The role of this PhD is to conduct innovative research on the characterization of human settlements beyond the identification of built-up areas only. The successful candidate will use a range of geospatial datasets to identify different types of human settlements, such as suburbs, peri-urban areas, slums, and urban centres. These data include remote sensing imagery of various types, but also gridded socioeconomic data, road and infrastructure networks, census and (DHS) survey data, data from social media, and potentially other sources of information. These data will be processed using statistical analysis as well as artificial intelligence algorithms for supervised classification (specifically the project aims to employ convoluted neural networks (CNN) to identify spatial patterns in human settlements). Results will be used to better understand dynamics in human settlements as well as to improve large-scale land use models for projecting land use change trajectories. Within this project an intensive collaboration with the German Aerospace Agency (DLR) - Earth Observation Centre is foreseen.
  Your duties

• identify different types of human settlements and create ground-truth data for these types
• develop and employ different methods for mapping human settlements at large spatial scales (including statistical as well as machine learning approaches)
• analyse the occurrence and changes in different settlement types
• support the improvement of large-scale land use models
• present findings in international (peer-reviewed) journals and scientific conferences
• support teaching activities at BSc and MSc level

• Master degree in geography, geo-informatics, or a related discipline with strong spatial / analytical components
• good spatial analysis skills, including GIS and remote sensing
• good programming / scripting skills
• interested in scientific research on land use and human settlements
• willingness to travel abroad for collaborative projects (Including DLR)
• ability to work in an interdisciplinary team and contribute to activities of the Environmental Geography group, in which this position is embedded

Fixed-term contract: 4 years.

A challenging position in a socially involved organization. The salary will be in accordance with university regulations for academic personnel and amounts €2,325 (PhD) per month during the first year and increases to €2,972 (PhD) per month during the fourth year, based on a full-time employment. The job profile is based on the university job ranking system and is vacant for 1 FTE.

The appointment will initially be for 1 year. After a satisfactory evaluation of the initial appointment, the contract will be extended for a duration of 4 years in total.

Additionally, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam offers excellent fringe benefits and various schemes and regulations to promote a good work/life balance, such as:

• a maximum of 41 days of annual leave based on full-time employment
• 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus
• solid pension scheme (ABP)

The ambition of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is clear: to contribute to a better world through outstanding education and ground-breaking research. And to be a university where personal education and societal involvement play a leading role. Where people from different disciplines and backgrounds work together on innovations and on generating new knowledge. Our teaching and research embrace the whole spectrum of science – from the humanities, the social sciences and the pure sciences through to the life sciences and the medical sciences.

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is home to more than 23,000 students. We employ more than 4,500 individuals. The VU campus is easily accessible, located in the heart of Amsterdam’s Zuidas district, a truly inspiring environment for teaching and research.

Diversity
Diversity is one of our university’s core values. We are an inclusive community, and we believe that diversity and international activities enhance the quality of education and research. We are always looking for people who can enhance diversity on our campus thanks to their background and experience.

The Faculty of Science
The Faculty of Science inspires researchers and students to find sustainable solutions for complex societal issues. From forest fires to big data, from obesity to medicines and from molecules to the moon: our teaching and research programmes cover the full spectrum of the natural sciences. We share knowledge and experience with leading research institutes and industries, both here in the Netherlands and abroad.

Working at the Faculty of Science means working with students, PhD candidates and researchers, all with a clear focus on their field and a broad view of the world. We employ more than 1,250 staff members, and we are home to around 6,000 students.
 
About the institute
Established in 1971, IVM is a leading environmental research institute that is internationally recognised for its high quality research output in a range of environmental disciplines, as well as for its interdisciplinary work. The mission of the institute is to contribute to sustainable development and care for the environment through scientific research and teaching. IVM aims to do excellent problem-oriented research that is useful to a wide range of stakeholders in the Netherlands and internationally. A unique strength of our research is to understand sustainability problems in their social and economic context. IVM’s research community works within four departments: Environmental Economics; Environmental Policy Analysis; Environmental Geography; and Water and Climate Risk.

About the department
The department of Environmental Geography is a vibrant international and world-renowned team of about 20 faculty members, postdocs and PhD students within the Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM). The group explores the theory and practice of land use and spatial aspects of sustainable development at various levels, with a special interest in foresight studies, spatial analysis and modelling, and the analysis of emergent trade-offs in sustainable development, ranging from climate change to food system, recreation and biodiversity. Our aim is to identify options that help society foster transitions to a sustainable future.