Fully-funded PhD Program about Sustainable Mobility in collaboration with the MIT Media Lab

September 2, 2024

Tecnun - Escuela de Ingeniería-Universidad de Navarra

Join the enthusiastic Sustainable Improvement Research Group of TECNUN.

About the position
We are recruiting a Ph D student for three to four years to conduct research on sustainable Logistics and Mobility, at the Department of Industrial Management of the School of Engineering in tight collaboration with the MIT Media Lab through the City Science Lab Gipuzkoa project (https://www.media.mit.edu/projects/city-science-lab-san-sebastian/overview/)
The Sustainable Improvement Group aims to promote, develop, and disseminate the research carried out to help companies to become more circular and sustainable. Specifically, the research to be carried out in this thesis has a dual purpose, aiming to provide both private companies and institutions with tools to acknowledge the impacts on the sustainability of companies’ operations, while revealing current mobility improvement opportunities, and quantifying the impacts of potential interventions. This twofold application fosters the synchronization between the development of new policies and the solutions that are aligned with those. We aim to deal with the company as a whole, therefore it includes people mobility as well as freight mobility.
The Ph D student will be working collaborative on a broader project of the City Science Lab Gipuzkoa. We expect to have daily interaction with the City Science Lab researchers and plan to have a co-supervisor of the Ph D with an affiliated researcher at MIT.
The project will be approached by crossing data from different sources of information and making use of cutting-edge simulation and data analysis methodologies within the framework of the projects to be addressed in the City Science Lab Gipuzkoa.

Main duties and responsibilities

The Ph D candidate should carry out her/his research aimed to developing the thesis with the support of relevant publications in highly ranked indexed journals. Involvement in meetings and collaborations with high stakeholders is a professional development opportunity.
We also expect to join, at least in the first years, as a team member in the broader project of the City Science Lab Gipuzkoa. Therefore, at least during the first two years, it’s mandatory to work physically at San Sebastián. Moreover, the candidate should show a willingness to take part in the different activities organized by the Department, as well as mandatory duties established in the Ph D student agreements.
During these years, the student will have the possibility to travel to the City Science Annual Summit, and conference related to the publication's output. Moreover, there is a possible short stay at the MIT Media Lab (Boston) or another City Science Network node The Network — MIT City Science Network

Qualification requirements
A solid academic background with a master’s degree in Engineering, Science, or Business Administration. Candidates who are in the closing stages of their master’s degree can also apply. Moreover, those students with a foreign degree equivalent to 300 ECTS can also apply, if they can prove that they are elective for a Ph D in their own country.
Strong English writing and oral skills are required.
Intermediate programming skills in Phyton are required.

Provisions related to the position can be found in the Applied Engineering program web page.

Personal Characteristics

The position places great demands on the applicant’s capacity for independent goal-oriented work with a critical attitude. The faculty is seeking candidates with good communication skills for communicating both with the research group, research partners, company authorities, and Ph D colleagues. Further, relevant practical experience, personal qualities, suitability, and good teamwork skills will also be emphasized.

Application

The application will be open until we fill the position with an excellent candidate. Applicants should submit a dossier including:

A motivation letter detailing why you want to pursue the Ph.D. degree;
A complete Curriculum Vitae
Certificates and certified transcripts for bachelor's or master's degrees. Applicants with foreign higher education must attach an official description of the grading system used.
The names and directions of two persons who can provide references about you.

The position was supposed to start in September 2024. Therefore, the earlier the student can join the program will be a plus.

We regret to inform you that this job opportunity is no longer available