Smart Buildings & Cities PDEng program

The Smart Buildings & Cities PDEng program wants to contribute to the transition towards smart, intelligent and sustainable cities where quality of life is high. This transition requires new solutions which can only be created through multiscale and transdisciplinary (design) approaches. This requires technical designers who are able to work in a multidisciplinary environment and know how to communicate with different disciplines and stake holders. This PDEng program educates trainees to become those technical designers! Please note that this program is about technological design, i.e., the process of solving problems by means of a technological design, this in contrast to (PhD) research, which is the process of understanding problems.

After the two year program our trainees become technical designers with a broad technological understanding of the disciplines relevant to the above mentioned smart cities themes (architecture, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, building physics and services and ICT), who excel in their own discipline and who are able to work in multidisciplinary design teams, contribute to design issues outside their own core disciplines, integrate different technologies into new products and concepts, and who understand the commercial aspects of these innovative products and concepts.

Job description

The Department of the Built Environment of the Eindhoven University of Technology offers you a trainee position to follow a two-year post-master technological designer program, which leads to the degree of 'Professional Doctorate in Engineering' (PDEng). The program consists of two main parts running in parallel:

• Half of the program consists of post-master level education in the form of generic design projects and courses about design methods, entrepreneurship and professional skills. Furthermore, it includes several technical courses about topics relevant to SB&C. This part of the program also offers ample opportunity to develop professional skills.
• The other half of the program is dedicated to an individual design project in collaboration with a company. It is the trainees' main responsibility to manage and execute the project. Each trainee is supported by an advisor from the company and an advisor from the university. A business plan for implementation or marketing of the designed product or process is part of the final deliverables.

The company design project related to this traineeship is described below.

Company design project:

Strukton Worksphere has recently developed a circular, modular and intelligent concept for office accommodation called "The Sphere". This concept can be rented / leased by the client in the form of a DBFMO, after which it can be disassembled, overhauled and rebuilt. This leads to a completely different circular business model. (building is a service).

During the company assignment, the PDEng will focus on further developing The Sphere and supporting choices that still have to be made in the context of the business model and the optimization of the concept. There will be an iterative process in which solutions will be proposed, which will then be implemented, evaluated and refined. Contact with relevant stakeholders and alignment with their requirements and wishes are paramount. Although the solution direction will be determined during the project, the design and testing of innovative business models, the development of circular business models, and the evaluation and optimization of the current design are to be considered. The trainee will link up with what is happening at Strukton in the field of circularity. The further specification of the assignment will be further elaborated in consultation with Strukton.

The PDEng trainee will be embedded in the Building Performance group - www.tue.nl/buildingperformance.
For questions about the project contact dr.ir. L.C. Havinga (l.c.havinga[at]tue.nl).

We are looking for an excellent and highly motivated candidate with:

• a MSc degree in Architectural Engineering, Building Science, Building, Civil, Mechanical, Environmental Engineering, Real Estate, Building Management, or equivalent,
• an interest in circular construction and the technical and economic aspects this relates to
• an academic attitude in order to analyze and perform applied research with an integral view on what is needed for the future built environment with respect to tendering circularity.
• an excellent command of the Dutch and English language, both in speaking and writing.

• A meaningful job in a dynamic and ambitious university with a close relationship to industry.
• A full-time employment for two years.
• To support you during your PDEng and to prepare you for the rest of your career, you will have free access to a personal development program for PDEng trainees.
• A gross monthly salary and benefits in accordance with the Collective Labor Agreement for Dutch Universities.
• Additionally, an annual holiday allowance of 8% of the yearly salary, plus a year-end allowance of 8.3% of the annual salary.
• A broad package of fringe benefits, including an excellent technical infrastructure, moving expenses, and savings schemes.
• Family-friendly initiatives are in place, such as an international spouse program, and excellent on-campus children day care and sports facilities.