PhD Position Societally Responsive and Value-Based Asset Management of Bridges and Quay Walls in Amsterdam, The Hague and Zwolle

Dutch infrastructure is world-famous for its high quality and resilient nature. Unfortunately, many urban bridges and quay walls (UBQs) in historic cities in the Netherlands show signs of overdue maintenance and/or are beyond their functional or technical lifetime. At the same time, the management of UBQ’s is becoming more and more complex due to urbanization and increasingly dense 24/7 patterns of use and the need to address a widening range of societal challenges, such as climate-resilience and sustainability, but also a variety of social and economic values.

The PhD research is part of a project called “UBQ4: Urbiquay for responsive and value-based asset management”. This four-year project is part of the NWO-NWA Urbiquay programme which starts in April 2024. Urbiquay was initiated by the city of Amsterdam and the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management to generate knowledge regarding sustainable solutions for the repair, renewal and management of bridges and quay walls in a complex urban context. Building upon and synthesizing the insights from three, more engineering-oriented Urbiquay projects that already took off, UBQ4 develops and validates methods, approaches and guidelines for the implementation of societally responsive and value-based UBQ asset management decisions and practices.

This fully funded PhD position will deliver an overview of what values are institutionalized in UBQ management in Amsterdam, the Hague and Zwolle and in-depth insights into what values are potentially at stake and how they are dealt with at specific locations in these cities. It will apply theoretically grounded and empirically validated methods to identify and categorise values and to address conflicting (conceptions of) values. Close interactions, involvement and collaboration with other researchers and the asset management on location in the three cities ensures the delivery of context-specific and generalizable results to be used by asset managers in other municipalities.

We are looking for a highly motivated and enthusiastic researcher who combines an interdisciplinary background with strong collaboration and analytical skills. In parallel with the other PhD candidates within UBQ4 and the other Urbiquay projects, the reseacher will work with together with municipal and market practitioners in the projects. Considering the need to communicate effortlessly with the other researchers and Dutch practitioners, our preferred candidate is fluent in both Dutch and English. We are looking for a candidate with the following background and qualities:

• An MSc degree in Complex Systems Engineering & Management, Industrial Ecology, Management of Technology, Civil Engineering, Engineering & Policy Analysis, Industrial Engineering & Management, Urban Studies, Organization and Management Studies, Spatial Planning or another relevant interdisciplinary specialization.
• Strong academic and communicative skills and practical experience in one or more of the following research areas: infrastructure management, organizational practices, urban planning, stakeholder management and/or sustainable innovation.
• A passion for improving urban infrastructure through transdisciplinary research.
• Experience with and enthusiasm for combining qualitative research into prevailing practices and design or action-oriented research approaches to develop and validate ways to improve practices.
• Experience in collaborating with researchers, practitioners and decision-makers who have diverse organizational and disciplinary backgrounds.
• Good organizational, project management and communication skills.
• Strong analytical skills combined with a creative and innovative approach.
• Excellent command of spoken and written English and preferably also Dutch.

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 € 2770 per month in the first year to € 3539 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 a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged. 

For international applicants, TU Delft has the Coming to Delft Service . This service provides information for new international employees to help you prepare the relocation and to settle in the Netherlands. The Coming to Delft Service offers a Dual Career Programme  for partners and they organise events to expand your (social) network.

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!

The Faculty of TPM provides an important contribution to solving complex technical-social issues, such as energy transition, mobility, digitalisation, water management and (cyber) security. TPM does this with its excellent education and research at the intersection of technology, society and policy. We combine insights from both engineering and social sciences as well as the humanities. TPM develops robust models and designs, is internationally oriented and has an extensive network of knowledge institutions, companies, social organisations and governments.

Click here  to go to the website of the Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management.

For more information about this vacancy, please contact Aad Correljé [email protected] .

Are you interested in this vacancy? Please apply before 8 February 2024 via the application button and upload your motivation and CV.

• A pre-employment screening can be part of the selection procedure.

• You can apply online. We will not process applications sent by email and/or post.

• Please do not contact us for unsolicited services.

For information about the application procedure, please contact [email protected] .