We are seeking a candidate, with beekeeping background, to work as a Research Assistant as part of a multidisciplinary team in support of research funded by the EU under the project grant “Better-B”. The successful candidate will help us breed honeybees, will look after our semi-professional apiary and will also underpin fundamental research into novel monitoring techniques of hives.
The vision of the Better-B consortium is that the key to resilient beekeeping is to harness the power of nature to restore harmony and balance inside the honeybee colony and between the colony and the environment, both of which have been disturbed by human activities.
The role
The overall aim of the EU funded Better-B project is to improve the resilience of beekeeping to abiotic stresses such as climate change, habitat loss and hazardous chemicals. Honeybee colonies are often poorly adapted to cope with these stresses, in no small part due to modern beekeeping practices.
We believe that the path to harmony and balance is shown by Darwinian colonies: abandoned colonies and feral colonies that have survived in the wild. However, such colonies usually lack many favourable characteristics that are important in modern beekeeping. The solution we propose here is to understand the processes and mechanisms that apply in nature and to adapt modern beekeeping practices and decision making accordingly, and when appropriate using the benefits of advanced technologies.
The role will involve working in close collaboration with our partner organisations within the Better-B consortium. This is an ideal opportunity to make a valuable contribution to impactful research, and to contribute to making the beekeeping practice sustainable.
The successful candidate will be fully involved in helping us breed bees that are varroa resistant, involving preparing and maintaining beekeeping hardware, splitting colonies (up to 100), transporting them to our mating island, preparing and using Apidea mini-nucs to have additional queens mated, bringing back the hives to Nottingham, feeding them and running monthly inspections. Eight to sixteen of our colonies are also monitored automatically, and the successful candidate will also contribute to the management of this digital data, and for the entire consortium. This will involve checking the quality of the automatically monitored data and liaising with the device manufacturer where necessary, and processing the data.
About you
You will have a B.Sc. or preferably a masters in science in a relevant field and a good record of academic excellence. You will have good experience in beekeeping.
An honours degree in a scientific discipline is required.
Interviews w/c 6th January
About us
The School of Science and Technology at Nottingham Trent University (NTU) is an exciting multidisciplinary environment for learning, teaching and research, with some of the best facilities in the UK.
We pride ourselves on delivering high-quality teaching and diverse, real-world research. We specialise in biosciences, chemistry, computing and technology, as well as engineering, forensic science, mathematics, physics and sport science. This mix of traditional and modern subjects encourages and inspires future innovators.
Our Physics department has a strong track record of gaining high-calibre research finding and delivering international impact in areas as diverse as acoustic monitoring of honeybees, art conservation and wastewater treatment.
Benefits
- Between 30 and 35 days annual leave per year (dependent on grade) plus statutory bank holidays and 5 university closure days pro rata
- Hybrid working - we encourage and offer a mixture of office working and working from home. You're empowered to define how you work best for the benefits of your stakeholders.
- Flexibility - take ownership over how you get your work done. We're open to different working patterns and approaches.
- Salary Sacrifice Retirement Savings Plan with life assurance and income protection. Available to colleagues who choose to opt out of the contractual pension scheme. Minimum colleague contributions of 0% matched with minimum NTU contributions of 8%.
- Access to a wealth of formal and informal professional development opportunities to develop your skills and advance your career.
- Range of health and wellbeing services, voluntary benefits, discounts, and savings for all colleagues. Find out more about the range of benefits we offer at Benefits | Nottingham Trent University
- And a whole lot more…
Come and be part of our success. Apply today.
