PhD Theses in Fisheries and Biodiversity - BRIDGES Research Program

Job title

PhD Theses - BRIDGES Research Program.

Company

BRIDGES Research Program (CNRS, Ifremer, IRD).

Description of the job

The BRIDGES Research Program is offering at least nine PhD contracts to begin in the 2026 academic year.

BRIDGES is an interdisciplinary research and scientific cooperation program aimed at identifying and developing solutions for biodiversity conservation and fair and sustainable fishing in the South-West Indian Ocean (SWIO).

The program, supported by the France 2030 investment plan, works at the crossroads of marine environmental sciences and social sciences. During its ten-year duration from 2023 to 2033, BRIDGES explores how to design, link and implement spatial management tools, including marine protected areas, to ensure biodiversity conservation, food security, environmental justice and peaceful governance of fishery resources in a region where global changes are exacerbating tensions.

The overall aim is to train a new generation of scientific experts capable of understanding, managing and transforming the SWIO basin's marine socio-ecological systems. Future BRIDGES PhD students will develop research grounded in local realities but also open to global issues, with prospects for integration into academic, political, entrepreneurial and associative spheres.

Each PhD contract lasts three years with a €20,000 research budget. The program has been structured into six interconnected Targeted Projects working across five workshop sites: the regional site in the South-West Indian Ocean including the Scattered Islands, the Comoros, Mayotte, west coast of Réunion Island, and Southern Mozambique.

PhD students will benefit from:

• A compulsory integrated training program combining scientific training (e.g. modelling of socio-ecological systems, observation, integrated analysis).
• Transdisciplinary training (e.g. personal development, innovation, entrepreneurship).
• Networking workshops to drive collaboration and co-construction among peers.

Requirements

Thesis supervision requirements:

• The theses can have two to three supervisors, one of whom must hold an HDR (Habilitation à diriger des recherches) and be affiliated with a French doctoral school.
• One of the supervisors must be affiliated with a research laboratory under the joint supervisory authority of either the CNRS or the IRD.
• Only one topic can be submitted by a supervisor or co-supervisor.
• Theses co-supervised by at least one person from the SWIO are strongly encouraged.

Thesis topics must:

• Contribute to addressing one of the BRIDGES program's challenges.
• Offer added scientific value in relation to existing work or propose noteworthy theoretical or methodological advances in the study of coastal and marine socio-ecological systems.
• Contribute to BRIDGES' progress in at least one workshop site or put forward inter-site workshop approaches.

Future PhD students requirements:

• Students should be enrolled in a French doctoral school.
• Doctoral contracts should begin no later than October 31st 2026.
• Presence at the whole of the integrated training program is compulsory.
• Selection of PhD students from the SWIO is strongly encouraged.

Location

South-West Indian Ocean region. Multiple sites including Comoros, Mayotte, Réunion Island, Southern Mozambique).

Salary

Not specified. 

How to apply

Applications should be submitted on the Call's application platform between November 30th 2025 (opening of the platform) and February 13th 2026 at 12:00 noon (CET). The link will be made available at https://www.bridges-wio.com/phd-clusters.

Application must be written in English, maximum 7 pages in Verdana 11 font (not including the summary table and one-page CV per thesis supervisor). Applications must include: scientific description of the thesis project (5 pages max), resources provided by the supervisory team (2 pages max), and summary table of general information.

Deadline

13/02/2026.

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