The Construction Management and Engineering group in the Department of Civil Engineering and Management is looking for a PhD candidate in the research area of engineering smart and resilient cities. We are an international group of researchers that combine engineering knowledge with management skills. Our research and education focuses on process design and management aspects of complex, innovative and multidisciplinary civil engineering projects.

The challenge
The liveability of cities is under pressure due to climate change, ageing infrastructure and other environmental and socio-economic changes. At the same time, the continuous development of digital technology opens up new directions for solutions. In response to these challenges and opportunities, cities now increasingly develop and test innovative solutions in partnership with relevant stakeholders in so-called living labs. Living labs stimulate actors involved to learn from and with each other. The PhD candidate will examine learning in living labs to answer questions, such as: To what extent do living labs increase the knowledge and capacity of actors involved? Under what conditions? How to best design living labs?

• You will contribute to the development of an interdisciplinary framework that helps to systemically assess and compare learning in living labs;
• You will collect data of living lab projects and partnerships in regional, national and international case studies;
• You will use methods for comparative analysis to systemically compare diverse cases.
• You will develop creative design approaches for urban living labs;
• You will collaborate with regional partners to test design approaches in the Climate Active City living lab in the Twente region.

• You hold a master’s degree in civil engineering, water management, environmental sciences, spatial planning or another relevant interdisciplinary specialization.
• You have strong academic and communicative skills and practical experience in one or more of the following research areas: urban planning, climate change, knowledge management, (social) learning and public participation.
• You are fluent in English.
• You look forward collaborating with researchers, policymakers and practitioners in diverse countries and from different disciplines.
• Ideally, you have experience working in an international context and co-producing knowledge with societal stakeholders.
• You have a passion for improving city life around the world.

Information and application
For further information, please contact dr. Joanne Vinke-de Kruijf, email: joanne.vinke@utwente.nl

The start of the project is as soon as possible. Candidates expecting to graduate soon are also invited to apply. Your application should be submitted before September 11th, 2017.

We offer a very challenging fulltime position for four years in an inspiring multidisciplinary and international environment. The university offers a dynamic ecosystem with enthusiastic colleagues in which internationalization is an important part of the strategic agenda.

• A starting salary of € 2.222,- in the first year and a salary of € 2.840,- in the fourth year 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;
• 232 hours of leave in case of full-time employment;
• Professional and personal development programs.

The University of Twente. We stand for life sciences and technology. High tech and human touch. Education and research that matter. New technology which leads change, innovation and progress in society. The University of Twente is the only campus university of the Netherlands; divided over five faculties we provide more than fifty educational programmes. We have a strong focus on personal development and talented researchers are given scope for carrying out groundbreaking research.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability status. Because of our diversity values we do particularly support women to apply.

 The Faculty of Engineering Technology (ET) is one of the five faculties of the University of Twente. ET combines Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering and Industrial Design Engineering. Our faculty has approximately 1800 bachelor and master students, 400 employees and 150 PhD candidates. The departments of the faculty cooperatively conduct the educational programmes and participate in interdisciplinary research projects, programmes and the research institutes: MIRA, CTIT, SBE and IGS.