All Things Urban

Eindhoven University of Technology is a research-driven university of international standing, where excellent research and excellent education go hand in hand. We focus on a balanced approach towards education, research and valorization of knowledge in the areas of engineering science and technology.

We are looking for a full-time postdoc in the area of Data-enabled Design for active lifestyles among vulnerable youth, combining aspects of public health, urban design and social design with digital technologies and data science.

Vital@2040 is a two-year multidisciplinary research project that aims to promote a physically, cognative and socially active lifestyle among vulnerable children up to 12 years of age. The project explores how design, digital technologies, urban and institutional aspects infuence vulnerable groups and their living environment and how to develop succesful innovative interventions for this.

These interventions will be applied in three existing living labs in Utrecht and Eindhoven in which researchers collaborate with local networks of schools, sports clubs, welfare organizations, GGDs and GP practices.

The Vital@2040 project is funded by the Strategic Alliance of Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), Utrecht University (UU) and Utrecht University Medical Center (UMCU). Three Postdocs and other researchers will be appointed for the implementation of the project, spread over these institutes. The multidisciplinary research team is supported by a project coordinator and a program council and is provided with a common workspace where the research team can work on a regular basis.

This vacancy focuses on a Postdoc which will be appointed at the Department of Industrial Design and the Department of the Built Environment at Eindhoven University of Technology. This Postdoc contributes to this project by conducting data-enabled design research on how digital technologies combined with active environment design, stimulate an active lifestyle of vulnerable children in an activating environment. The focus is on the development of data-enabled, innovative and integral intervention strategies bridging between active environment design, digital innovations, interactive products and social commons to stimulate structural behavioral change through sport and active lifestyles in ecologies around vulnerable groups.

The Postdoc carries out this subproject in coherence and coordination with the other subprojects in which interaction with the urban and institutional environment is central. The multidisciplinary research team is jointly responsible for activities aimed at achieving social impact based on the research findings, publications on the topic of lifestyle among vulnerable children and proposals for follow-up research.

The Postdoc will work on:

• conducting data-enabled design research in the perspective of the underdevelopment of an active lifestyle among vulnerable children combining active environment design, digital technologies and social commons;
• integrating this perspective into a joint position paper and work plan with other researchers of the team;
• contributing to the development of the living labs for research purposes and practical interventions;
• contributing to the design and implementation of interventions in the living labs that take into account the interaction of lifestyle, active environment design and data-enabled design;
• investigating the effects of these interventions;
• writing publications and research proposals;
• organizing activities aimed at promoting the social impact and practical relevance of the research.

We are looking for candidates who have

• completed (or are about to complete) a PhD in Industrial Design, Design Research, Science and Technology Studies, Social-Geography, Planning and Urban Design or a closely related topic;
• experience with various research methods;
• demonstrable knowledge about data-enabled design on behavior;
• experience with interdisciplinary research, preferably in relation to active lifestyle and health;
• social skills that will fit working with children from vulnerable groups;
• good communication skills; fluency in Dutch and English;
• an open, entrepreneurial and flexible attitude;
• good skills to operate in a multidisciplinary team, create interaction within the team and demonstrate its added value;
• is willing to partially carry out work at several (lab) locations in Eindhoven and Utrecht.

• A full-time temporary appointment for a period of 2 years;
• A gross monthly salary between € 2.972 and € 4.274 (on a full-time basis), depending on experience and knowledge;
• A yearly holiday allowance of 8% of the yearly salary;
• A yearly end-of-year allowance of 8.3% of the yearly salary;
• A broad package of fringe benefits (including an excellent technical infrastructure, moving expenses, savings schemes, and excellent sports facilities, parental and maternity leave).

We’re not fully sure whether this role is open to international candidates. If you would need visa sponsorship or work authorisation, we recommend checking directly with the employer before applying.