Postdoc Integrated heat-electricity solutions in Local Energy Communities

Job description

This research position is part of the Interreg NWE funded ACCU project, which aims to organise local integrations of local renewable electricity generation with (collective) heating solutions in Local Energy Communities (LECs). It aims to overcome technical (e.g. (seasonal) disbalances and grid congestion), regulatory, social (e.g. capabilities for initiating and organizing LECs involving various local stakeholders), and financial challenges (e.g. viability of business cases for novel socio-technical configurations).

As postdoc researcher, you will focus on social-organizational solutions. This involves, but is not limited to, citizen engagement, community building, local governance models, and exploring local needs, challenges, and opportunities in diverse community contexts in the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. In addition, the research involves gathering insights from both academic and grey literature and from real-world experimentation beyond the ACCU project. Finally, you will actively engage with the LECs involved in the ACCU project, to contribute to implementing and monitoring socio-organizational solutions, as well as how they relate to other socio-technical solutions.

Job requirements

We are looking for an enthusiastic, curious and creative candidate with:

• PhD degree in sustainability transitions, innovation sciences, science and technology studies (STS), or equivalent. Please, mind: this is NOT an engineering project!
• Affinity with teaching and education innovation in higher education
• Knowledge of, experience with, and eagerness to engage with participatory, action oriented or transdisciplinary approaches to research, involving a wide variety of societal stakeholders involved in and with local energy communities.  
• Excellent written and spoken communication skills and proficiency in English, Dutch and French are pros.
• Strong methodological skills and proven experience with qualitative research methods.
• Enthusiasm, self-reliance, strong organizational skills, scientific mindedness.

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 4 years.
• Salary in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, scale 10 (min. € 3,378 max. € 5,331).
• A year-end bonus of 8.3% and annual vacation pay of 8%.
• High-quality training programs on general skills, didactics and topics related to research and valorization.
• An excellent technical infrastructure, on-campus children's day care and sports facilities.
• Partially paid parental leave and an allowance for commuting, working from home and internet costs.
• A TU/e Postdoc Association that helps you to build a stronger and broader academic and personal network, and offers tailored support, training and workshops.
• A Staff Immigration Team is available for international candidates, as are a tax compensation scheme (the 30% facility) and a compensation for moving expenses.

Information and application

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.

This research relates to several research projects on co-creation of local heat solutions for positive energy districts (EmPowerED) and new business models and activities for energy communities (SmartCORE). As such, this PhD position provides you with the opportunity to join a dynamic and multidisciplinary team dedicated to accelerating local energy transitions.

Further information

Do you recognize yourself in this profile and would you like to know more? Please contact dr. Luc van Summeren (l.f.m.v.summeren@tue.nl). The supervision team will also include prof. dr. Anna Wieczorek.

Visit our website for more information about the application process or the conditions of employment. For information about terms of employment, please contact HR Services (hrservices.ieis@tue.nl).

Are you inspired and would like to know more about working at TU/e as PhD candidate? Please visit our career page and watch the video.

Application

Candidates should submit their applications through the TU/e application platform.
The application must include the following documents in English (please note that a maximum of 5 documents of 2 MB each can be uploaded):

1. Cover letter (1-page max) which includes motivation for your interest in the position, and an explanation of why your profile would be a good fit for the proposed project.
2. A 1,500-word research proposal that outlines how you would approach this topic and ideas for conducting the research. This idea sketch does not create any path dependencies, you can still select a different topic if you are accepted for the position.
3. Curriculum Vitae (CV) including relevant research experience, a list of publications, results of a recent English language test (or other evidence of your English language capabilities), and contact information of two references.
4. A sample research document written by you: a relevant paper, or a PhD thesis.

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.