Post-doctoral position in Building Services within Agenda 2030 and sustainable development: A circular building sector: District heating and waste targets - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Vacancy announcement for postdoc fellowships focusing on Agenda 2030 and sustainable development: A circular building sector - District heating and waste targets

The 2030 Agenda is the framework for sustainable development that the world’s nations have signed to end extreme poverty, reduce inequalities, solve the climate crisis, promote peace and equity and much more. In order to achieve the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals, research has several important roles: to identify challenges and conflicting objectives, contribute to new solutions, generate dialogue and learning between different societal stakeholders and critically analyse the goals. Lund University aspires to be a part of the solution and has therefore initiated a research programme on sustainable development with postdoc fellowships in various interdisciplinary projects. The projects will not only constitute platforms for the postdocs’ career development, but also form a basis for national and European applications, and for future environments for excellence and profiling. The programme is also to develop the postdocs’ expertise in teaching and learning in higher education. More information on the research programme is available here: https://www.sustainability.lu.se/researchers/available-positions

We now welcome applicants who want to take an active role in 2030 Agenda research to apply for the postdoc fellowships.

Project-specific information
The building industry has a major impact on the global carbon emissions, the use of natural resources and production of waste. A drastic change is needed for this industry to be a part of a sustainable future. If building materials could be re-used instead of newly produced, the environmental impact is much reduced. This seems easy, but the building sector is heavily regulated. There is a great will to re- use materials, but there are obstacles that create risks, often to such an extent that one abstains.

By creating a strong interdisciplinary research environment that takes on these obstacles and perform independent research, we wish to enable a movement towards a more circular building sector. Within this project interdisciplinary research project, involving four postdocs and senior researchers at Lund University, we focus on the following four research questions: Policies and regulations, Responsibilities and forms of contract, Financial models and marketing and District heating and waste targets. Having a team of different researchers working together, we enable postdocs to get supervision from many perspectives. These research questions are a part of a larger context, where we wish to establish a competence centre for a circular building industry at Lund University. Within this centre, knowledge is shared between the academia, the local communities, and the building industry.

The postdoc in A circular building sector: District heating and waste targets will focus on the following:

• How is waste used as an energy source for district heating today?
• Is the production of district heating/electricity affected if the building industry becomes more circular and, in that case, how?
• Are some materials better kept as an energy source? What materials should be recycled?

LCA simulations will be made both with an accounting perspective and an impact perspective. By this the impact from a more circular building industry on the energy system can be calculated. Within this study, also the effect of the national waste targets on the district heating system will be analysed. 

Work duties
The main duties involved in a post-doctoral position is to conduct research. Teaching may also be included, but up to no more than 20% of working hours. The position shall include the opportunity for three weeks of training in higher education teaching and learning. 

The work will include: 

• Research within the subject area.
• Teaching and supervision in the first cycles of studies.
• Active collaboration within the interdisciplinary research team.
• Collaboration with industry and wider society.
• Actively seeking external research funding.
• Administration related to the work duties listed above.

Qualification requirements
Appointment to a post-doctoral position requires that the applicant has a PhD, or an international degree deemed equivalent to a PhD, within the subject of the position, completed no more than three years before the last date for applications. Under special circumstances, the doctoral degree can have been completed earlier.

Additional requirements:

• Very good oral and written proficiency in English.
• Very good oral and written proficiency in Swedish.
• Good collaborative skills, drive and independence.

Assessment criteria and other qualifications
This is a career development position primarily focused on research. The position is intended as an initial step in a career, and the assessment of the applicants will primarily be based on their research qualifications and potential as researchers. Particular emphasis will be placed on research skills within the subject.

For appointments to a post-doctoral position, the following shall form the assessment criteria:

• A good ability to develop and conduct high quality research.
• Teaching skills.

Additional assessment criteria:

• Experience in research related to the subject.
• Experience of produce and publish research output.
• Good ability to work both independently and as part of an interdisciplinary research team.
• Good ability to engage with industry and wider society.
• Good knowledge of the Swedish building sector and the Swedish building stock.
• Experience in performance of LCA.
• Good knowledge in the northern European energy system.
• Experience of teaching courses in an interdisciplinary environment.

Consideration will also be given to how the applicant’s experience and skills complement and strengthen ongoing research within the department, and how they stand to contribute to its future development.

Terms of employment
This is a full-time, fixed-term employment of a maximum of 2 years starting January 2022 or according to agreement. The period of employment is determined in accordance with the agreement “Avtal om tidsbegränsad anställning som postdoktor” (“Agreement on fixed-term employment as a post-doctoral fellow”) between Lund University, SACO-S, OFR/S and SEKO, dated 4 September 2008.

Instructions on how to apply
Applications shall be written in English. Please draw up the application in accordance with LTH’s Academic qualifications portfolio – see link below. Upload the application as PDF-files in the recruitment system. Read more: http://www.lth.se/english/working-at-lth/to-apply-for-academic-positions-at-lth/