PhD position – Re-Design for Circular Economies in Product Creation and Innovation

SDU Innovation and Design Engineering at the Department of Technology and Innovation invites applications for a PhD position within the field and research group in Circular Economies and Innovation.

The group has a specific research focus on the new forms of innovation that emerge when we point to the people-, planet-, and profit-challenges.

The research is following the societal drive towards sustainable growth and the need for more sustainability in technical designs. Designing with circular economy and sustainability principles is not an easy task, and requires system change and cross-disciplinarity in the whole process – from design to manufacturing to the end-of-life cycle. We offer the opportunity to work in cross-disciplinary projects within the areas of research competencies in designing out waste and pollution, for circularity, together with companies. We use this knowledge as a steppingstone into new entrepreneurial and sustainable business opportunities, and to provide recommendations for innovation policy.

The position is available from 1. February 2022 or as soon as possible thereafter.

Job description
The PhD research to be conducted during the PhD will take its origin in several national research projects. The common denominator of the projects is the role design engineering plays in creating a new paradigm for product development moving away from the take-make-dispose model toward more circular models in product development.

It is imperative to look at some challenges with the materials and composition to bring that knowledge back into the design phase, as a large part of products’ environmental footprints are determined in the design phase, especially related to selection of materials, composite and assembling.

Topics of the research to be conducted will include coupling of Design Engineering with Circular Economies and Innovation i.e., focusing on problems associated with design creating barriers for reuse and efficient recovery of materials by, and re-design solutions.

The candidate will gain expert knowledge in Design for Circular Economies, in Design for Disassembly, as well as communicating related findings in a way that is intuitive and applicable in an interdisciplinary field of Design Engineering, Product Creation, Manufacturing 4.0 lab and new opportunities for innovation in industrial settings.

The successful candidates will be affiliated with SDU Innovation and Design Engineering at the Department of Technology and Innovation, University of Southern Denmark which is located at the Faculty of Engineering on the international campus in Odense, Denmark.

Project context
The PhD candidate will work on several research projects, which all address aspect of Design for Circular Economies as a generic theme, as well as the communication and implementation of the results towards relevant stakeholders.

The main project has a Re-Design for Disassembly perspective, by assessing and redesigning exiting products using digital twin and 3D technology and rendering in optimizing product’s degree of sustainability in reaching a higher value in material recovery. The project is in joint effort with SDU robotics using robotic simulation as a test and validation tool.

A second project supports the development of a design guide in co-creation with industry that highlights some of the most important subjects to consider when developing new products, so that the entire supply chain will be moving into a sustainable and circular material direction.

A third project aims to develop pedagogical training tools at the master-level on how to prepare design engineers for a future that demands more sustainable products i.e., using our programme course ‘Sustainable Materials in Product Creation’ which aims to integrate product development with circular economies and sustainable innovation.

The main tasks of the PhD candidate are:

• Development of material and assembly analysis assessment using 3D technology in product modelling
• Development of a guide for industry that highlights important subjects to consider when developing new products to spur that the entire supply chain will be moving into a sustainable and circular material direction
• Introduction of Eco Audit in product assessment and re-design
• Communication of results and process descriptions via publications

Qualifications
The successful candidate has a master of science degree in Engineering Product Development or in Design Engineering or an associated area and has ideally experience in combining 3D CAD-skills with assessments using green engineering principles for deriving decision support relevant for industry and/or academia.
The required qualifications are:

• A Master of Science degree or similar (equivalent to a Danish master's degree) in a field relevant/close to the core topic of the PhD
• Experience in digital product creation as well as familiar with circular economy, green engineering principles as well as a strong interest in collaborative projects within academia and industry
• Project management and risk assessment
• Written and spoken language in English at proficiency or proven from a Master level degree programme in English

Supplementary qualifications include:

• Danish language proficiency (not a requirement, but will be considered an advantage)
• CAD skills, 3D modelling and rendering
• Specialized understanding of product development, quality testing and design engineering and innovation
• Knowledge within green engineering principles, eco-design and cradle to cradle
• Experience in Granta Edupack software
• Experience in innovation and product development projects

Contact information
Further information about this position is available from Associate Professor, Lykke Margot Ricard, e-mail: [email protected], phone: (+45) 65 50 86 81.

If you experience technical problems you must contact [email protected].

Conditions of employment
Applicants are required to have a master’s degree (equivalent to a Danish master's degree) at the time of enrollment and employment. Employment as a PhD fellow is a 3-year salaried position (start salary amounts to approx. 3.378,- EURO per month incl. supplements).

Employment of a PhD fellow can only happen after the Head of the PhD School has approved the candidate for admission to the PhD school. Employment and enrollment will cease without further notice at the end of the period.

A PhD fellow is not allowed to have any kind of sideline employment, while enrolled as PhD fellow at the faculty.

Employment is governed by the Protocol on PhD Research Fellows signed by the Danish Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. Please check links for more information on salary and taxation.

The successful candidate will be enrolled at SDU in accordance with Faculty regulations and the Danish Ministerial Order on the PhD Programme at the Universities (PhD order), read more here.

The assessment process
Read about the Assessment and selection process. Shortlisting may be used.

Application procedure
The Faculty expects applicants to read the Faculty information for prospective PhD students and the SDU information on How to apply before applying.

The application deadline is 2. January, 2022.

The application must be in English and must include the following - the required forms must be found at the Faculty website:

• Completed TEK PhD application form for 5+3 applicants. Find the form at the Faculty website.
• Motivation personal application. Upload in the field called “Project description”.
• Detailed Curriculum Vitae, describing research, publication and teaching experience, computational skills and including personal contact information.
• Verified copies of the official bachelor diploma and master's diploma and transcripts of exams, both original and translated into English.
• Completed TEK PhD form for calculation grade point average. Find the form at the Faculty website. Upload in one of the fields called “Publication”.
• An official document describing the grading scheme of the awarding universities (if not Danish). Upload in one of the fields called “Publication”.
• An official and verified written assessment of the thesis or dissertation project from the grade giving institution, if the thesis/examination project is evaluated by approved/passed. The statement must clearly state that the candidate has been among the top 30 pct. in the graduation class for the study programme.
• List of publications and maximum 2 examples of relevant publications, in case you have any publications. Please attach one pdf-file for each publication.
• References, if any. Reference letters may also be included. You're welcome to use the form for reference letter at the Faculty website.

The University wishes our staff to reflect the diversity of society and thus welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of personal background.