PhD Candidate in Circular Public Transport

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Your Responsibilities

The position as a PhD candidate is within the research project 'Circular Public Transport', funded by the Swedish Energy Agency in the call for 'Collaboration-based research and innovation for the energy and climate transition of the transport system'. Circular economy has become increasingly important for achieving global environmental goals, both generally and within the public transport sector. The project focuses on how public transport in Sweden can become more circular. The costs of public transport have increased in recent years, largely due to the lack of circularity in public procurement. The aim is to identify areas within procurement where measures for circular public transport can be most beneficial and thus have the greatest impact on achieving a sustainable and transport-efficient society. This may involve age requirements for buses, battery lifespan, the design of new policies, and new business models. The project will also evaluate suitable models for calculating costs in selected areas to demonstrate the potential of introducing circularity and getting one step closer to the global goals. The project is conducted in close collaboration with the industry through project partners and an active steering group.

The position as a PhD candidate is thus linked to service production in general and public transport specifically. The PhD candidate will work with both qualitative methods, such as interviews and similar, and more quantitative methods. An analytical mindset is advantageous as important aspects of the work include literature studies, evaluation of results, and writing scientific papers. Many problems in the area of circular public transport stem from public procurement of public transport. Documentation in the procurement area is mostly in Swedish, which means that the PhD candidate should be well acquainted with the Swedish language and also the English language, as scientific articles will be written in English. The project 'Circular Public Transport' will be conducted within a Swedish context, which means that interviews, data compilations, and work reports will be written in Swedish.

The project will be carried out in close collaboration with companies such as Nobina, Keolis, Östgötatrafiken, Skånetrafiken, Västtrafik, the Traffic Authority of Region Stockholm, and industry organizations such as Sveriges Bussföretag and Svensk Kollektivtrafik, as well as academic environments like the Service Research Center (Karlstad University) and K2, Sweden's national center for research and education on public transport (Lund).

Read more: https://liu.se/artikel/forskarutbildning-i-industriell-ekonomi (https://liu.se/artikel/forskarutbildning-i-industriell-ekonomi)

As a PhD candidate, you will engage in your doctoral education and the research project you are part of. Your work may also include teaching or participating in other departmental assignments, up to 20% of full-time.

Your Qualifications

You should have a master's, magister, or engineering degree with a focus on industrial economics, economics, transport systems, or equivalent. Alternatively, you have acquired largely equivalent knowledge in another way.

Only those who are accepted or have already been admitted to doctoral education are eligible for the position of PhD candidate.

We are looking for a candidate with good collaboration skills who easily establishes contacts and maintains good relationships in professional contexts, which also means that the ability to understand and speak Swedish is important. Good knowledge of Swedish and English is a requirement for the position.

Please include a statement of purpose that indicates: 1. Why you want to pursue a PhD 2. Why you are interested in this position and 3. Why you believe you are qualified for this position.

Your Workplace

You will work at the Department of Production Economics, the Institute of Economic and Industrial Development. Read more: Production Economics (https://liu.se/produktionsekonomi)

About the Employment

Upon commencement of the position, you will be admitted to doctoral education.

The position is temporary for four years full-time. You will initially be employed for one year, after which the employment will be renewed for a maximum of two years at a time, based on the achieved study plan. Extension of employment up to five years may occur based on the degree of teaching and departmental assignments. In special cases, further extension may occur.

Start date by agreement.

A security check may be conducted before a decision on employment is made.

Salary and Benefits

The PhD salary is regulated based on a locally negotiated salary scale. Read more about employee benefits here.

Union Contact Persons

For information about union contact persons, see Help for applicants.

Application

You apply for this position by clicking the 'Apply' button below. Your application must be received by Linköping University no later than March 3, 2025. Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.

We welcome applicants with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives, as this enriches and develops our operations. For us, it is self-evident to uphold everyone's equal value, rights, and opportunities. Read about our work with Equal Conditions.

Welcome with your application!

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