Post-doc in NWO-project on Learning in learning communities to accelerate learning and innovation in the installation sector

The energy transition requires (future) installation workers to adapt to new ways of working and to proactively develop new practices. In this project, Learning Communities composed of (future) installation workersand experts from various educational programs. These Learning Communities shouldaccelerate learning and innovation, but evidence of how and why Learning Communities contribute to sustained learning anddevelopment is still anecdotical and often exclusively focused on short-term outcomes.This post doc project uses a routine dynamics perspective to determine in what way employees participation in a Learning Community results into sustainable (lasting) changes in their everyday practice.

This part-time Post-doc project (0,4-0,5 fte, expansion possible) forms an excellent opportunity to conduct scientific research to gain insight into how organizational changes, such as those around the energy transition, can be fostered through Learning Communities. In addition, this project will include strong collaboration with the field and therefore will directly contribute to pressing questions on how to prepare the future workforce on the energy transition.

As a Post-doc researcher in this project, your job is to

• Design and conduct longitudinal qualitative case studies to determine how and in what way participants of the Learning Communities change their everyday work practice.
• Design and conduct longitudinal quantitative studies to detect patterns across participants work-related change trajectories.
• Work in close collaboration with researchers in the project team (including a PhD-student, a senior researcher and a junior researcher), as well as stakeholders and practitioners in the technical (educational and corporate) field.
• Report and present your findings for both scientific and non-scientific audiences.

The Post-doc project is funded by NWO and is part of the project

. The project started in summer 2020 and is a collaboration between the University of Twente, Saxion University of Applied Sciences, and Windesheim University of Applied Sciences. Besides the post-doc, a PhD-student and two junior researchers work on this project.

The PhD-project and post-doc project are positioned at the University of Twente. The consortium, consisting of eight installation companies and three educational institutes already participated in a pilot study and are committed to continue their involvement during the main project.