Would you like to contribute to crafting and developing better roads in the Netherlands that will be more durable? Are you passionate about high-end technological design? Then, this Professional Doctorate in Engineering (PDEng) programme may be for you. The PDEng is a 2-year post-Master Degree technological designers programme. This programme at the University of Twente contains an educational part and a design project. For the project, you will work with ASPARi network companies. The educational programme will have an in-depth character with ample attention for professional development and will be partly tailored to the design project. Together with external organisation, you will develop a high-level and creative solution for the given problem.

The challenge

The sustainability agenda has pushed the construction industry to be disrupted in several directions, with Digitization being at the core of this transformation. The use of digital technologies is seen as the steppingstone for ensuring that the expansion of the infrastructure network is not done at the cost of a negative contribution to climate change. The ambition is to register and monitor the entire lifecycle of infrastructure in the digital environment, to be able to optimize processes and construction methods to reduce waste, emissions, and societal disturbance. The concept of Digital Twin has emerged in the pursuit of this ambition. In this concept, the overall goal is to integrate 3D modelling techniques with the Internet of Things (IoT) concept to build a digital replica of an asset that can (1) represent the current condition of the asset, and (2) predict the future condition.

THE MISSION OF THIS DESIGN PROJECT IS TO:
“Developing a Lifecycle Infrastructure Digital Twin”

This project aims to develop a framework for the lifecycle digital twin of infrastructure assets. The project addresses aspects of Data Visualization and Usability i.e. how to represent the paved road in a 3D object-oriented model that accommodates (i) requirements of different stakeholders for the presentation of Digital Twin data in the Project Lifecycle, and (ii) the need to systematically relate the project lifecycle data to the associated components in the 3D representation;

To this end, the successful candidate is encouraged to tackle the following tasks:

• Identify the critical input/out data schemes for technology-supported decision-making across the lifecycle of road pavement;
• Develop a Digital Twin for the entire pavement lifecycle (i.e., design, construction, operation, and maintenance); 
• Develop, test and validate a 3D object-oriented model for pavement lifecycle data.

During the educational part of the programme, you will receive a customised education package consisting of, among others, courses in decision-support system design, systems engineering & design, sensor development, operations research, statistics, structural equation modelling and supply chain management.

We are searching for the best MSc graduated with a proven affinity with design and multidisciplinary assignments. Besides, you have the ambition and talent to accelerate in finding solutions / crafting designs for complex civil technological issues with a multidisciplinary character. Important professional skills are Dutch and English language skills, communication and interpersonal skills, teamwork, initiative and self-reflection. Prior knowledge in road design and construction will be useful to successfully complete the project but can also be part of the educational program. An interview will be part of the selection procedure.

We offer a very challenging position for two years in an inspiring multidisciplinary and international environment. In this time we will provide you with a tailor made post-master design programme that has an educational component (~50%) as well as a design project (~50%).

• A salary of € 1.970 gross per month;
• A holiday allowance of 8% of the gross annual salary and a year-end bonus of 8.3%;
• A solid pension scheme;
• Minimum of 29 holidays in case of full-time employment.

On successfully completing the programme, you will receive a certified degree. You will be entitled to use the academic degree PDEng and will be registered as a Technological Designer in the Dutch register kept by the Royal Institution of Engineers in the Netherlands (KIVI).