GreenHer CoE is excited to announce three 4-year PhD posts starting 1 Oct 2026. The posts are open for international applicants, and we welcome anyone to apply. Note the specific entry requirements, particularly regarding skills and previous education, plus, note that an average Masters grade of 80% is required.
The deadline for applications is 20 Aug 2026.
Any questions you might have about the projects of the application process, please send to info@greenher.uni-lj.si.
The starting salary for a PhD student is €2218 (pre-tax). As a public employee you will be entitled to a summer and a Christmas bonus. For any questions regarding the salary and other HR aspects, please contact sara.matjacic@greenher.uni-lj.si.
Below, short outlines of PhD topics are provided. At the interviews, the applicants are expected to present and discuss their plan for the development of these outlines into PhD projects.
PhD Position 1: Preservation of Built Wooden Heritage (GreenHer Pilot 2)
The doctoral researcher will address sustainable preservation of built wooden cultural heritage with an emphasis on traditional techniques of wood selection, processing and protection. The researcher will document traditional craft practices related to timber selection, logging, processing, and traditional construction techniques, and conduct their scientific evaluation in terms of sustainability, moisture impact, weathering resistance, and climate change adaptation. The tasks will include the development and implementation of the experimental research plan, analysis of results, preparation of scientific and professional publications, and the formulation of recommendations for the use of traditional and modern approaches in the protection of wooden cultural heritage. The researcher will take part in the development of national and international research project proposals and contribute to exciting interdisciplinary activities across GreenHer CoE.
Location: The position is based at the GreenHer Unit UL BF / University of Ljubljana, Biotechnical Faculty.
Degree: University of Ljubljana
Mentor: The student will be mentored by Prof Dr Miha Humar.
Education requirements: Any completed master course in technical sciences/engineering, natural science, heritage science, social science or humanities.
Funding: This is a 100% funded position, 4 years, covering the fees, and a budget for travel and consumables.
Special notice: the interviews for this position will take place on 21 Aug in the morning. We expect that the shortlisted candidates will familiarize themselves with the process of enrolment and prepare the necessary paperwork by the interview. The preferred candidate will have to submit their application for the programme and upload all the required evidence by 21 Aug 2026, 23:59 CEST on the eVŠ web portal. For more information, see here: https://www.uni-lj.si/en/study/doctoral-study/call-for-enrolment
To apply, follow this link: https://www.uni-lj.si/en/university/public-announcements/rektorat-researcher-greenher-pilot-2-preservation-of-wooden-built-heritage
PhD Position 2: Bio-based Active Packaging Systems for the Protection of Archaeological and Cultural Heritage (GreenHer Pilot 1)
The doctoral researcher will work on the development of bio-based active packaging systems for the protection of archaeological and cultural heritage. The research will focus on the development of innovative functional packaging materials intended for the active regulation of the microenvironment during excavation, transport and long-term storage of archaeological finds. Special emphasis will be placed on the development of bio-based functional materials that will enable the regulation of relative humidity, the reduction of oxidative processes, the adsorption of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and the limitation of microbiological degradation in order to maintain the biomolecular integrity of archaeological samples. The research will connect the fields of materials, packaging technologies, conservation, archaeology and biomolecular sciences and contribute to the development of sustainable solutions for the long-term preservation of cultural heritage. The researcher will take part in the development of national and international research project proposals and contribute to exciting interdisciplinary activities across GreenHer CoE.
Location: The position is based at the GreenHer Unit UM / University of Maribor, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering.
Degree: University of Maribor
Mentor: The student will be mentored by Prof Dr Lidija Fras or Asist Prof Dr Matej Bračič.
Education and skills requirements: A completed master course in materials, chemical technology, chemistry, textiles, woodworking, mechanical engineering, conservation-restoration, packaging technologies or other related natural sciences and technical fields.
Preference will be given to candidates with knowledge in the field of functional materials development, bio-based polymers, packaging technologies, material characterization, cultural heritage conservation or biomaterials.
Desirable skills:
- Knowledge of materials, bio-based polymers, functional coatings, packaging technologies or cultural heritage conservation.
- Knowledge of physicochemical, structural, surface and mechanical characterization of materials and modern analytical methods (e.g. ATR-FTIR, Raman, SEM, contact angle, OTR, WVTR, mechanical analyses or related methods).
- Knowledge of the development and evaluation of functional materials, bio-based packaging systems and experimental research work in the laboratory.
- Knowledge of the basics of biomolecular archaeology, conservation or preventive protection of cultural heritage.
- Ability to plan, conduct and analyze experimental research and interpret results.
- Ability to prepare scientific and professional publications and participate in the preparation of national and international research projects.
- Motivation for doctoral studies and research work in the field of development of sustainable bio-based materials and active packaging systems for the protection of cultural heritage.
- Willingness to participate in interdisciplinary research groups and connect the fields of materials, packaging technologies, conservation, archaeology and biomolecular sciences.
- Excellent written and spoken English language skills.
- Ability to carry out independent research, communicate effectively and work as a team in an international research environment.
Funding: This is a 100% funded position, 4 years, covering the fees, and a budget for travel and consumables.
Special notice: The interviews will take place in the week of 24 Aug.
To apply, follow this link: https://www.uni-lj.si/en/university/public-announcements/rektorat-researcher-greenher-pilot-1-sustainable-conservation-and-restoration
PhD Position 3: AI for Semantic Enrichment of Digitised Library Collections (GreenHer Pilot 6)
The doctoral project will focus on digital cultural heritage, specifically on the development of artificial intelligence methods for the analysis, structuring and semantic enrichment of historical newspapers, photographic collections, postcards and other visual material. The researcher will develop and evaluate methods for segmentation of digitized material, automatic generation of metadata, and semantic linking of content using machine learning and computer vision. The tasks will include the preparation and implementation of experimental research, the development and evaluation of artificial intelligence models, the analysis of results, the preparation of scientific and professional publications, and the integration of results into cultural heritage data infrastructures in accordance with the FAIR principles and European interoperability standards. Special emphasis will be placed on the development of solutions for the integration of data into the Slovenian cultural heritage data space and the development of cloud services that will enable spatio-temporal search, linking and reuse of cultural heritage. The researcher will take part in the development of national and international research project proposals and contribute to exciting interdisciplinary activities across GreenHer CoE.
Location: The position is based at the GreenHer Unit UM / University of Maribor, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
Degree: University of Maribor
Mentor: The student will be mentored by Prof Dr Domen Mongus.
Education and skills requirements: A completed master course in computer science, data science, mathematics, or other related field. The successful candidate should be innovative, a team-worker, communicative, and have excellent organisational skills.
Desirable skills:
- Excellent knowledge of programming (preferably Python) and basic knowledge of machine learning frameworks.
- Knowledge of at least one of the following: natural language processing, knowledge graphs and semantic technologies, information retrieval or data infrastructure.
- Interest in cultural heritage, digital humanities or the GLAM sector; Previous experience with heritage data is an advantage, but not a requirement.
- Excellent written and spoken English skills; Additional languages are an advantage given the multilingual nature of heritage collections.
- Ability to work independently and work in an interdisciplinary team that includes computer scientists, heritage experts and humanities scholars.
Funding: This is a 50% funded position, 4 years, covering the fees, and a budget for travel and consumables. The successful candidate will be offered a further 50% funded position by the National and University Library of Slovenia, to be advertised subsequently.
Special notice: The interviews will take place in the week of 24 Aug.
To apply, follow this link: https://www.uni-lj.si/en/university/public-announcements/rektorat-researcher-greenher-pilot-6-digital-heritage
GreenHer is an inclusive employer.