PhD position AMBITIONS: accelerating transitions by navigating values in the built environment
- Enschede, Overijssel
- € 3.059 per maand
- Vast
- Voltijds
based on full-time€ 3,059 - € 3,881Deadline30 Sep 2025Circularity, energy transition, extreme heat, and flooding: all potentially conflicting challenges that eventually converge in the built environment. Consider, for instance, how the civil infrastructure required to realize the energy transition or changing material flows to construct bridges and roads in a circular way can affect each other. While national strategies and missions give directions to address such grand societal challenges, local decisionmakers, such as municipalities and project developers, need to deal with making implementation decisions in their daily activities as asset manager, investor, construction manager or area developer. Transitions should therefore not be governed in isolation but collectively. Stakeholders, however, often hold their own individual values and interests. Think, for example, of a municipality that strives to address climate targets by realizing 50 new power stations in their city while citizens aim for a quiet living situations with little interventions, or contractors that want to use regional bio-based materials while construction materials from other contingents are cheaper. Transitioning towards a future-proof built environment hence starts with dealing with value tensions between stakeholders.This multidisciplinary PhD project aims to generate the necessary knowledge and tools to equip local decisionmakers to better deal with conflicting values in parallel transitions and requires an interest in both theory development and engagement with practice. The PhD position is part of the larger AMBITIONS project involving TU Delft, Utrecht University, and Avans Hogeschool, working together with public and private stakeholders in the built environment, including ministries, municipalities, consultancies, and network organizations that have a similar aim. Accordingly, the PhD candidate will work closely with both other academics and practitioners to increase the understanding of the transition processes in practice and develop ways to better govern the collection of transitions. This research setting builds on knowledge and theories at the intersection of innovation studies, construction management, and public management with many opportunities to collaborate with other research fields related to, for instance, responsible innovation, innovation policy, and transition studies. We are hence looking for a candidate that not only wants to apply engaged qualitative research approaches, but also really impacts practice to contribute to a future-proof built environment.Your profileWe are searching for a candidate that:
- (Shortly acquire) a master's of EngD degree in the field of construction management, public management, urban planning, innovation studies, or related fields.
- Strong interest in and affinity for:
o the management and governance of transition processes, and/or
o co-creative qualitative research approaches.
- Eager to explore new empirical research directions and flexible to adapt the research process to new developments and insights.
- Comfortable at the interface of academia and practice, demonstrating effective communication and publication skills in both.
- Interested in managing networks and relations with practitioners in the field of construction, infrastructure asset management and urban area development.
- You have excellent speaking and academic writing skills in English.
- You possess (or are eager to soon require) effective operational proficiency in Dutch (minimum C1 level both speaking and writing).
- As a PhD candidate at UT, you will be appointed to a full-time position for four years, with a qualifier in the first year, within a very stimulating and exciting scientific environment.
- Your salary and associated conditions are in accordance with the collective labour agreement for Dutch universities (CAO-NU).
- You will receive a gross monthly salary ranging from € 3059,- in the first year, increasing to € 3881,- in the fourth year.
- There are excellent benefits including a holiday allowance of 8% of the gross annual salary, an end-of-year bonus of 8.3%, and a solid pension scheme.
- A minimum of 232 leave hours in case of full-time employment based on a formal workweek of 38 hours. A full-time employment in practice means 40 hours a week, therefore resulting in 96 extra leave hours on an annual basis.
- Free access to sports facilities on campus.
- A family-friendly institution that offers parental leave (both paid and unpaid).
- You will have a training programme as part of the Twente Graduate School where you and your supervisors will determine a plan for a suitable education and supervision.
- We encourage a high degree of responsibility and independence while collaborating with close colleagues, researchers and industry practitioners.
- A cover letter (maximum 2 pages A4), emphasizing your specific interest, qualifications, and motivations to apply for this specific position.
- A Curriculum Vitae, including a list of all courses attended and grades obtained, and, if applicable, a list of publications and references.
- Contact information of two scientific staff members (one of whom could be the supervisor of your thesis/final project) who we may contact for references.
Assistant ProfessorCoenen, T.B.J. (Tom)
Assistant ProfessorDo you have questions about this vacancy? Then you can contact Tom for all substantive questions about this position and the application procedure. For general questions about working for the UT, please refer to the chatbot.