PhD-Scholarship: Psychological Factors and Participatory Planning in the Adoption of Cooperative Connected, and Autonomous Mobility (CCAM) Services

DTU Management’s Transportation Systems Modelling section invites applications for a 3-year PhD position starting on 1 October 2024 or earlier. The successful candidate will join the section under the co-supervision of Asst. Prof. Guido Cantelmo, Prof. Sonja Haustein, and Asst. Prof. Felix Siebert.  

The candidate will contribute to the Horizon EU project CulturalRoad. We are looking for an excellent applicant with experience in qualitative and quantitative research methods, and a background in psychology, policy and governance, spatial/transport planning, geography or related. 

Project Background

With the increasing transport demand, traffic pressure on existing infrastructure has grown considerably, a trend that is unlikely to change as transportation links with economic growth. Unfortunately, the transport sector also generates several negative externalities, and it is one of the few economic sectors that have not seen a significant decline in emissions. Accordingly, the European Commission indicated CCAM as a strategic asset to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations and reduce negative environmental impacts on the environment. CCAM is not only expected to be more efficient than conventional mobility solutions (e.g. conventional vehicles) but also allows the development of entirely new mobility services, such as autonomous on-demand responsive transport (DRT), that can serve different typologies of users and completely revolutionise our mobility ecosystems. 

In such a context, the PhD project is established to develop user-centric and inclusive mobility systems around CCAM and leverage participatory planning to involve local citizens, regions/cities, and governments in developing tailor-made strategies to meet their specific and unique mobility needs. Achieving these challenges will ensure that CCAM services promote equity in mobility. 

Responsibilities and qualifications

The project includes 18 partners from 10 different countries. You will work in an international environment and in close collaboration with scholars from various disciplinary backgrounds. You will have the opportunity to engage with a variety of consortium partners, including mobility companies and municipalities. You will be responsible for conducting case studies/experiments to generate and validate behavioural assumptions on relevant psychological factors of CCAM adoption.

Your primary tasks will be:  

• Co-organize focus groups and workshops in five consortium countries
• Investigate the impact that cognitive and emotional aspects such as technophobia, affinity to technology, and trust in automation have on CCAM adoption
• Investigate the role of socio-cultural and spatial diversity on CCAM adoption
• Contribute to the creation of a participatory planning framework to facilitate and accelerate CCAM deployment in Europe
• Analyse data generated during focus groups and interviews using qualitative and quantitative data analysis
• Provide recommendations that lead to the development of new standards and guidelines to deploy CCAMs
• Publish in high-impact journals and present your results at conferences
• Spend 6 months visiting one of our partner universities. 

This position is rooted in two sections within the Division of Transportation Science at DTU Management: the Transportation Systems Modelling and the Human Behaviour section. The Transport Division also consists of research sections within Intelligent Transport Systems and Transport Policy. 

Application procedure 

To apply, please read the full job advertisement, by clicking the 'Apply' button