We are looking for a talented PhD graduate to work as a postdoctoral researcher on the NWO-funded “ENRGISED” project. This is short for ‘ENgaging Residents in Green energy Investments through Social networks, complExity, and Design’ and is funded under the call ‘Complexity and Creative Industry: Grip on Transitions and Resilience. The aim of the project is to develop a strategy that can stimulate households to transition away from natural gas towards green energy alternatives; in particular, to shape energy transition experiments in Dutch cities in co-creation with citizens and other stakeholders to facilitate emergent behaviour within the community through design interventions. A postdoctoral researcher will also be recruited at the University of Utrecht, the two postdoctoral researchers will closely work together.

The postdoctoral researcher at the TUDelft will work through investigating and experimenting in co-creation with citizens and other stakeholders. Experimentation is directed towards a network of households and interventions for behaviour change. The aim of the interventions is to facilitate emergent behaviour within the community. The research will rely on and contribute to the field of design, transition studies and behaviour change; as well as the young and emerging fields of Transition and Systemic design and co-creation. The research will be supervised by Dr.ir Jotte de Koning and Dr. Ella Jamsin from the Design for Sustainability group at the Industrial Design Engineering Faculty at the TUDelft. The position will start in May 2020 and it is for a minimum of 0,7 FTE and a maximum of 32 months.

The project is a collaboration between the Industrial Design Engineering faculty at TUDelft and the Department of Sociology and the Center for Complex Systems Studies at University of Utrecht; as well as a number of private partners. This highly interdisciplinary collaboration promises to integrate and advance research strands from complexity, sociology, and design.      

Profile:

• A strong team player and communicator with organizational skills.
• Experience with facilitating co-creation activites.
• Experience in working on behaviour change
• Experience with experimentation and developing (design) interventions
• Affinity with the challenges in the energy transition
• Analytical skills to engage with the results of the network analysis taking place predominantly in Utrecht
   
• A PhD degree in design or in another relevant field - e.g. (industrial) ecology, sustainability science, transition studies, behaviour change - with a demonstrable affinity and strong interest for the field of design and developing interventions.
• Excellent English skills both in written and oral form.
• Preferably communication skills in Dutch
• A publication track record in peer-reviewed journals and conferences.

Fixed-term contract: Temporary, 24-32 months.

TU Delft offers a customisable compensation package, a discount for health insurance and sport memberships, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged. An International Children’s Centre offers childcare and an international primary school. Dual Career Services offers support to accompanying partners. Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities.    

Technische Universiteit Delft

Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) is a multifaceted institution offering education and carrying out research in the technical sciences at an internationally recognised level. Education, research and design are strongly oriented towards applicability. TU Delft develops technologies for future generations, focusing on sustainability, safety and economic vitality. At TU Delft you will work in an environment where technical sciences and society converge. TU Delft comprises eight faculties, unique laboratories, research institutes and schools.

Faculty Industrial Design Engineering

The faculty of Industrial Design Engineering is the largest and broadest scientific design institute in the world, with over 2,000 students, more than 6,000 alumni and 300 staff (researchers and lecturers, including designers from industrial practice). The faculty aims to contribute to a better living environment and respond to societal challenges by combining human values and desires with technological feasibility and economic viability. We ground design methods and skills in scientific knowledge from a wide range of disciplines, leading to concrete solutions.

The candidate will be involved in the Design for Sustainability group in the Department of Design Engineering. The Design Engineering Department is a centre for system-oriented product development and innovation to sustainability. The aim of our work is to empower designers to contribute to the innovative capability and competitiveness of the creative industry sector. The Design for Sustainability group pursues ground breaking research in circular and sustainable products, services and systems. We are a rapidly expanding group and have an excellent track record in obtaining internationally funded projects. We have a ‘circular design lab’ where graduate students collaborate with partners from our industry network, and a well-equipped applied lab where we build prototypes and experiment with emerging materials and technologies.