Postdoc Co-designing active mobility policies for young adolescents

Short introduction

Are you passionate about empowering young adolescents to actively shape urban and mobility policies that reflect their preferences and needs? Are you eager to work in an international and interdisciplinary consortium of academic institutions, SMEs, public authorities, and NGOs, across five European countries and three field labs?

Job Description

What?

Urban and transport planning policies and practices often overlook young adolescents (ages 11–15) and their everyday mobility experiences. Promoting active and multimodal travel among young adolescents is essential, given the decline in their current physical and mental health and the formative role of these years in shaping lifelong habits for the future. This is the focus of the NWO-funded project “i-MOBYL: Inclusive Mobility Interventions for Young Adolescents and Livable Urban Spaces” under the EU Driving Urban Transitions (DUT2024) program. The project is led by Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), has consortium partners from Austria, France, Switzerland, the UK, and includes three field labs in Salzburg, Paris and Guildford.

How?

You will contribute to two work packages in the i-MOBYL project. You will be leading the “Foundation and visioning” work package, which aims to co-create—with young adolescents and their communities in designated fieldlabs—visions for desirable futures that promote active and multimodal mobility, and translate these to measurable objectives and key performance indicators (KPIs). This will also include a critical policy review of how young adolescents are included in urban mobility planning. In addition, you will be closely involved in “Project management and coordination” work package, where you will support collaboration and ensure alignment across the EU consortium partners.

Where?

You will be working within the Urbanism and Urban Architecture chair (UUA). The UUA chair has developed extensive and structural collaborations with stake- and shareholders in the metropolitan region of Eindhoven to work on fundamental societal challenges, bridging teaching and research into innovative pathways with sustainable and beneficial societal impact. The group works on a broad gamma of topics in collaborative long-term programs ranging from healthy cities, inclusive cities, and circular cities to historical cities. Touching on topics like active lifestyle and active environment design, housing cultures and neighborhood design, climate change and public space and urban green infrastructure design, new economies and historical urban landscape design. These studies are rooted in the region as the base for empirical research but are strongly linked to more general (inter-) national research networks, consortiums, projects and other academic venues.

The chair is shaping these collaborations through a combination of challenge-based learning, action field research and learning organizations. In teaching, this is organized through the UrbanLabs programs, in research through the Urban Development Initiative (UDI) programs.

Job Requirements

• Experience with co-design and participatory processes (preferably with children or youth)
• Motivated researcher, with a PhD in urban planning and design, children’s geographies, transport studies, or a comparable domain.
• Experience with qualitative research methods is a must, experience with quantitative methods is an advantage.
• Ability to conduct high quality academic research and academic writing, reflected in demonstratable outputs.
• A team player who enjoys coaching PhD and Master's students and working in a dynamic, interdisciplinary team.
• A proven ability to manage complex projects to completion on schedule.
• Excellent (written and verbal) proficiency in English, good communication and leadership skills. Proficiency in Dutch is an advantage.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with experience or willingness in engaging diverse partners (academic, local authorities and NGOs).

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 2 years.
• Salary in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, scale 10 (min. € 4,241 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

Do you recognize yourself in this profile and would you like to know more? Please contact the hiring manager Dena Kasraian, assistant professor, d.kasraian@tue.nl.

Visit our website for more information about the application process or the conditions of employment. You can also contact HR-Advisor, l.v.houten@tue.nl or +31 40 247 8269.

Are you inspired and would like to know more about working at TU/e? Please visit our career page.

Application

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

• Cover letter in which you describe your motivation and qualifications for the position.
• Curriculum vitae, including a list of your publications and the contact information of three references.
• List of five self-selected ‘best publications’.

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.