PhD scholarship in assessment of longevity, repair, and reuse for consumer products - DTU Sustain

We are seeking a highly motivated and talented individual to join our research team as a PhD candidate. This position focuses on the critical role of longevity, repair, and reuse for consumer products, with a focus on textiles and shoes. The successful candidate will advance our understanding of product flows, end-of-life (EoL) pathways, and strategies to enhance product longevity through repair and maintenance versus recycling.
We are seeking a highly motivated and talented individual to join our research team as a PhD candidate. This position focuses on the critical role of longevity, repair, and reuse for consumer products, with a focus on textiles and shoes. The successful candidate will advance our understanding of product flows, end-of-life (EoL) pathways, and strategies to enhance product longevity through repair and maintenance versus recycling.

Responsibilities and qualifications
Key tasks include conducting Material Flow Analyses (MFAs) to quantify production, consumption, and waste streams, investigating product lifetimes and consumer habits, and evaluating the impact of subsidies towards repairs.

Additionally, the research will assess the impact of material quality, as well as technical and emotional durability on reducing the need for frequent new purchases and explore trade-offs between product longevity and sustainable EoL options. Factors affecting material and product longevity, including repairability and the availability of spare parts, will also be examined.

You are enthusiastic and self-motivated, with a background in environmental engineering or similar, and a strong interest in understanding the role of quality of materials in determining the disposal and EOL pathways. You are passionate about exploring novel assessment methods, and expanding the knowledge of repair, longevity, technical durability, and emotional durability as part of the circular economy.

Preferred qualifications include experience in one or more of the following areas:

• Waste Management
• Experimental materials characterization
• Material Flow Analysis
• Systems assessment

Good English language skills are essential, but some level of Danish speaking is needed as well for interviews and interactions with stakeholders. The main criterion for selection will be the research potential of the applicant, including language skills.

You must have a two-year master's degree (120 ECTS points) or a similar degree with an academic level equivalent to a two-year master's degree.

Approval and Enrolment
The scholarship for the PhD degree is subject to academic approval, and the candidate will be enrolled in one of the general degree programmes at DTU. For information about our enrolment requirements and the general planning of the PhD study programme, please see DTU's rules for the PhD education.

Assessment
The assessment of the candidate will be made by Assoc. Professor Anders Damgaard and PostDoc Heath Logan

We offer
DTU is a leading technical university globally recognized for the excellence of its research, education, innovation and scientific advice. We offer a rewarding and challenging job in an international environment. We strive for academic excellence in an environment characterized by collegial respect and academic freedom tempered by responsibility.

Salary and appointment terms
The appointment will be based on the collective agreement with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. The allowance will be agreed upon with the relevant union. The period of employment is 3 years.

You can read more about career paths at DTU here.

Further information
Further information may be obtained from Assoc. Professor Anders Damgaard ([email protected])

You can read more about DTU Sustain at https://sustain.dtu.dk/en/

If you are applying from abroad, you may find useful information on working in Denmark and at DTU at DTU – Moving to Denmark. Furthermore, you have the option of joining our monthly free seminar “PhD relocation to Denmark and startup “Zoom” seminar” for all questions regarding the practical matters of moving to Denmark and working as a PhD at DTU.

Application procedure
Your complete online application must be submitted no later than 22 January 2025 (23:59 Danish time).

Applications must be submitted as one PDF file containing all materials to be given consideration. To apply, please open the link "Apply now", fill out the online application form, and attach all your materials in English in one PDF file. The file must include:

• A letter motivating the application (cover letter)
• Curriculum vitae
• Grade transcripts and BSc/MSc diploma (in English) including official description of grading scale
• Documentation for Danish level

You may apply prior to ob­tai­ning your master's degree but cannot begin before having received it.

Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.

All interested candidates irrespective of age, gender, disability, race, religion or ethnic background are encouraged to apply. As DTU works with research in critical technology, which is subject to special rules for security and export control, open-source background checks may be conducted on qualified candidates for the position.

The Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering (DTU Sustain) is one of the largest university departments specializing in environmental and resource engineering in Europe. The department conducts research, development & scientific advice and provides educational programs and service to society. We are working to develop new environmentally friendly and sustainable technologies, methods and solutions, and to disseminate this knowledge to society and future generations of engineers. The department has approximately 300 employees from more than 30 nationalities.

Technology for people
DTU develops technology for people. With our international elite research and study programmes, we are helping to create a better world and to solve the global challenges formulated in the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Hans Christian Ørsted founded DTU in 1829 with a clear mission to develop and create value using science and engineering to benefit society. That mission lives on today. DTU has 13,500 students and 6,000 employees. We work in an international atmosphere and have an inclusive, evolving, and informal working environment. DTU has campuses in all parts of Denmark and in Greenland, and we collaborate with the best universities around the world.

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