Assistant Professor in Urban Studies – Redesigning Deltas

Assistant Professor in Urban Studies – Redesigning Deltas
Assistant Professor in Urban Studies – Redesigning Deltas

Published	Deadline	Location
today	16 Nov	Delft

Do you want to teach and research ways to engage citizens of urban deltas in challenges for climate adaption?

Job description

The successful candidate will join the Urban Studies section at the department of Urbanism in the Faculty of Architecture & the Built Environment. This section studies the interactions between people and their social and built environments, and the effects of urban design on their behaviour. In the context of growing spatial inequalities in urban regions, Urban Studies focuses on better understanding the patterns, causes and consequences, and remedies regarding these growing inequalities in an interdisciplinary and international setting. We investigate both the effects of spatial inequalities on the behaviour, well-being, and interactions of (individual) people, and how people influence the socio-spatial structures and the built environment around them. The advertise Tenure Track Assistant Professor will participate in the Redesigning Deltas programme of the Department of Urbanism, funded by the Sector Plan Design Engineering Sciences. Urbanized delta landscapes are among the most challenging urban regions in the world, considering their vulnerability to flooding, rapid urbanization, land subsidence, salinization and, increasingly, changing environmental conditions as a result of climate change. Addressing the complexity of urban deltas needs integrated solutions and transformative, participatory approaches that create new opportunities for improving the quality of life for all, particularly for those who are affected the most by changing conditions in urban deltas. The assistant professor will contribute to the Redesigning Deltas programme by bringing in perspectives on the interactions between people and their environments and specifically on citizen perspectives active citizenship.

This new Tenure Track Assistant Professor post is an exciting opportunity to co-develop and contribute to the teaching and research program of the Department of Urbanism, with a focus on the Redesigning Deltas programme. The candidate is expected to set up an independent research line on the interactions between energy and climate adaptations in urbanised deltas the short and the long run, with a focus on the perspectives of low-income households. The candidate will develop and tests co-creative approaches which actively engage residents of deprived and climate- and energy-vulnerable neighbourhoods, thus improving democratic quality, participation, and citizens’ leading role in social- and spatial transitions. Via an experiment of social value creation in Rotterdam South, the aim is to distil both context-specific and generic lessons which enable the upscaling of lessons learned to a national and international level.

The candidate is expected to co-supervise PhD students, and publish research in high-impact peer reviewed journals. The successful candidate will actively acquire funding (from national and European Research Councils, Horizon 2020, or comparable) for research projects and lead and carry out collaborative projects with colleagues. The candidate will contribute to the teaching programme of the faculty, develop own teaching material and courses, supervise students on all levels of university education, and acquire University Teaching Qualifications within an agreed period.

Specifications

• 38—40 hours per week
• €3974—€5439 per month
• Delft View on Google Maps

Delft University of Technology (TU Delft)

Requirements

The successful candidate for this position has:

• A strong interest in better understanding the interactions between people, the (built) environment and urban design in the context of energy and climate change and adaptation.
• Proven ability to collaborate with urban designers and to jointly come up with creative (design) solutions to combat the negative effects of inequality from a social science perspective.
• A PhD in the social or spatial sciences, for example geography, (urban) sociology, spatial planning, environmental psychology, criminology or another relevant spatially aware discipline, possibly with design affinity, e.g. urbanism or urban design.
• Postdoctoral research experience.
• A strong international profile, evidenced by international work experience and professional network.
• A track record as researcher, evidenced by a strong list of internationally peer-reviewed publications and contributions to books.
• Experience with teaching within the themes of Urbanism (preferably with a connection to urban design or urban and regional planning) and in possession of University Teaching Qualifications (or the ambition to acquire them within a short period of time).
• Experience in supervising (design) students and the ability to motivate students, including through online platforms.
• A demonstrated proficiency in the written and spoken use of the English language as well as the willingness to learn Dutch, and good presentation and communication skills.
• Preferably experience in the management of research projects, grant proposal writing, event organisation and the supervision of PhD students.

TU Delft creates equal opportunities and encourages in particular women to apply.

Conditions of employment

Fixed-term contract: 6 years.

A tenure-track position is offered for six years. In the fifth year we’ll decide if you will be offered a permanent faculty position, based on performance indicators agreed upon at the start of the appointment. We expect that you have the potential to grow towards an Associate Professor and/or Full Professor role in the future.

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.
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, a discount on health insurance and sport memberships, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged.

For international applicants we offer the Coming to Delft Service and Partner Career Advice to assist you with your relocation. An International Children’s Centre offers childcare and there is an international primary school.

Employer
Delft University of Technology

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!

Department
Faculty Architecture & the Built Environment

The Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment has a leading role in education and research worldwide. The driving force behind the faculty’s success is its robust research profile combined with the energy and creativity of its student body and academic community. It is buzzing with energy from early in the morning until late at night, with four thousand people studying, working, designing, conducting research and acquiring and disseminating knowledge. Our faculty has a strong focus on ‘design-oriented research’, which has given it a top position in world rankings.
Staff and students are working to improve the built environment with the help of a broad set of disciplines, including architectural design, urban planning, building technology, social sciences, process management, and geo-information science. The faculty works closely with other faculties, universities, private parties, and the public sector, and has an extensive network in the Netherlands as well as internationally.

Click here to go to the website of the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment.
Department of Urbanism
The Department of Urbanism is one of the four departments at the TU Delft Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment. The Department of Urbanism considers urbanism as a planning and design-oriented activity focused on the (re)making of better urban environments. The Department of Urbanism is a world leading knowledge hub for innovative urban and landscape design and research which is strongly rooted in the Delft Approach to design. This approach is research based and explicitly inter- and transdisciplinary. The mission of the department is to advance, share and apply knowledge on how to adapt the built environment to societal and environmental changes and how to apply design, planning and engineering interventions to better satisfy human needs, and to achieve fairer, healthier, and more resilient urban landscapes.

Additional information

For more information about this vacancy, please contact Professor Machiel van Dorst, Head of the Urban Studies section, via e-mail: [email protected] .

For more information about the selection procedure, please contact Paulien Stastra, HR Advisor,
via e-mail: [email protected] .

The position will remain open until November 16, 2022 (local Dutch time: UTC time + 2hrs).
You must apply via the “Apply now” button. Applications via e-mail will not be processed.

 

Working at TU Delft

Join the oldest and largest technical university in the Netherlands. Work on clever solutions for worldwide challenges, to change the world and make an impact. Ready to bring your energy to our research?

Challenge, change, impact!

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Application procedure

Candidates are expected to submit:

• a letter of application and a detailed CV, including a list of publications.
• a brief description of a course that you taught/coordinated/developed in Urbanism.
• maximum 2 pages with 1) a research statement with your vision on research directions of this position; 2) a teaching statement with your vision and ambitions for education.
• the name of three references, with only contact details.

Please note:

• 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.
• Acquisition in response to this vacancy is not appreciated.