PhD scholarship in socio-political acceptance and legitimacy of Airborne Wind Energy - DTU Wind

We are seeking a candidate for a 3-year PhD project as part of the European Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Network on “Airborne Wind Energy Training for Industrialization Network” (AWETRAIN). Airborne Wind Energy (AWE) is a radical new technology based on tethered aircraft generating electricity from altitudes higher than conventional wind turbines.
Background
We are seeking a candidate for a 3-year PhD project as part of the European Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Network on “Airborne Wind Energy Training for Industrialization Network” (AWETRAIN). Airborne Wind Energy (AWE) is a radical new technology based on tethered aircraft generating electricity from altitudes higher than conventional wind turbines. This allows these devices to be installed in different locations, generate power at different times and provide cheaper electricity. This project will investigate conditions that inform socio-political acceptance of this technology and its utilization.

If you want to contribute to the green transition of society, thrive in collaborative teamwork and have ambitions for an academic research career, then you might be our new colleague in our research section ‘Society, Market & Policy’ (SMP), in the Department of Wind and Energy Systems at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), where we offer a vibrant and inspiring research community in social sciences embedded in an engineering environment. Furthermore, you will be joining a team of 12 PhDs, along with their supervisors in the MSCA Doctoral Network AWETRAIN. Three of the positions will be located in Roskilde. More information on AWETRAIN is located here. Your main supervisor will be Senior Researcher David Rudolph and you will join the PhD School at DTU Wind and Energy Systems.

Responsibilities and Qualifications
In your PhD project, you will explore regulatory conditions that enable or hamper the uptake of various AWE systems across selected countries in Europe. In the socio-technical transition to a more sustainable energy system, the development and adoption of new technologies does not only depend on technological innovations, but also needs to be accompanied by social and political legitimacy.

You will therefore critically examine how various stakeholders conceive AWE devices, how regulatory contexts shape the legitimacy and acceptance of AWE technology and how appropriate usages and sites for airborne wind are constructed. Your task is to assess conditions that inform socio-political acceptability by identifying regulatory challenges in and requirements for the governance of airborne wind and by investigating spatial, procedural and distributional issues in the deployment of AWE systems. Research will be based on qualitative social science methods, e.g. conducting interviews and analyzing documents, and will involve writing scientific articles as part of the thesis.

Applicants for the position should develop an independent research proposal that relates to and addresses the above issues.

The research work will be carried out within the AWETRAIN project, where you will be collaborating within a larger team of 12 PhD students, their supervisors and their institutions. The project strongly encourages teamwork and collaboration, so we expect the PhD candidates to mutually support each other.

The supervision team for the PhD project consists of main supervisor David Rudolph (DTU) and co-supervisor Linda Kamp (TU Delft).

We foresee a secondment with Kitepower, Netherlands, subject to confirmation. The company Kitepower is one of the leading developers of AWE technology and the secondment aims to investigate technological legitimacy of AWE systems with Kitepower and its partners and will expose the candidate to the activities, operation and challenges of an AWE company.

Besides this, your tasks may include teaching and co-supervising Master students and participation in outreach and dissemination activities of the department commensurate with research at PhD level.

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. We are seeking candidates with a Master’s degree in relevant Social Science & Humanities disciplines, preferably in Human Geography, Innovation Studies, Political Ecology, Sociology, Anthropology, Planning Studies, or a related field.

The following further qualifications will be considered in the assessment:

• Documented experiences and skills in qualitative research methods
• Strong background and interest in the energy transition and social science energy research
• Excellent communication skills, both in writing and oral presentation
• Open-minded team player, able to work in multidisciplinary and multinational teams
• A long-term interest in pursuing a research career

The working language of the project is English and thus the candidate must have suitable skills in both written and spoken English. Proficiency in additional languages is beneficial for the selected countries in which fieldwork will take place. Proficiency in a Scandinavian language is not required, but we expect an openness to learn Danish during your stay with us.

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.

Please note the mobility requirements for recruitment under the European MSCA programme: in general, recruits must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the recruiting organisation for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before the recruitment date. You can find more information here.

Assessment
The PhD candidate will be selected through a competitive application process. Online applications will be screened against a set of criteria and a shortlist of candidates will be assessed by a specifically formed committee.

The assessment of the applicants will be made by a committee consisting of David Rudolph (Senior Researcher), co-supervisor Linda Kamp (Assistant Professor, TU Delft), Sophie Nyborg (Senior Researcher) and Head of Section Ulrich E. Hansen (Senior Researcher).

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 PhD position will be fully funded for three years under the AWETRAIN project under the normal MSCA conditions found here. The period of employment is 3 years. The workplace is primarily DTU Risø Campus, Roskilde, Denmark.

You can read more about career paths at DTU here.

Further information
Further information, including the project description, may be obtained from Senior Researcher David Rudolph, DTU Wind and Energy Systems, +45 93 51 14 32, [email protected]

You can read more about DTU Wind and Energy Systems at www.vindenergi.dtu.dk/english

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 15 April 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 expressing the motivation to apply (cover letter)
• Curriculum vitae
• Grade transcripts and BSc/MSc diploma (in English) including official description of grading scale
• A short PhD project proposal (maximum 2 pages plus references) describing a possible research objective, theoretical framework and intended methodological approach.

The interviews will be carried out within 2-3 weeks after the application deadline and employment is planned to start in June 2025.

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

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.

About the AWETRAIN Training and Research Program
The AWETRAIN is an ambitious 12 PhD training network centered around enabling the industrial commercialization of Airborne Wind Energy. The network is coordinated by DTU with support of Delft University of Technology, Munich University of Applied Science, Polytechnic University of Milan, Kitemill, Kitepower, Kitekraft and Airborne Wind Europe.

The training program is centered around preparing our Doctoral Candidates for careers pushing the energy transitions forward. To achieve our ambitious goals, we foresee rapid changes in our energy system, with radically new technologies entering the space. As such, the program is built around developing the skills to work in multi-disciplinary environments, the awareness at multiple levels on how the sector is changing and giving you the agility to put yourself in the best position to affect this change.

The research program is divided into 3 work packages: WP3 Device and reliability, focusing on the reliability of individual plants. WP4 Plant and Scaling, investigating how industrial scale airborne wind energy plants will be constructed in the future. This PhD project will be contained within WP5 Society and Economics that is looking at the economic and social impact of AWE.

About DTU Wind Energy
DTU Wind and Energy Systems, which used to be a division of Risø National Laboratory (until 2012), has undertaken basic research, teaching and commercial activities in all aspects of wind energy since the mid-1970’s. DTU Wind and Energy Systems is now the world’s largest public research institute for wind energy and energy systems transition, with about 400 staff members. The department has four divisions: i) Materials and Components for Wind Energy, ii) Wind Turbine Technology, iii) Wind Energy Systems, and iv) Power and Energy Systems. The department is internationally recognized as being in the forefront of wind energy technology and smart energy systems research. We educate and train the next generation of engineers for a sustainable energy future. We collaborate with global leaders in industry and public authorities around the world to research and develop new technologies and services to power the green transition. In the research group

In the research group Society, Market and Policy (SMP) at DTU Wind and Energy Systems, we work towards a sustainable and just energy system and perform multi-disciplinary social science research in the technological, economic and societal nexus of renewable energy. We are about 20 researchers, using qualitative and quantitative methods, empirical data, interviews, case studies, financial modelling, socio-economic and policy analysis to study renewable energy project development, environmental impacts, social interactions, markets, policy, and industry processes.

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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