Recruitment & Admissions

Postdoctoral Research Direction

Development and application of computable general equilibrium (CGE) models

The CEADs team is seeking an outstanding postdoctoral researcher in CGE modeling, based at either Tsinghua University or University College London. The role will focus on building independent CGE models, applying CGE models to assess climate change risks and environmental policies, and coupling models with related analytical frameworks. Specific requirements are as follows:

1. Strong knowledge of advanced microeconomic theory, especially general equilibrium theory, and familiarity with basic macroeconomics and econometrics;

2. Understanding of CGE model frameworks and solid knowledge of modeling each module of CGE models;

3. Familiarity with model solution methods such as MCP, and proficiency in CGE modeling tools such as GAMS or GEMPACK;

4. Knowledge of nonlinear optimization and dynamic optimization;

5. Understanding of the structure of basic databases such as social accounting matrices, and ability to prepare basic CGE model databases;

6. Experience in CGE model development and application. Applicants with strong relevant publications will be given priority.

Team and Supervisors

Department of Earth System Science

The Department of Earth System Science at Tsinghua University conducts comprehensive and systematic earth science research focused on global environmental change and sustainable development. One important research area is the economics of global change, which studies global change through new concepts, theories, and methods that combine natural science and economics, and provides technical and economic support for global change decision-making through interdisciplinary thinking and integrated assessment methods.

CEADs Team

Led by Professor Dabo Guan, the CEADs team has long focused on the causes, impacts, and responses to climate change, analyzing the drivers of greenhouse gas emissions and exploring sustainable development pathways with low carbon and low resource consumption at global and national scales.

Accurate and reliable emissions inventories are the foundation and prerequisite for implementing emissions reduction policies. The CEADs team has built multi-scale carbon accounting inventories and socioeconomic and trade databases for China and other developing countries and regions, providing an accurate data foundation for subsequent research.

The team brings together scholars from research institutions in China, the United Kingdom, Europe, the United States, and other regions. In recent years, it has published many high-quality academic papers in Nature and its sister journals. In 2020, Professor Dabo Guan led the team in assessing the economic impacts of global pandemic control policies, offering important insights for economic recovery in the pandemic era. The team's research strength and outstanding contributions in climate change economics and interdisciplinary science have been widely recognized by the academic community.

Professor Dabo Guan is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Earth System Science at Tsinghua University and a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in the United Kingdom. His research focuses on the causes, impacts, and responses to climate change, the drivers of greenhouse gas emissions, and sustainable development pathways with low carbon and low resource consumption at global and national scales. His interdisciplinary research integrating natural and social sciences has been widely recognized by the academic community. He has published more than 200 academic papers in high-impact international environmental journals, including more than 60 papers in Nature, its sister journals, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. He and his collaborators have received the Leontief Prize three times in different years. He has been recognized as a highly cited researcher for many years. His 2014 PNAS paper received the Cozzarelli Prize, awarded to the best paper among more than 4,000 papers published in PNAS that year, and he also received recognition among the world's 100 most influential papers in 2018.

Tsinghua University Shuimu Scholars Program

Number of Positions and Compensation

In 2021, the program supported no more than 200 scholars. The annual pre-tax salary was RMB 300,000. The support period was two years. In addition, selected scholars received social insurance, occupational annuity, housing provident fund, housing allowance, and other benefits totaling approximately RMB 123,000; priority access to transitional housing or a rental subsidy of RMB 42,000 per year; access to Tsinghua University policies for children's kindergarten and school enrollment and medical care; household registration transfer for the scholar and family members under the postdoctoral system; participation in Tsinghua University faculty career training; and eligibility to apply for support for high-level international academic conferences. Postdoctoral supervisors may provide additional support depending on the applicant's overall qualifications. After completing three years in the position, scholars may apply for evaluation for associate senior professional titles.

Application Requirements

1. Under the age of 35.

2. About to receive a doctoral degree, or received a doctoral degree within the past three years.

3. Recommended by the department or school after interview and assessment.

4. Required to work full-time at Tsinghua University after joining.

Applicants who plan to enter the postdoctoral program and have received a national postdoctoral talent program award, including the Postdoctoral International Exchange Program Introduction Project or the Postdoctoral Innovation Talent Support Program, may be directly selected as Shuimu Scholars after departmental recommendation.

Postdoctoral researchers already in the program who receive an excellent mid-term assessment and whose contract end date is within six months of the application deadline may apply for the corresponding selection round.

The review mainly considers academic ability, the quality of the research plan, and the expected contribution of the proposed research to the relevant discipline.

Application Materials

1. Application Form for the Tsinghua University Shuimu Scholars Program (Part I);

2. Academic and research achievement materials, including papers, monographs, patents, awards, or other materials representing the applicant's highest academic level and research achievements. For papers, provide the full text, and for unpublished papers also provide proof of acceptance. For monographs, provide the cover, table of contents, and abstract. For patents or awards, provide certificates.

The above materials (items 1-2) should be scanned into one PDF file no larger than 50 MB and sent to the application department email address.

3. Two to three recommendation letters sent directly by recommenders to the application department email address. A recommendation letter from the doctoral supervisor is required; this restriction does not apply to current postdoctoral researchers. If a recommendation letter is sent as an attachment, it must include the recommender's signature.

Timeline

1. First round of application and selection

Applicant submission period: April 2021. Please consult the application department for the exact date.

Department recommendation deadline: May 10, 2021.

Selection and announcement of results: Early June 2021.

2. Second round of application and selection

Applicant submission period: October 2021. Please consult the application department for the exact date.

Department recommendation deadline: November 10, 2021.

Selection and announcement of results: Early December 2021.

University College London

Number of Positions and Compensation

The CEADs team is also recruiting one postdoctoral research associate in CGE model development through the Bartlett School of Construction and Project Management at University College London (UCL), on a two-year fixed-term contract. The annual salary is around GBP 35,000.

Founded in 1826 and located in London, University College London is a world-leading public comprehensive research university, consistently ranked among the world's top ten universities and enjoying a strong reputation as a historic British institution. It is the founding college of the University of London federation and is often grouped with the University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, Imperial College London, and the London School of Economics and Political Science as part of the G5 group of elite UK universities. UCL is a member of the Golden Triangle, the Russell Group, the China-UK University Engineering Education and Research Alliance, and SES-5. UCL has produced 34 Nobel Prize laureates and 3 Fields Medalists, as well as prominent figures in science, politics, and culture, including Charles K. Kao, known as the father of fiber optics; Alexander Graham Bell, a pioneer of telephone communication; Francis Crick, a founder of molecular biology and co-discoverer of DNA; Peter Cook, a leading figure in Archigram; Demis Hassabis and David Silver, creators of the AlphaGo algorithm; literary master Rabindranath Tagore; and Mahatma Gandhi.

Interested applicants are encouraged to contact Professor Dabo Guan (guandabo@tsinghua.edu.cn) as soon as possible to discuss future collaboration directions.