Challenge

When engineering utility lines, designers need to adhere to technical design requirements regarding their placement (including location, trace, depth, and minimum distances to buildings and other utilities). This becomes challenging as new energy networks, water retention solutions, and other buried objects compete for the same underground space as existing networks. Excavation methods become more expensive, and construction works become more prone to surprises, delays, and damages. To keep utilities performing, minimize disruption, and limit excavation damage, municipalities like Gemeente Amsterdam, want to organize their subsurface better. They already are improving the (3D) registers of their underground infrastructures, but further want to understand how design tools can support layout planning. Their goal is to exploit design algorithms to achieve this.

This culminates in the following goal of this EngD, which is to:
Develop an algorithm that automates the design of street cross-section layouts for utility construction projects.

During this project, you work with a supervision team of Dr. Farid Vahdatikhaki and Dr. Léon olde Scholtenhuis (UT) and Gemeente Amsterdam (Marco Scheffers) to gain knowledge about design principles for utility engineering, identify design objectives, and algorithms for multi-utility placement, and validate this on realistic cases. The planned start date for the project is March-15, 2025.

We invite you to apply when fulfilling the following conditions. You are:

• One of the best M.Sc. graduates with a background in construction, management and engineering, with a preference for digital technologies, infrastructure and design
• You have the ambition and talent to accelerate in finding solutions / crafting designs for complex technological issues with a multidisciplinary character.
• Your professional English proficiency is high, and you understand Dutch (or are willing to learn).
• You like to spend time in a professional organisations like Gemeente Amsterdam, and the academic environment of University of Twente
• You work systematically and like designing innovative solutions.
• You have strong communication and social skills.
• You can collaborate in teams, and take initiative to develop solutions.
• You are interested in, or experienced with, information modelling and design optimization approaches.
• You must be willing to move to (the vicinity of) Enschede or Amsterdam, and willing to travel between these locations for education and client visits.

• Two-year fulltime EngD position, where scientific and research domains are combined optimally with education and practical implementation of innovative design.
• Full status as an employee at the UT, including pension and health care benefits
• Tailor-made educational/development program of at least 6 months (30 EC), including visits to conferences.
• A salary of €2.715,- gross per month.
• An annual holiday allowance of 8% of the gross annual salary, and an annual year-end bonus of 8.3%.
• Minimum of 29 holidays per year in case of fulltime employment.
• A work environment on a green and lively campus with sports and leisure facilities.
• Mentorship that supports your professional and personal growth.

On successfully completing the program, you will receive a certified and recognised degree. You will be entitled to use the academic title of Engineering Doctorate (EngD). You will be registered as a Technological Designer in the Dutch register kept by the Royal Institution of Engineers in the Netherlands (KIVI).

Please send your application using the instructions below before January 17th. Your submission is considered eligible if it includes (only and no less than) the following documents:

• Recent CV (including relevant academic, and (if any) professional experience)
• Motivation letter (max 1.5pg) explaining your interest and relevant background knowledge for the project.
• Overview of M.Sc. degree: including thesis project title, thesis abstract, and grade list

Please contact the selection committee for more information about the project or your eligibility. You can reach them via email on l.l.oldescholtenhuis@utwente.nl (Léon olde Scholtenhuis) and f.vahdatikhaki@utwente.nl (Farid Vahdatikhaki).

The interviews will take place in the week of 27 January 2025.