The Challenge

In an industrial context that is becoming increasingly digitized, human-centered, and sustainable, information and data related to sustainability need to be collected, assessed, and shared across the entire European railway sector.

Two perspectives can be identified. One perspective is the management of environmental data and information across the EU railway sector. To enable the collection and sharing of this data, it is first necessary to develop common criteria, a common language and recognizable goals for the sector. It also requires the collection of life cycle data, including environmental impacts and material use, e.g. as collected in material passports.

Another perspective is that of eco-labels, which are instrumental in making informed inter-organizational decisions about the current and future state of railway systems and their components across Europe. Eco-labels are accessible collections of information that concisely describe the key environmental impacts of various products, goods and services over their entire life cycle. Despite the existence of international standards, ecolabels need to be developed, maintained and managed by different organizations, and their principles and procedures need to be tailored to specific applications.

Overall, the PhD research project focuses on the design and evaluation of (1) Environmental information management methods and tools, and (2) Environmental indicators for specific applications in the railway sector (e.g., Ecolabels for infrastructure or rolling stock), for the European railway infrastructure. The research is supported by the European Joint Rail Undertaking of the European Union, which allows for an international knowledge exchange with international railway partners.

Job description

As a PhD candidate, you will be responsible for carrying out an independent, full-time, 4-year research project that requires the integration of several research areas at the interface between engineering and management. As part of the research project, you will have the opportunity to evaluate your developed methods and tools in practice, together with several partners in the European railway sector. You will be assigned to the Asset Management & Maintenance Engineering (AMME) group, which is part of the Department of Design, Production and Management (DPM) of the Faculty of Engineering Technology (ET). Together with our (inter)national partners and contacts, our group strives to develop state-of-the-art solutions to fundamental and practical challenges in the field of Asset Management and Maintenance Engineering.

• You have (or will shortly acquire) a master's degree in a relevant field such as Industrial Engineering and Management, or Environmental and Energy Management, Industrial Design Engineering, or similar fields.
• You have a broad knowledge base and research interests that include engineering, design, and technological, environmental, organizational, and asset life cycle management domains.
• You have experience with environmental assessment techniques, such as Life Cycle Assessment.
• You are able to do independent research and are willing to build on your writing and publication skills.
• You have excellent communication skills and are proficient in written and oral English; The ability to understand spoken and written Dutch is appreciated.
• You are willing to travel internationally to perform and disseminate research.

• An inspiring multidisciplinary and challenging international and academic environment. The university offers a fun and dynamic environment with enthusiastic colleagues where cooperation with other researchers is stimulated.
• Opportunity for (frequent) international research exchange.
• Full-time employment for 4 years with a starting salary of €2.541,- gross per month in the first year and increasing to €3.247,- gross per month in the fourth year.
• Tailor-made educational/development program of at least 6 months (30EC), including visits to conferences.
• An annual holiday allowance of 8% of the gross annual salary, and an annual year-end bonus of 8.3%.
• A minimum of 29 holidays per year in case of full-time employment.
• A solid pension scheme.
• Excellent working conditions, an exciting scientific environment, and a lively green campus.
• A professional and personal development program within Graduate School Twente.