026 or as soon as possible hereafter. Each position is for 36 months and is funded by the ENERPOL MSCA Doctoral Network.

ENERPOL is a European research and training network (MSCA Doctoral Network) exploring the role of households in the green energy transition. It addresses challenges such as volatile energy prices, inequality, and household risk exposure, while developing policy-relevant insights for fair and efficient energy systems. A consortium of leading universities and non-academic partners will train 14 doctoral candidates in cutting-edge methods, theory, and transferable skills. More information may be found on the ENERPOL website: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101226229.  

Project description
The successful applicants will join a multidisciplinary EU-funded Marie Skłodowska-Curie International PhD training network. The doctoral positions are based at Department of Mathematical Sciences at University of Copenhagen (UCPH).

The Doctoral Candidate will be supervised by Professor Trine Krogh Boomsma. The group works with Operations Research and the focus areas are stochastic optimization and equilibrium modelling in energy systems and markets.

Position 1: PhD Project - “Optimisation of household demand response” 
The project aims to achieve breakthroughs by: 

1. Developing a dynamic optimisation framework for household demand response (DR) and demand flexibility. 
2. Exploring demand response options, including innovative contract designs and dynamic pricing strategies.   
3. Evaluating the impact of different contracts (e.g., fixed-price, time-varying, or stochastic tariffs linked to spot market prices) on household DR. 
4. Assessing the impact of energy market interventions to reduce energy-related risk and inequality among households.   
5. Providing evidence-based recommendations on the optimal tariff design. 

Position 2: PhD Project - “Household wealth optimisation and the impact of energy costs” 
The project aims to achieve breakthroughs by: 

1. Developing stochastic control problems for wealth optimisation, with a focus on the balance between consumption and savings. 
2. Analysing and quantifying the effect of subsidies on household wealth and associated risks. 
3. Accounting for exposure to varying energy prices and household risk aversion in the optimisation framework. 
4. Providing theory-based estimates for the effects of government subsidies on household wealth and risks. 
5. Delivering evidence-based recommendations on the optimal subsidy regime. 

Main supervisor
Professor Trine Krogh Boomsma, e-mail: trine@math.ku.dk.

About the Department of Mathematical Sciences
The department conducts internationally competitive research and education of candidates in pure mathematics and applied mathematics and statistics. The department has about 55 permanent scientific staff members; around 60 PhD students and 35 postdocs. It has strong research groups in many areas, and active PhD, postdoc, and visitor's programs. Our buildings are located in central Copenhagen next to the central park Fælledparken. Our website https://www.math.ku.dk/english provides more information about the department and the research conducted at the department https://www.math.ku.dk/english/research/. 

Job description
Your key tasks as a PhD fellow at the Faculty of Science are to:

• Carrying through an independent research project under supervision.
• Completing PhD courses or other equivalent education corresponding to approximately 30 ECTS points.
• Participating in active research environments including a stay at another research team, and a secondment at an industry partner,
• Obtaining experience with teaching or other types of dissemination related to your PhD project.
• Writing a PhD thesis on the grounds of your project.

Required qualifications
As an applicant you must have:

• Qualifications corresponding to a master’s degree related to the subject area of the project (e.g., Applied Mathematics, Operations Research, Optimization, Economics, Energy Economics).
• Fluency in English and excellent communication skills.

Applicants will also be required to meet the European Commission’s MSCA Doctoral Network eligibility criteria, notably:

• Mobility Rule - Applicants can be of any nationality and must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Denmark for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before the start of their employment at UCPH. Compulsory national service, short stays such as holidays, and time spent as part of a procedure for obtaining refugee status under the Geneva Convention are not considered.
• Doctoral Candidate requirement – the applicant must not be in possession of a doctoral degree at the first day of the employment. Researchers who have successfully defended their doctoral thesis but who have not yet been awarded the doctoral degree are not eligible.

Please note that you will only be considered for the position if you fulfill both above eligibility criteria.

