Organisation / Company University of Granada Department Ecology Laboratory Ecological Restoration Is the Hosting related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No MSCA

- PF: Joint application at the University of Granada.

Department of Ecology.

Professor Alexandro B.
Leverkus, from the Department of Ecology at the University of Granada, welcomes postdoctoral candidatesinterested inapplying for a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship (MSCA-PF)in 2026 at this University.
Please note that applicants must comply with the Mobility Rule (for more information about the 2026 call, please consult this link ).

Brief description of the institution: The University of Granada (UGR), founded in 1531, is one of the largest and most important universities in Spain. With more than 57,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students and almost 7,000 members of staff, the UGR offers 97 undergraduate degrees, 157 master’s degrees (7 of which are double degrees) and 28 doctoral programmes via its 124 departments and nearly 50 centers.

Accordingly, the UGR offers one of the most extensive and diverse ranges of higher education programmes in Spain.

The UGR has been awarded with the "Human Resources Excellence in Research (HRS4R)", which reflectsthe institution’s commitment to continuously improve its human resource policies in line with the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers. The UGR is also internationally renowned for its excellence in diverse research fields and ranked among the top Spanish universities in a variety of ranking criteria, such as national R&D; projects, fellowships awarded, publications, and international funding.

The UGR is one of the few Spanish Universities listed in the Shanghai Top 500 ranking

- Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU).

The 2025 edition of the ARWU places the UGR in 301-400th position in the world and as the 3-8 highest ranked University in Spain, reaffirming its position as an institution at the forefront of national and international research.

From the perspective of specialist areas in the ARWU rankings, the UGR is outstanding in Mathematics, Artificial Intelligence and Dentistry & Oral Sciences (ranked between 51th-75th position), Computer Science & Engineering, Education and Hospitality & Tourism Management (between 76-100th position),



and in the areas of Food Science & Technology and Business Administration (between 101-150th position).

A little lower in the ranking, the UGR also stands out in the areas of Earth Sciences, Law, Management, Nursing, Psychology and Statistics, in which the UGR is positioned in the 151-200th position.
Internationally, the University of Granada is firmly committed to its participation in the calls of the Framework Programme of the European Union.

For the duration of the prevoius Framework Programme, Horizon 2020, the UGR obtained a totalof124 projectswith a total funding of more than€30 million. For the current Framework Programme, Horizon Europe, the UGR has obtained136 projects, so far, with a total funding of more than€38 million.

Brief description of the Centre/Research Group: The candidate will join the group on Ecosystem Restoration and Conservation, based at the Department of Ecology of the University of Granada.
This dynamic and expanding group has been investigating multiple processes involved in ecosystem resilience from both basic and applied perspectives.
Their main research lines include post-disturbance dynamics (incl.
the effects of post-fire management) and ecological restoration through passive and active management.
The group is currently conducting several field and review studies on the success of ecological restoration.
Multiple collaborations bring additional dynamism to this group and expand the scope and scale of the projects in the same institution, in nearby agricultural research centres, and nationally/ internationally.

The group currently holds research grants funded by the University of Granada (C-EXP-267-UGR23), the Andalusian regional administration (BIOD22_002 & PP.AVA23.INV2023.30), the Spanish Government (PID2022-143099OB-I00), the European Union (Horizon Europe Project No.

101084481), and the Velux Foundation (recently granted) and its members participate in both informal and formal research networks.




ABL coordinates a distributed experiment on restoration with oaks with dozens of field sites across 16 European countries and, through recently granted project FIRE-TRAN, will begin implementing a new distributed study on fire ecology.

Multiple training opportunities are available in our group and faculty and through the group’s networks.

Ecological research increasingly relies on coordinated distributed experiments and observational research networks

-i.e., large-scale collaborative networks that enable standardised data collection across sites and address questions unattainable through local studies.

While these initiatives have delivered major scientific advances, the networks themselves remain poorly understood.

Key aspects

- such as governance, participation dynamics, inclusivity, and long-term sustainability- have not yet been adequately examined, and most networks operate in isolation, limiting cross-network learning and cumulative knowledge.

This EOI proposes a research direction that treats ecological networks as complex socio-ecological systems.

Building on a unique dataset from surveys of 58 international networks (responded both by network coordinators and participants), the candidate would explore how organisational structures, motivations, and engagement patterns shape network functioning, participant satisfaction, and scientific outcomes.

This also opens the possibility of developing a meta-network platform among existing initiatives to foster knowledge exchange, comparability, and innovation.

The fellow would develop an independent yet aligned project, potentially focusing on: (i) drivers of participation and inclusivity across regions and career stages; (ii) comparative analyses of network structure, performance, and perceived success; (iii) conceptual frameworks for understanding collaborative science as a complex system; or (iv) design principles for enhancing connectivity and interoperability among networks.

The expected contribution is both empirical and conceptual: advancing understanding of how collaborative ecological research operates, and generating evidence-based insights to improve the design, coordination, and impact of future international research networks.

Research Area:

- Social Sciences and Humanities (SOC)
- Environment and Geosciences (ENV) #J-18808-Ljbffr

📌 MSCA-PF: Joint application at the University of Granada. Department of Ecology.
🏢 International Research Projects Office
📍 Granada