TU Delft is a top tier university and is exceedingly active in the field of Artificial intelligence. The mission of the Design at Scale (D@S) Lab is to bring together TU-Delft expertise in Design and Computer Science to establish a centre of excellence in Hybrid Intelligence for Societal-Scale Design. Hybrid Intelligence can play a key role in reducing the complexity of design for large-scale societal problems by orchestrating large-scale design activities involving people, data and machines, informing effective design interventions, predicting the impact of design interventions, monitoring and learning from the implementation of design interventions, and adapting design interventions over time to maximise their impact.

Designers increasingly aim to tackle systemic challenges in society (e.g., health and wellbeing, climate action, mobility, inclusiveness, etc.). This requires new design methods and tools that operate at societal scale and enable designers to effectively involve large numbers of stakeholders and harness large amounts of data to analyse complex social systems and assess the longitudinal impact of design interventions. In particular, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted shortcomings of current design approaches which remain limited in scope, involving small groups of design experts and users across relatively short time frames. Hybrid Intelligence (HI)—the integration of Artificial Intelligence and Human Intelligence at scale—bears immense potential for transforming and scaling up Design, to enable designers to effectively tackle complex societal problems.

In total, D@S lab has 4 PhD vacancies: 2 PhD positions with a Design profile, and 2 PhD positions with a Computer Science profile. 

We are looking for the following Design profile position:

Human-AI Collaboration in Video-based Design Research
The ubiquitous nature of video cameras and the increasing power of AI technologies for processing, analysis, and generation of video present huge opportunities for user research in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Design. However, the sheer amount of available video data, and the complexity of interpreting video data, limit the effective use thereof. On this PhD project you aim to develop novel approaches for Human-AI Collaboration in the large-scale collection, interpretation, and use of video-diaries (captured for example by mobile phones and wearable cameras). Your role is to develop methods and tools for collective annotation and analysis of video-diaries by users, domain experts and designers; the development of AI methods for the effective integration of human and machine perspectives in the analysis of video-diaries, and the evaluation of the impact of large-scale video analysis on user research and design. This research lies at the intersection of HCI, Design and Artificial Intelligence, and has a strong focus on the combination of technological prototyping and empirical research.

• An MSc degree in an applied sciences field relevant to the PhD research described above.
• Demonstrated competencies in one or more of these domains: AI, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Design, Computer/Data science, or another relevant field.
• Strong interest and experience in conducting empirical research (e.g., user studies), familiarity with qualitative and quantitative methods and understanding of user-centred design methods.
• Interest and experience in teaching and guiding students.
• Excellent software development and prototyping skills and interest in further developing your design, problem-solving, programming, and analytical.
• Proficient in verbal and written English.
• Ability to work in a team, take initiative, obtain results, be systematic and communicative.

Fixed-term contract: 5 years.

TU Delft offers DAI-Lab PhD-candidates a 5-year contract (as opposed to the normal 4-years), with an official go/no go progress assessment after one year. Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, increasing from € 2395 per month in the first year to € 3217 in the fifth year. As a PhD candidate you will be enrolled in the TU Delft Graduate School. The TU Delft Graduate School provides an inspiring research environment with an excellent team of supervisors, academic staff and a mentor. The Doctoral Education Programme is aimed at developing your transferable, discipline-related and research skills.

The TU Delft offers a customisable compensation package, discounts on health insurance and sport memberships, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged. For international applicants we offer the Coming to Delft Service and Partner Career Advice to assist you with your relocation

Delft University of Technology

Delft University of Technology is built on strong foundations. As creators of the world-famous Dutch waterworks and pioneers in biotech, TU Delft is a top international university combining science, engineering and design. It delivers world class results in education, research and innovation to address challenges in the areas of energy, climate, mobility, health and digital society. For generations, our engineers have proven to be entrepreneurial problem-solvers, both in business and in a social context. At TU Delft we embrace diversity and aim to be as inclusive as possible (see our Code of Conduct). Together, we imagine, invent and create solutions using technology to have a positive impact on a global scale.

Challenge. Change. Impact! 

Faculty Industrial Design Engineering

Matching the evolution of people with the speed of the revolution of technology. This is the focus of the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering (IDE). Delft designers act as a bridge between advances in technology and the needs of people, organisations and society to create products, services and systems with purpose.

IDE is a leader in design research across the application areas of mobility, sustainability and health, as well as its development of design tools and methods. A 350-strong research team and over 2,000 students work together in our inspiring hall, labs and studios.

In close cooperation with industry, the public sector and NGOs we rehearse possible futures in research and education to design for a complex future.

Click here to go to the website of the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering.

The D@S lab is a Delft Artificial Intelligence Lab, where experts in the fundamentals of AI work with experts in AI challenges in a shared lab. The D@S lab implements the AI agenda of the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering (IDE) by contributing in the topics of collaborating with AI-powered systems and connecting AI-powered and living systems. As a PhD candidate, you will work with at least 2 academic members of staff and 3 other PhD candidates, 2 of which will share their technical expertise on AI, as members of D@S lab and the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science (EEMCS). In total, TU Delft will establish 24 DAI-Labs, where 48 Tenure Trackers and 96 PhD candidates will have the opportunity to push the boundaries of science using AI. You will be a member of the thriving DAI-Lab community that fosters cross-fertilization among individuals with different expertise and across different disciplines.

Each team is driven by research questions, which arise from scientific and societal challenges, and contribute to the development and execution of domain specific education. You will receive a 5-year contract and you will be deployed for AI-related education for the usual teaching effort for PhD students in the faculty plus an additional 20%. The extra year, compared to the usual 4-year contracts, accounts for the 20% additional AI, Data and Digitalisation education-related activities. All team members will have many opportunities for self-development.

The D@S lab is led by Evangelos Niforatos. As a member of the D@S Lab, you will work in the Department of Sustainable Design Engineering (SDE), Faculty of IDE, and collaborate with 2 more PhD candidates from the Department of Software Technology (ST), Faculty of EEMCS, TU Delft.

The SDE Department develops scientific and practical knowledge on the intersections of technology, design, engineering and sustainability. Our mission is to develop new design methods and tools to enable the design of future technology-intensive and sustainable products and services. The expertise of SDE covers a broad spectrum and includes Internet of the Things, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Human-Computer-Interaction, Robotics, smart materials, bio materials, 3D/4D printing, sustainability and the circular economy.

The ST Department contributes both to the foundations of software and computer systems, and to the understanding of the operation of such systems. Therefore, its research approach is both fundamental--designing algorithms and abstractions, developing new concepts and theories, and identifying principles, as well as experimental--engineering and analysing the behaviour of actual systems. It is this combination of design, engineering, and analysis that characterises the research of the ST department