PhD Environmental Analysis Under Uncertainty

Since its foundation in 1614, the University of Groningen has enjoyed an international reputation as a dynamic and innovative center of higher education offering high-quality teaching and research. Belonging to the best research universities of Europe and joining forces with prestigious partner universities and networks, the University of Groningen is truly an international place of knowledge.

Faculty of Economics and Business
The Faculty of Economics and Business offers an inspiring study and working environment for students and employees. International accreditation enables the Faculty to assess performance against the highest international standards. It also creates an exciting environment of continuous improvement. FEB's programmes, academic staff and research do well on various excellence ranking lists.

FEBRI, the graduate school and research institute of the Faculty of Economics and Business has one PhD position available in “Environmental Analysis Under Uncertainty: Supporting the Circularity of Medical Supplies”

Project description
The Dutch healthcare sector contributes 7% of the country's CO₂ emissions, 4% of its waste, and 13% of its raw material consumption. To lower these figures, a shift to a circular economy in medical supplies is needed. The goal is to achieve this by 2050 (Green Deal Duurzame Zorg). However, knowledge about the environmental impacts of current medical supplies and future circular alternatives is lacking, especially at hospital and regional supply chain levels, presenting both academic and practical challenges.

The initial inquiry pertains to how knowledge on these impacts can be gathered at the hospital or regional level. Integrating purchasing data, public data, usage data with conventional and modern approaches for data analysis, should facilitate the efficient acquisition of these insights. The subsequent inquiry addresses the environmental impact of prospective circular medical product alternatives that might replace conventional cradle-to-grave supplies. These analyses should consider multiple scenarios with inherent uncertainty regarding materials, impacts, and use cases. The standard life-cycle assessment (LCA) method may not suffice for such analyses, particularly when the results are intended to inform decision-making. One potential approach is to develop ex-ante LCA methods, which incorporate operations and supply chain modelling into these evaluations.

Organisation
The PhD position is integrated into the OPERA research programme of FEB's Research Institute. This PhD project is part of the Care2Change initiative, organized by the consortium "Sustainable Healthcare Noord-Nederland," which includes hospitals, companies, and knowledge institutes predominantly based in the northern region of the Netherlands. Collaboration with these entities aims to acquire data, identify compelling case studies, and disseminate research findings effectively.

We seek candidates with

- MSc in Operations Management, Supply Chain Management, Environmental Sciences, or other related fields
- Interest in sustainability, circular economy, and healthcare
- Good analytical thinking and interpersonal communication skills
- Experience with or willingness to learn LCA, programming, data analysis, empirical data collection, or AI methods as needed
- English writing and presentation skills. Dutch proficiency is a plus.

The full-time appointment is temporary for a period of four years, under the condition of a positive assessment at the end of the first year. The gross monthly salary is € 2,901, which increases yearly to a maximum of € 3,707. Based on the gross salary you will receive an additional 8% holiday allowance each year in May, and an additional 8.3 % end of year bonus in December. PhD candidates contribute 20% of their time to teaching in years 2-4.

Starting date: as soon as possible, but not later than 1 September 2025