Research Associate (Postdoc, f/m) in the field of Spatial mobility .... -(m/f)

Research Associate (Postdoc, f/m) in the field of Spatial mobility and Transport systems

Ref: 24-17

• 18 months fixed-term contract

• Full-time, 40hours/week (possible part time arrangement)

• Expected start date : at the latest on January 1st, 2025

• Department : Urban Development and Mobility (UDM)

• Work location: Belval (Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg)

• Deadline: September 22nd, 2024

This exciting position is part of a Horizon-Europe project coordinated by LISER, and called « Healthy,

inclusive and sustainable remote work futures as a Win-Win for employees and employers in urban,

rural and cross-border areas (WinWin4WorkLife) » and will be under the leadership of Dr. Veronique

Van Acker and Dr. Philippe Gerber. The successful candidate will play a key role in developing high

quality, scientific and policy-relevant work within the Urban Development and Mobility department

and in close collaboration with a consortium of 15 institutions in Europe.

About the WinWin4WorkLife (WW4WL) project

In this project, we study the social, economic and spatial impact of remote working arrangements

(RWA) by combining employer and employee perspectives into a single framework and applied to five

case studies in Europe (DE, FI, LU, PT, SK). The main large objectives of WW4WL are to (1) Enhance an

interdisciplinary understanding of these impacts of RWA in using mixed methods, (2) Identify essential

living and working conditions of RWA that ensure a healthy work-life balance and gender equity in

urban, rural and cross-border areas (the 5 case studies), (3) Develop forecasting models of spatial and

environmental impacts of RWA with different scenarios, (4) Assess regional and cultural differences in

RWA, with special attention to different remote work practices in 5 case studies, (5) Elaborate

evidence-based policies for healthy, inclusive and sustainable RWA in close collaboration with

stakeholders and citizens.

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One important task to answer these objectives will involve the development of a traffic model taking

into account a residential choice model. It will rely on the 4-step transport model based of the MMUST

Interreg project (www.mmust.eu). The MMUST model covers Luxembourg, Northern Lorraine and the

Province of Luxembourg in Belgium. It can be used, for example, to simulate the implementation of

different demographic and transport infrastructure forecasting scenarios (new tram line, widening of

a motorway lane, etc.).

The MMUST model uses VISUM© (https://www.ptvgroup.com/en/products/ptv-visum) for the

transport assignment and forecasting scenarios, and Biogeme (https://biogeme.epfl.ch/) for travel

demand (based on synthetic populations).

The main objective of the candidate in the WW4WL project will be dedicated to develop, in relation

with the consortium, (i) a residential model related to the transport model MMUST, taking into account

(ii) different RWA scenarios. These developments will get the support of our partner in TUM - Technical

University Munich (DE). In particular their model will help us a lot, with its three agent-based models:

the land use model SILO, the travel demand model MITO and the traffic flow simulation MATSim.

Quantitative data that will be collected during the WW4WL project will feed these custom-made

spatial forecasting models. The ultimate WW4WL goals are to (1) forecast the impact of RWA scenarios

on changes in individuals' activity and travel behavior and household and workplace relocations, and

(2) compare 5 case studies enabling a better understanding of the spatial impacts of RWA at different

spatial scales.

Your Role

The successful candidate will be tasked to:

• Analyze the survey employees and employers data ;

• Develop methodological and empirical frameworks for the diffusion of RWAs forecasts based on

corresponding assessments from employers and employees ;

• Co-design with the consortium (especially TUM), and take part in the development of the new land-

use model in relationship with the MMUST model and taking into account RWA scenarios given by

different commuting and relocation patterns ;

• Help in developing a model for the forecasting environmental impacts of RWA in terms of air

quality, noise exposure, and/or health ;

• Ensure the technical management of the traffic model ;

• Carrying out traffic studies and analyses (prospective scenarios) ;

• Present the results (related e.g. to the main spatial effects and the environmental impacts of RWA)

in national/international conferences, and write academic papers in a co-constructive way with the

consortium.

Your Profile

• Ph.D. degree in transport/economics/engineering/quantitative geography or other relevant field ;

• Excellent knowledge in agent based modeling, 4-Step modeling and/or discrete choice behavior

modeling ;

• Sound knowledge in GIS and Python ;

• A good knowledge in data analysis using statistical software (R, STATA or SAS) ;

• Excellent communication and collaboration skills ;

• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English. Proficiency in French or German will be

considered as an asset.

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What we offer

• A dynamic and international research environment with attractive working conditions and a

stimulating work environment ;

• Flexibility in the organisation of the working hours and the possibility of teleworking ;

• Competitive remuneration according to the Collective Labour Agreement in force (half of a 13th

month salary, meal vouchers, etc.) ;

• Investment in career support and development (trainings, seminars, participation to international

meetings and conferences) ;

• 32.5 days of annual leave for a full-time contract.

How to apply

Please submit your complete application in English via https://jobs.liser.lu/ by including the following

documents before September 22nd, 2024 :

• a full CV ;

• a motivation letter, in which you present your relevant skill with respect to the project (2 pages

max) ;

• a recent piece of research (PhD thesis, 1 or 2 representative research papers, or already published

articles) ;

• two letters of reference (to be uploaded with the application documents or sent separately to

recruitmentliser.lu ).

Deadline to submit applications: September 22nd, 2024

Would you have any work-related question on the position, please contact Dr. Philippe Gerber at

philippe.gerberliser.lu and Dr. Veronique Van Acker at veronique.vanackerliser.lu .

For administrative matters, please contact Mrs Vanya KIROVA at recruitmentliser.lu .