Preferred qualifications

• Applied mathematics
• Operations research and optimization

Key criteria for the assessment of applicants

• Professional qualifications relevant to the PhD project
• The ability to critically analyse and interpret economic data and research findings
• Publications
• The grade point average achieved
• Relevant work experience
• Other professional activities
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• The successful applicant is also required to be enterprising and to possess good   interpersonal skills
• Willingness to attend all ENERPOL training events and secondments

Place of employment
The place of employment is at Department of Mathematical Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen. We offer creative and stimulating working conditions in dynamic and international research environment.

Terms of employment
The employment as PhD fellow is full time and limited to a period of 3 years. The start date is 1 September 2026 or after agreement.

Employment is conditional upon your successful enrolment as a PhD student at the PhD School at the Faculty of SCIENCE, University of Copenhagen. This requires submission and acceptance of an application for the specific project formulated by the applicant. The PhD study must be completed in accordance with The Ministerial Order on the PhD programme (2013) and the faculty’s rules on achieving the degree.

Salary, pension and terms of employment are in accordance with the requirements from the European Commission related to the MSCA programme and the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State. The position is covered by the Protocol on Job Structure 2025.

The EU MSCA grant received by the University of Copenhagen consists of a monthly living allowance of EUR 5,325 (approx. DKK 39,671), and a monthly mobility allowance of EUR 710 (approx. DKK 5,289). In addition, a monthly family allowance of EUR 495 (approx. DKK 3,687) may apply if eligibility conditions are fulfilled. Please notice that the monthly salary you will receive will be lower than the above amounts, as these shall cover all costs related to your employment, such as monthly salary, future salary raises, pension, paid holidays, compulsory taxes, and labour market contributions. Depending on seniority, the monthly gross salary (before taxes) starts at approximately DKK 31,242/approx. EUR 4,193 (November 2025 level) plus pension.

Questions
For further information, applicants may contact the main supervisor Trine Krogh Boomsma by email: trine@math.ku.dk.

Application procedure
Your application, written in English, must be submitted electronically by clicking “Apply now” below and must include the following documents in PDF format:

• Motivated letter of application/statement of intend (max. one page).
• CV incl. education, experience, language skills and other qualifications relevant for the position.
• Certified copy of original Master of Science diploma and transcript of records in the original language, including an authorized English translation if issued in other language than English or Danish. If not completed, a certified/signed copy of a recent transcript of records or a written statement from the institution or supervisor is accepted.
• As a prerequisite for a PhD fellowship employment, your master’s degree must be equivalent to a Danish master’s degree. We encourage you to read more in the assessment database: https://ufm.dk/en/education/recognition-and-transparency/find-assessments/assessment-database. Please note that we might ask you to obtain an assessment of your education performed by the Ministry of Higher Education and Science
• Applicants with a master´s degree from abroad should also enclose a short description of the grading scale used.
• Publication list (if relevant).
• Publications or writing samples (e.g., master thesis).
• Other information to consider: References and recommendations (if possible).

The deadline for applications is 30 November 2025 at 23.59pm CET.

We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline, and not to consider applications that do not live up to the above-mentioned requirements.

The further process
After the expiry of the deadline for applications, the authorised recruitment manager selects applicants for assessment on the advice of the hiring committee. All applicants are then immediately notified whether their application has been passed for assessment by an unbiased assessor.

The assessor makes an assessment of the academic qualifications and experience with respect to the above-mentioned area of research, techniques, skills and other requirements listed in the advertisement.

Once the assessment work has been completed, each applicant can comment on the part of the assessment that relates to him/herself.

The applicant will be assessed according to the Ministerial Order no. 242 of 13 March 2012 on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities.

You may read about the recruitment process at https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/

For more information on working and living in Denmark visit http://ism.ku.dk (International Staff Mobility) and https://www.workindenmark.dk.

Interviews are expected to take place in January 2026.

The University of Copenhagen wishes to reflect the diversity of society and encourages all qualified candidates to apply regardless of personal background.