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Despite the ongoing efforts of the European Union policies, heavily industrialized clusters are lagging in the implementation of Industrial Symbiosis (IS) to transit to more resource- and energy-efficient setups. To advance IS implementation, a promising future research direction is Hubs for Circularity (H4C). H4C provide spaces where diverse actors, such as businesses, governments, researchers, and civil society, collaborate to accelerate the net-zero Circular Economy (CE) transition. UT acquired the large-scale Horizon Europe project entitled "Sustainable Circular Economy Transition: from Industrial Symbiosis to Hubs for Circularity: IS2H4C”. IS2H4C will deliver a systemic approach to sustainable CE transition, helping to materialise Sustainable Development Goals.
Our focus? Resource efficiency, IS matchmaking, Life Cycle Assessment, renewable energy, waste prevention, and innovative circular technologies, through an integrated approach combing physical and digital H4C. Ensuring community and government support, sustainable business and financial models, and respect for our planet is paramount.
Our vision? Make IS2H4C the blueprint for Europe's sustainable future and promote H4C as a reference sustainable regional development model. We're starting in four H4C pilot sites across the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, and Türkiye, collaborating with 35 partners from nine European countries.
Join us! UT is hiring six PhD students for IS2H4C, each with unique roles and qualifications. Be part of an interdisciplinary team shaping the future of CE and IS2H4C while advancing your research.
Key takeaways
As a prominent part of the overarching project IS2H4C, a digital collaboration platform, DigitalH4C, is vital to the development of physical H4C. DigitalH4C fosters the bottom-up emergence of Industrial Symbiosis Networks by real-time resource monitoring and tracking, dynamic supply-demand matchmaking, efficient and secure information-sharing, and transparent marketplace trading. It also performs effective evaluation of top-down coordination strategies based on a multi-dimensional approach combing different quantification methods. Essentially, it is an integrated information platform that creates a digital collaborative space where diverse stakeholders establish inter-organisational relationships at multi-scales, for the goal of H4C implementation.
The challenge
The digital collaboration platform consists of a modular suite of tools, features, and data analytics to facilitate IS identification, coordination, and evaluation. Beyond a physical platform, we aim to derive a theory of IS-oriented digital platform development from the implementation evidence collected across the hubs.
This research guides the design of digital H4C in a stepwise manner, and reveals the underlying mechanism of how a digital platform orchestrates diverse analytical components and contributes to the emergence of H4C. Specifically, the main topics/challenges of this research include but are not limited to:
The candidate will design a blueprint of DigitalH4C (web and mobile applications) ensuring its scalability and modularity. The blueprint design demonstrates a coherent and comprehensive platform structure by (1) suggesting the optimal setup of technological integration, (2) articulating the interdependencies of identified decision support components, and (3) providing a knowledge basis for long-term platform development, implementation, and evolvement. The practical deployment of the information system is under responsibility of IRIS, an industrial partner specialising in software development. Proceeding in parallel with other PhD work packages, the candidate aims to build a communication baseline where the platform design is visible, transparent, and reachable for academic researchers, industrial partners, and other important parties involved in the project.
To create IS opportunities, an online marketplace add-in will be integrated to the platform. The marketplace module will be co-developed with other PhDs involving an intelligent matchmaking component and an financial analytical component. In this research, the candidate is expected to integrate different technical components (i.e. IS matchmaking tools) into a marketplace where IS can be realised. The marketplace facilitates the tracking and verification of resource flows, enabling greater transparency and accountability in the exchange process. By collaborating with other PhDs, the candidate needs to show how such a marketplace prototype integrates essential analytical components from other work packages and (2) how it would contribute to a collaborative, efficient, and trustful marketplace for H4C actors.
Analytics tools and dashboards for evaluating the performance of IS collaborations will also be integrated in the platform. Importantly, the methodology of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) will be tailored for demo hubs evaluating the environmental, economic, and social consequences of adopting different IS strategies. This research will enable the real-time visualisation and tracking of the IS synergies over temporal-spatial differences by using Geographical Information Systems in a virtual reality or gaming environment. The monitoring dashboard helps potential users to collect, observe, interpret the results, and also provides a predictive basis to test future scenarios of IS strategies via a digital twin gaming approach.
Beyond the practical demonstration of the functionality above, the candidate is expected to evaluate the artifact in a multi-case study environment. The implementation and evaluation feedback will be analysed iteratively so that the platform can be optimised and refined. This further leads to the challenge of understanding the methodological role of information systems in promoting H4C. Both conceptual and empirical contributions are expected to articulate why and how DigitalH4C will facilitate the development of H4C.
We look for a highly motivated, enthusiastic researcher who is driven by curiosity and has/is:
We encourage high responsibility and independence, while collaborating with colleagues, researchers, other university staff and partners. We follow the terms of employment by the Dutch Collective Labour Agreement for Universities (CAO). Our offer contains: a fulltime 4-year PhD position with a qualifier in the first year; excellent mentorship in a stimulating research environment with excellent facilities; and a personal development program within the Twente Graduate School. It also includes:
A full status as an employee at the UT, including pension, health care benefits and good secondary conditions are part of our collective labour agreement CAO-NU for Dutch universities.
“Due to the urgency for an early start, we aim to fill in this position as soon as possible and we will start conducting interviews with short listed candidates starting from 23 November 2023; however, the application deadline is extended to 14 December 2023. Interested candidates can still apply until 14 December 2023.”
Are you interested to be part of our team? Please submit your application latest 18 January 2024 and include:
Please ensure that your application is submitted by the deadline. Do not make submissions via e-mail as they will not be considered.
Additional information can be acquired via email from Yifei Yu (y.yu-1@utwente.nl;) with a cc to Devrim Yazan (d.m.yazan@utwente.nl).
The HBE cluster is dedicated to encouraging a supportive and inclusive working culture. Our aim is that all job applicants are given equal opportunities. When we select candidates for employment, it will be on the basis of their competence and ability. To support the workforce diversity, we are open to offer flexible working conditions on an individual basis to support work-life balance, that may include contract of employment, working hours and location, or child care arrangements.
The High Business Entrepreneurship corporate video can be watched via this link.
The Faculty of Behavioral, Management and Social sciences (BMS) aims to play a key role in understanding, jointly developing and evaluating innovations in society. Technological developments are the engine of innovation. As a technical university that puts people first, we tailor them to human needs and behavior and use social engineering to integrate them into society. We also ensure adequate governance at public and private level, and robust, inclusive and fair organizational structures. We do this by developing, sharing and applying high-quality knowledge in Psychology, Business Administration, Public Administration, Communication Sciences, Philosophy, Educational Sciences and Health Sciences. Our research and education in these disciplines revolves around tackling and solving societal challenges. The research programs of BMS are closely linked to the research of the UT institutes Mesa+ Institute for Nanotechnology, TechMed Center and Digital Society Institute.
As an employer, the Faculty of BMS offers work that matters. We equip you to create new possibilities for yourself and for our society. With us, you will become part of a leading technical university with increasing, positive social impact. We offer an open, inclusive and entrepreneurial atmosphere, in which we encourage you to make healthy choices, for example through our flexible, adaptable benefits.
Looking for a job that matters? Join the university of technology that puts people first – and shape new opportunities both for yourself and for ou...
Visit the employer page