The Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) is hiring a doctoral candidate on the exciting topic of "Distributed Participation in Climate-Resilient City Making". This fully funded, 4-year PhD position is associated with the Climate Action Programme of the TU Delft.

The Climate Action Programme is a ten-year programme focused on advancing research and education as well as the sustainability of the TU Delft campus and external partnerships for climate action. The programme is an interdisciplinary effort of the eight TU Delft faculties engaging in research activities concerning climate science, adaptation, mitigation and governance. Your PhD research will address a crucial societal challenge - the participation of citizens in the design, development and evaluation of climate-resilient strategies at the community level.

Your research will critically engage with the following interconnected challenges:

1. design requirements for citizen engagement in distributed, (a) synchronous participatory in multi-actor settings;
2. user requirements for the application of open source digital planning suppport tools for distributed digital participation in multiple climate-resilient citymaking contexts;
3. tensions and conflicts in needs, spatial scales, preferences and values of different user groups (e.g. citizens, planners, sector experts, engineers) in these contexts; and
4. inclusion and participation of citizen end-users in the design of digital planning support tools through a living labs methodology.

As a PhD candidate, you will engage in research by design for the adoption of open source digital planning support tools. Through collaboration with the City Science Lab @HafenCity University Hamburg, Germany this research position will explore the adaptation requirements of open source digitals tools that have been developed in Hamburg e.g.: Digital Participation System (DIPAS Touchtable), Cockpit Social Infrastructure (COSI) and Connected Urban Twins (CUT). Supported by the Behavioural Insights for Climate Action flagship team, you will engage in Living Lab studies that enable user-centric testing of underlying assumptions and iterative redesign of a distributed digital participation tool prototype.

Qualified candidates possess most of the following skills and qualities:

• an interest in working at the intersection of the social and geo-sciences, computer science and design;
• a Master's degree in the geosciences or urbanism (spatial planning, urban design, architecture, urban analytics) OR computer science OR design (participatory design, design for interaction, or other associated areas);
• strong skills in GIS, data collection, data visualization and/or systemic spatial analysis
• social skills to engage with diverse project partners and the proven ability to work in a transdisciplinary research context;
• excellent communication skills and adequate writing and presentation skills; and
• proven English proficiency.

Doing a PhD at TU Delft requires English proficiency at a certain level to ensure that the candidate is able to communicate and interact well, participate in English-taught Doctoral Education courses, and write scientific articles and a final thesis. For more details please check the Graduate Schools Admission Requirements

Additional desired skills are:

• experience with planning support methods and stakeholder engagement;
• knowledge of serious gaming, modelling and simulation techniques;
• database management and programming skills;
• knowledge on the topics of urban resilience or sustainability in the built environment; and
• good command of Dutch or willingness to learn.

Doctoral candidates will be offered a 4-year period of employment in principle, but in the form of 2 employment contracts. An initial 1,5 year contract with an official go/no go progress assessment within 15 months. Followed by an additional contract for the remaining 2,5 years assuming everything goes well and performance requirements are met.

Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, increasing from € 2541 per month in the first year to € 3247 in the fourth 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 as one of our core values and we actively engage to be a university where you feel at home and can flourish. We value different perspectives and qualities. We believe this makes our work more innovative, the TU Delft community more vibrant and the world more just. Together, we imagine, invent and create solutions using technology to have a positive impact on a global scale. That is why we invite you to apply. Your application will receive fair consideration.

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.