PhD Position: Digital Product Passport for Compliance monitoring of Circular Steel

Join our pioneering PhD project on Digital Product Passports and compliance monitoring for the green steel transition and become part of the innovative inter-disciplinary program Growing with Green Steel.

PhD project on Digital Product Passports for compliance monitoring of circular steel

Job description

The ICT group at the Department of Engineering Systems and Services of the Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management has joined the National Growth Fund program Growing with Green Steel (GGS), which aims at making the Dutch steel sector circular, CO2-neutral, and high-tech by 2050. In GGS, Dutch universities, research institutes and industrial parties will jointly develop new technologies for an accelerated transition towards green steel.

As part of the Growing with Green Steel program, we are looking for a PhD candidate to join our team. This position has the specific focus on the utilization of Digital Product Passports (DPP) for compliance monitoring for steel circularity and the green steel transition. Specific aspects will be business-government partnerships.

Many businesses introduce for business reasons and quality assurance very strict monitoring systems to monitor and control their supply chains and circular processes to ensure that data comes from a trusted source, and data is verifiable, especially in complex international supply chains where many business partners are located outside of the EU. This PhD research will explore how authorities can build upon these embedded controls by businesses for performing their compliance monitoring tasks as well. Aspects that will be relevant include also how DPP can be used as an instrument for burden reduction. This PhD project is positioned in Theme V Recovery of the GGS program.

Join this unique programme, where you can apply your knowledge to a project with Tata Steel Netherlands and ARN, and you will have a chance to collaborate with the wider GGS business and academic ecosystem.

Your research will be pioneering work on the cross-roads of policy, business, government and ICT. You will examine business-government collaborations for the green steel transition enabled by Digital Product Passports.

Imagine enabling the transition towards circular economy monitoring enabled by Digital Product Passports and business-government collaboration. Your work will be of importance to address societal topics such as circularity, compliance, burden reduction and competitiveness, resource resilience and Critical Raw Materials. You can help to make an impact on society!

Position overview

This PhD position is aimed at candidates with a Master’s degree in business, public administration, information systems, data science, computer science, or related fields, with a strong interest in circularity and compliance monitoring. The successful candidate will be based at the Department of Engineering Systems and Services (ESS) at Delft University of Technology under the supervision of Dr. Boriana Rukanova, Prof. Dr. Marijn Janssen and em. Prof. Dr. Yao-Hua Tan.

This PhD project involves close collaboration with partners from the GGS program, and candidates will have the opportunity to engage with interdisciplinary teams involved in the Theme Recovery, as well as the other themes of Production, Processing, Use and System Change of the GGS program. The research will be socio-technical and theoretically will draw upon knowledge and insights from the field of digital infrastructures and compliance monitoring.

Key responsibilities

• To develop design principles for the Digital Product Passport (DPP) utilisation for compliance monitoring and business-government collaboration for the green steel transition.
• Collaborate with experts from the GGS consortium to develop, test and refine the design principles and guidelines.
• Work independently and contribute collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team environment.

Project impact

The GGS program aims at making the Dutch steel sector circular, CO2-neutral, and high-tech by 2050. Applications are encouraged from candidates who are motivated to contribute to cutting-edge research for using digital platforms, digital infrastructures, and digital product passports for the green and digital transition.

Job requirements

• MSc in business, (business/government) information systems, data science, computer science, or related fields.
• Strong analytical skills.
• A strong interest in interdisciplinary research, circularity, compliance monitoring and the use of ICT in an inter-organisational network context.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively within a dynamic, multidisciplinary environment.
• Excellent command of English.

TU Delft (Delft University of Technology)

Delft University of Technology is a top international university combining science, engineering and design. It delivers world class results in education, research and innovation to address challenges in the areas of energy, climate, mobility, health and digital society.

Faculty Technology, Policy & Management

The Faculty of TPM provides an important contribution to solving complex technical-social issues, such as energy transition, mobility, digitalisation, water management and (cyber) security. TPM does this with its excellent education and research at the intersection of technology, society and policy. We combine insights from both engineering and social sciences as well as the humanities. TPM develops robust models and designs, is internationally oriented and has an extensive network of knowledge institutions, companies, social organisations and governments.

Conditions of employment

Doctoral candidates will be offered a 4-year period of employment in principle, but in the form of 2 employment contracts. An initial 1.5 year contract with an official go/no go progress assessment within 15 months, followed by an additional contract for the remaining 2.5 years assuming everything goes well and performance requirements are met.

As a PhD candidate you will be enrolled in the TU Delft Graduate School. The TU Delft Graduate School provides an inspiring research environment with an excellent team of supervisors, academic staff and a mentor. The Doctoral Education Programme is aimed at developing your transferable, discipline-related and research skills.

The TU Delft offers a customisable compensation package, discounts on health insurance, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged.