PhD position Facilitating the co-creation of sponge measures and strategies in European river basins
Our growing multidisciplinary and inclusive group of Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) in the Civil Engineering & Management Department of the University of Twente has an opening for a highly motivated and enthusiastic PhD candidate. Do you enjoy doing research in an interdisciplinary and international team and work in close collaboration with practitioners? Would you like to directly support practitioners in implementing co-creative measures to enhance the sponge functioning of river basins? Are you interested in developing guidelines that help to design inclusive and integrative sponge solutions? Then you will find this role an excellent fit!
Climate change exacerbates the frequency and intensity of both floods and droughts. Despite widespread recognition that improving the water retention capacity of landscapes or sponge functioning is a suitable approach to increase society's resilience to climate change and its effects, implementation of such approaches is still lagging. A key challenge is to mobilise and involve all relevant actors for the inclusive and integrative design and implementation of effective sponge measures and to translate long-term, regional river basin strategies to practical action perspectives. To address this challenge, this fully funded PhD position aims to develop approaches for inclusive, integrative and effective co-creation and knowledge production processes and to support their implementation processes. To achieve this aim, the PhD candidate is involved in the following tasks:
- Investigating existing approaches and (digital) tools that support co-creative processes and translates these findings into practical guidance for integrated and inclusive design and implementation of sponge measures.
- Critically reflecting on current design and implementation processes of practitioners and supporting them in the adoption of more inclusive implementation processes for water retention.
- Enabling transformative change of river basin management by connecting the guidelines for sponge measures design and implementation to formal policy and decision-making processes of stakeholders. This is done by co-creating road maps with public actors and societal stakeholders for long-term sponge strategies at river-basin level.
The project
The PhD research is part of the EU HORIZON2020 project called: “SpongeWorks: Co-creating and Upscaling Sponge Landscapes by Working with Natural Water Retention and Sustainable Management”. This four-year project is an Innovation Action project, which emphasizes the actual implementation of solutions. Therefore, practice and research are strongly interwoven. Spongeworks starts on the 1st of September 2024. SpongeWorks was initiated to lead the way for an urgently needed upscaling of ‘sponge measures’ as nature-based solutions (NbS) to boost the natural water retention capacity in European river basins, thereby making regions more resilient to impacts of climate change. SpongeWorks follows an integrative multi-actor approach to demonstrate the effectiveness of multifunctional sponge measures with soil, water quality and biodiversity co-benefits in three large-scale demonstrators in the Pinios (GR), Lèze (FR) and Vecht (NL/DE) river basins. The PhD candidate of the UT part will predominantly work in the NL/DE context and interacts with stakeholders in other contexts via the ‘train the trainer’ concept. Interactions with other researchers and practice partners ensures the delivery of context-specific and generalisable results to be applied by practitioners to river basins all over Europe.
Information and application
Are you interested in being part of our team? Please submit your application before May 27th 2024. In your application, include:
- A cover letter (maximum 2 pages A4) discussing your motivation to apply for this position, including how your background, interests and qualifications prepare you to carry out the proposed PhD research and any information about your circumstances relevant to assessing your suitability for the position.
- A Curriculum Vitae, including a list of all courses attended and grades obtained, the title and resume of your bachelor and master thesis, and extracurricular activities. If applicable, a list of publications. Please also include the names and contact details of two referees we may contact.
The start of the project is the 1st of September 2024. Candidates expecting to graduate soon are also invited to apply.
The first round of interviews is planned to take place between June 10th and 18th, 2024, and the second round will take place between July 1st and 4th, 2024.
Additional information can be acquired via e-mail from Beau Warbroek: w.d.b.warbroek@utwente.nl
About the organisation
The Faculty of Engineering Technology (ET) engages in education and research of Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering and Industrial Design Engineering. We enable society and industry to innovate and create value using efficient, solid and sustainable technology. We are part of a ‘people-first' university of technology, taking our place as an internationally leading center for smart production, processes and devices in five domains: Health Technology, Maintenance, Smart Regions, Smart Industry and Sustainable Resources. Our faculty is home to about 2,900 Bachelor's and Master's students, 550 employees and 150 PhD candidates. Our educational and research programmes are closely connected with UT research institutes Mesa+ Institute, TechMed Center and Digital Society Institute.
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