Assistant Professor in Community-Level Design for Climate Action

Promoting sustainable behaviors in the face of climate change? Join us as an Assistant Professor in Social Design, pioneering Community-Level Design!

In April 2021, TU Delft launched an extensive Climate Action Programme, focusing not only on additional investments in research and education but also improving the sustainability of the TU Delft campus. For the next ten years TU Delft will allocate 22 million euro to set up and further shape this extensive programme. The TU Delft vision on Climate Action is deeply founded in preceding decades of university wide climate action research. The goal of the Climate Action research programme is to build on current strengths and identify the areas where there is a need to strengthen our capacities to keep up our (inter)national reputation as climate action university.

Community-Level Design for Climate Action

Addressing climate change and promoting climate-responsible behaviors require the engagement of communities of end-users. However, individuals often prioritize short-term interests, leading to the use of unsustainable products and behaviors that impede climate goals. Design research, particularly in the domain of social design, plays a vital role by engaging users at the community level, stimulating awareness of shared resources, building community cohesion, and supporting collaborative efforts toward effective climate action. We are seeking an Assistant Professor with a passion for understanding how climate-resilient communities are shaped, given the interconnectedness formed by common resources. Your role will involve advancing fundamental design knowledge and methodologies, particularly in the field of social design, to comprehend and shape climate action initiatives at the community level. Given the increasing complexity of multi-actor systems, there is a pressing need to further develop field-based methods, like Living Labs, to provide insights for interactive designs, user-centric testing, and iterative redesigns that promote the adoption of climate-conscious behaviors. An understanding of the social, cultural, economic, and ethical dimensions of climate action will be valuable in this context.

As an assistant professor, you will inspire colleagues and students through research and education, both in courses (existing and to be developed) and project-oriented education. You are expected to acquire funding for new research projects from different national and international funding schemes and contribute to organizational tasks and valorization of your work.

• You should have a PhD-degree in design, social sciences or other related fields, and preferably should have a Post Doc or an equivalent of at least two years of post-PhD experience;
• You should have experience with methods from the social sciences, including behavioural and social change theory, practice theory and ethnographic field techniques as well as experience with research through design and participatory design;
• Prototyping and data visualization skills would be an asset for this position;
• Experience and demonstrated leadership skills in working with multiple stakeholders, including the public and private sectors is a plus
• Excellent networking, collaboration and communication skills, including a proven record of publications

This position is offered as an Academic Career Track position (0.8 – 1.0 FTE). During the Academic Career Track, we expect you to grow towards an Associate Professor position within a maximum of eight years, for which a position will be available. With other Academic Career Track colleagues, you will participate in the Academic Career Track Development programme, where you are offered ample opportunities to develop yourself in the areas of Education, Research, Societal Impact & Innovation, and Leadership & Organisation. You will regularly discuss your development and results with senior staff based on a personalized development plan and performance criteria agreed upon at the start of your Academic Career Track. You will start with a temporary contract that will be converted to a permanent contract no later than 12 -18 months after a positive evaluation, based on continuous confidence in your development potential and fit in the organisation.

Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities. Salary range for this assistant professor vacancy is € 4.332,00 - € 6.737,00, depending on UFO profile assistant professor level two or one.

Inspiring, excellent education is our central aim. We expect you to obtain a University Teaching Qualification (UTQ) within three years if you have less than five years of teaching experience. This is provided by the TU Delft UTQ programme as part of the Academic Career Track Development programme.

TU Delft sets high standards for the English competency of the teaching staff. The TU Delft offers training to improve English competency. If you do not speak Dutch, we offer courses to learn the Dutch language within three years.

Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities. The TU Delft offers a customisable compensation package, discounts on health insurance, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged and you can work partly from home.

For international applicants, TU Delft has the Coming to Delft Service . This service addresses the needs of new international employees and those of their partners and families. The Coming to Delft Service offers personalised assistance during the preparation of the relocation, finding housing and schools for children (if applicable). In addition, a Dual Career Programme for partners is offered. The Coming to Delft Service will do their best to help you settle in the Netherlands.

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!

Matching the evolution of people with the speed of the revolution of technology. This is the focus of the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering (IDE). Delft designers act as a bridge between advances in technology and the needs of people, organisations and society to create products, services and systems with purpose.

IDE is a leader in design research across the application areas of mobility, sustainability and health, as well as its development of design tools and methods. A 350-strong research team and over 2,000 students work together in our inspiring hall, labs and studios.

In close cooperation with industry, the public sector and NGOs we rehearse possible futures in research and education to design for a complex future.

Click here to go to the website of the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering.

For more information about the department and this position you can contact prof. dr. ir. P.M.A. Desmet, 

[email protected]

For more information about the procedure, please contact Amanda Nieuwpoort, HR management assistant HCD, [email protected] .

Are you interested in this vacancy? Please apply before May 15th, 2024 via the application button and upload the following:

• a motivation letter;
• a detailed CV;
• an original research statement that presents their research aspirations and explains how these connect to the described position (max. 2 A4).

• You can apply online. We will not process applications sent by email and/or post.
• A pre-employment screening can be part of the selection procedure.
• Please do not contact us for unsolicited services.