PhD Smart Community-Owned Renewable Energy Management

Job description

Are you passionate about sustainability transitions? Are you eager to contribute to transformation of energy system and to the empowerment of European Energy Communities? We are offering a fully funded PhD (4y, 1fte) position on the Smart Community-Owned Renewable Energy Management (SmartCORE) project.

Successful applicant will perform action research in the context of an Interreg NWE funded project SmartCORE. SmartCORE offers a strategy to make the future NWE energy system resilient and ready for more RES by engaging Energy Communities (ECs) in the integral energy management beyond mere RES production. However, current Energy Communities lack scale, capabilities, technology and resilience to engage in services that would keep the grid balanced and relief congestion. Abundant nuclear energy, dependence on international oil and gas markets, and regulatory issues further hinder urgency & awareness to consumer participation. The specific task of the PhD therefore includes research on empowering existing Energy Communities in Luxembourg, France, Belgium, Ireland and the Netherlands to engage in integral energy management activities and on making their experience scalable to other European contexts through training. This includes, but is not limited to, exploring scale through organisation into Energy Community hubs, enhancing ECs capabilities, addressing technical deficiencies, scaling business models and tackling regulatory barriers.

Apart from research, PhD candidate will support management of the project and the production of project deliverables: strategic and regional action plans, development of the SmartCORE socio-technical solution and delivery of a training scheme to Energy Communities.

The PhD will report the research findings at international conferences and in scientific journals. Given the very practical dimension of this project, the research findings will also be applied in practical environment of the Energy Communities and Interreg NWE and disseminated via non-academic channels. The successful applicant will have an opportunity to profit from doing transdisciplinary research in real life context. The researcher will be embedded in the TIS group, fully participate in the activities of the project, and will have a small teaching load (15%) as part of the job.

Job requirements

• Master’s degree in sustainable innovation, sustainability transitions, or equivalent. Please, mind: this is NOT an engineering project but broad understanding of technology is desirable.
• A research-oriented attitude and scientific mindedness.
• Experience or eagerness to engage with participatory, action-oriented approaches to research.
• Methodological skills and proven experience with mixed methods designs.
• Ability to work in a transdisciplinary team.
• Excellent written and spoken communication skills.
• Proficiency in English (C1 level), Dutch is a pro.
• Motivation to develop teaching skills and coach students.
• Enthusiasm, self-reliance, strong organizational skills.

Conditions of employment

A meaningful job in a dynamic and ambitious university, in an interdisciplinary setting and within an international network. You will work on a beautiful, green campus within walking distance of the central train station. In addition, we offer you:

• Full-time employment for four years, with an intermediate evaluation (go/no-go) after nine months. You will spend 10% of your employment on teaching tasks.
• Salary and benefits (such as a pension scheme, paid pregnancy and maternity leave, partially paid parental leave) in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, scale P (min. €2.901,00 max. €3.707,00).
• A year-end bonus of 8.3% and annual vacation pay of 8%.
• High-quality training programs and other support to grow into a self-aware, autonomous scientific researcher. At TU/e we challenge you to take charge of your own learning process.
• An excellent technical infrastructure, on-campus children's day care and sports facilities.
• An allowance for commuting, working from home and internet costs.
• A Staff Immigration Team and a tax compensation scheme (the 30% facility, if applicable) for international candidates.

Information and application

About us

Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) is a leading international university of technology, where people are the heart and soul. With excellent research and education programs, we are an important hub in a world-class high-tech ecosystem. We contribute to progress in the technical sciences, to the development of socio-technical innovations, and as a result, to the sustainability and welfare in the region and beyond. We participate in collaborations with industry and civil society organizations, and we are the academic heart of the top technology region Brainport. Given the pressing societal challenges such as climate change, three objectives are fundamental to our vision for 2030: a sustainable world, the technological revolution, and the impact of technology on society. Taking this major responsibility of contributing to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals implies the need to develop new knowledge, skills, and competencies and to rethink the ways we educate our future engineers. See also: TU/e Strategy 2030.

The Technology, Innovation & Society (TIS) group, where the PhD position is embedded, is part of the School of Innovation Sciences, one of the two schools of the Department of Industrial Engineering & Innovation Sciences (IE&IS). Research at TIS concerns how humans and societies bring about technological change, and how technological innovations change society. Researchers in the TIS group study these processes in a systemic, transdisciplinary, and transnational perspective. The research focus of TIS covers both short-term processes (innovations) and long-term, fundamental processes (transitions), and addresses multiple aspects of the innovation journey – invention, innovation, diffusion, appropriation, governance, policy intervention along with local and global impacts on society. Many of the TIS research projects are strongly embedded in practical environments and involve co-creation and an action research approach.

Information

Do you recognize yourself in this profile and would you like to know more? Please contact prof. dr. Anna J Wieczorek (a.j.wieczorek@tue.nl). The supervisory team includes also Luc van Summeren.

Visit our website for more information about the application process or the conditions of employment. Are you inspired and would like to know more about working at TU/e? Please visit our career page.

For information about terms of employment, please contact HR Services (hrservices.ieis@tue.nl).

Application

We invite you to submit a complete application by using the apply button. The application should include a:

1. Cover letter (max 1-page) where you outline your motivation and interest in the position and explain how your profile fits the proposed project.
2. Curriculum Vitae (CV) including name and contact information of three referees.
3. A 1,500-word research proposal that outlines how you would approach this topic and ideas for conducting the research.
4. A sample research document written by you: a relevant paper, or a master thesis.
5. Results of a recent English language test, or other evidence of your English language capabilities.

The deadline to apply is 31 January 2025. However, candidates are invited to apply as soon as possible. The intended starting date for this position is February 2025 but will be filled in earlier if a suitable candidate is found. We do not accept applications sent by e-mail or incomplete ones.

We look forward to receiving your application and will screen it as soon as possible. The vacancy will remain open until the position is filled.