Alliance PhD scholarship in Engineering Education Research at DTU Scaffolding interdisciplinary teamwork: Potentials and obstacles - DTU Engineering Technology

Do you want to contribute to the development of high-quality STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) teaching at university level with a focus on interdisciplinarity? Do you want to engage in a career within university pedagogy and didactics of engineering education? Do you want to develop new ways of understanding and scaffolding interdisciplinary work in a constructive way at university level?

With this Alliance PhD project, you have the opportunity to become a PhD student at two of the leading technical universities in Europe Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), which are collaborating on this project and seeks a PhD candidate to investigate new ways of understanding and scaffolding interdisciplinary work in a constructive way.

Responsibilities and qualifications
Interdisciplinary competencies are emphasized in engineering education, because it is recognized as some of the most important competencies needed for future engineers to handle the complex, wicked problems of our time. We are currently seeing methods for teaching and learning interdisciplinary competencies being developed. However, this is no simple task, as interdisciplinary teamwork demands excellent collaborative competencies to bridge the gap between team-members and construct common ground for collaboration across disciplines. This problem calls for new ways of understanding and scaffolding interdisciplinary teamwork constructively in a way that supports sustainable learning of these critical competencies. It is the aim of this project, to contribute to solving this. The target group for the project will be engineering students.

The methodology of the project will be based primarily on a qualitative approach, combining different methods such as ethnographic observations and interviews to ensure thorough data collection representing multiple perspectives seeking to understand both the context of interdisciplinary teamwork and individual experiences.

As part of the PhD project, there is a research stay (3-6 months) at TU/e at the co-supervisor. 

You must have a two-year master's degree (120 ECTS points) or a similar degree in educational science, innovation or similar with an academic level equivalent to a two-year master's degree, as well as:

• Work experience from working with engineering education research and/or educational development at the university level
• Knowledge of learning, student motivation, and didactics would be beneficial.
• Experience with realizing experimental setups would be beneficial and also having the ability to work independently
• Good communication skills in English and Danish, both written and spoken. 
• Have good skills in processing and analysis of large amounts of data.

The team behind the project
As a PhD student, you will be employed at DTU Engineering Technology while simultaneously being enrolled in the PhD program at DTU Management and supervised by a team of professors from DTU and TU/E.

At DTU, the Departments for Engineering Technology and Management will be the "academic home" of the alliance PhD. This creates an inspiring interdisciplinary environment for the project under the supervision of experts within engineering education research and entrepreneurship.

• Hanne Løje, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor at DTU Engineering Technology, where she is Head of Section for the research group on Engineering Education Research.
• Lars Alkærsig, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor at DTU Management/DTU Center for Entrepreneurship

From TU/e the PhD project will be co-supervised by Assistant Professor Karolina Doulougeri and Professor Jan van der Veen. At the same time as this PhD project, they will start at PhD project which aims to explore the dynamics of interdisciplinary collaboration among teachers within the context of challenge-based learning focusing on its impact on developing manageable challenges, scaffolding interdisciplinary student teams and improve student- teacher interactions in challenge-based learning. The TU/e Project and the DTU Project will thus complement each other with their respective focus on teachers (TU/e) and students (DTU) both within the context of interdisciplinarity and challenge-based learning, which creates opportunities for collaboration and comparative analysis. 

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 . 

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 allowance will be agreed upon with the relevant union. The period of employment is 3 years.

Starting date is 1st January 2025 (or according to mutual agreement). The position is a full-time position.

You can read more about career paths at DTU here http://www.dtu.dk/english/about/job-and-career/working-at-dtu/career-paths.

Further information  
Further information may be obtained from Associate Professor, Head of Section, Hanne Løje [email protected]  or Head of Department Malene Kirstine Holst, [email protected] .

The place of work is DTU in Ballerup. You can read more about DTU Engineering Technology at www.engtech.dtu.dk.

You can read more about DTU Engineering Technology  at www DTU Engineering Technology - Institut for Ingeniørteknologi og -didaktik

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 14 October 2024 (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 motivating the application (cover letter)
• Curriculum vitae 
• Grade transcripts and BSc/MSc diploma (in English) including official description of grading scale
• A short text (max. 1 A4 page) where you outline your research vision within the given topic

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

Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.

All interested candidates irrespective of age, gender, race, disability, religion or ethnic background are encouraged to apply.

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.