ENWAT Doctoral Program Scholarship 2026 at University of Stuttgart

by Dr Asma Jabeen August 12, 2025, 9:04 am 116 Views 0 Votes

University of Stuttgart in partnership with the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) is offering up to two (2) fully funded PhD scholarships under the ENWAT Doctoral Program.

Project, “Understanding the Seasonal Variation of Greenhouse Gas Production in Wastewater Treatment Plants”, aims to tackle a major global challenge: reducing methane and nitrous oxide emissions—two greenhouse gases far more potent than CO₂.

Project Details

Project Supervisor is Prof. Dr. Sara Kleindienst. It is conducted in Department of Environmental Microbiology, ISWA – Institute of Sanitary Engineering, Water Quality and Solid Waste Management.

Available Research Areas/Themes

Microorganism in wastewater system
Denitrification, ammonia oxidation, and methanogenesis
Microbial community dynamic and greenhouse gas emissions
Laboratory microcosms and in situ WWTP experiments

Research Goals

Explore seasonal microbe interaction that drive greenhouse gas production in WWTPs.
Create laboratory models using labelled substrates to link environmental changes with GHG outputs.
Conduct field experiments at the Stuttgart ISWA WWTP to optimize operational parameters for emission reduction.

Skills You’ll get Expertise?

High-precision analytical tools: HPLC, IC, GC-MS
Microbial enrichment under aerobic/anaerobic conditions
Gas quantification using electrochemical sensors & FTIR
16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and full metagenomic/meta transcriptomic analysis
Advanced statistical and bioinformatics approaches

Eligibility Criteria

Academic Background: M.Sc. or equivalent in Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Water Resources Management, Microbiology, or related sciences.
Additional Requirement: B.Sc. in the same or related field.
Experience: Solid grounding in molecular ecology and environmental microbiology.
Language: Proof of English proficiency (TOEFL/IELTS or proof of English-medium degrees).
Residency Rule: At DAAD nomination (Dec 2025), you must not have lived in Germany for the past 15 months and must have earned your last degree within the past 6 years.