PhD Position Data-Driven Understanding of World Heritage Cities

As a PhD researcher, you will perform a global study on how cities in part listed as UNESCO World Heritage are perceived by people with the help of data science and artificial intelligence.

Job description

The cultural significance of UNESCO World Heritage is conventionally only defined by the experts and decision-makers. In the past decade, however, social inclusion and public participation have been growing as goals in heritage management. As proposed by the 2011 UNESCO Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape, it is important to document and map the knowledge from a broader public to facilitate more inclusive heritage decision-making processes. People constantly share on social media platforms their perceptions about the cities that they visit or reside, in forms of texts, images, and videos. The ubiquitous geo-located and time-stamped user-generated data and the current advances in data science and AI makes it possible to understand how people perceive the historical urban spaces at large scale, especially those where World Heritage properties are located. This bottom-up knowledge will be informative both for the conservation and management of existing heritage, and for the recognition and nomination of new heritage.

Your interdisciplinary research will study how data science and AI can help understand the perception of world heritage cities by citizens at global level. You will collect and analyse a global dataset of user-generated data (written texts and/or posted images) from social media platforms in cities in part listed as UNESCO World Heritage properties. You will develop analytical frameworks to study both the spatiotemporal patterns (how the data are distributed in space and developed along time) and the semantic contents (what are being discussed) of the dataset. Using the obtained knowledge, you will be able to offer spatial design frameworks and planning suggestions for heritage conservation and urban [re]development.

As a PhD candidate, you will be based in the Section of Heritage and Architecture within the Architectural Engineering and Technology Department at the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, TU Delft. Within the section, we conduct research focusing on the values that define heritage and how they impact the sustainability of cities. We are keen to explore cross-disciplinary research methods with global collaborations. You will also be working together with colleagues from the Section of Digital Technologies and other AI labs of the faculty and TU Delft. You will work closely with Dr. Nan Bai, whose research focuses on sensing the World Heritage with big data and AI.

In the department of Architectural Engineering + Technology we currently have 6 PhD positions open. Click here to see all 6 vacancies.

Job requirements

To be considered for the position, you must have:

• A Master's degree in Urban Data Science, Geographic Information Science, Computational Social Science, Heritage Studies, Geography, Geomatics, Urban Planning, Architecture, or a related discipline.
• A solid experience in the application of data-driven computational research methods informed by social/spatial sciences.
• Programming skills in Python and preferably experience with training and/or applying machine learning models.
• A keen interest in UNESCO World Heritage properties within cities, ranging from the architecture to the urban scale.
• Excellent communication and academic writing skills in English.
• A proactive, curiosity-driven, results-oriented mindset with strong collaborative and creative problem-solving skills to work in an interdisciplinary team.

Additionally, it would be beneficial to have:

• Research experience in text mining and/or multimodal machine learning, preferably contributing to academic publications.
• A mindset that is culturally oriented, passionate about diversity and inclusivity, and/or familiar with different cultures and world regions.

 
TU Delft (Delft University of Technology)
Delft University of Technology is built on strong foundations. As creators of the world-famous Dutch waterworks and pioneers in biotech, TU Delft 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. For generations, our engineers have proven to be entrepreneurial problem-solvers, both in business and in a social context.

At TU Delft we embrace diversity as one of our core values and we actively engage to be a university where you feel at home and can flourish. We value different perspectives and qualities. We believe this makes our work more innovative, the TU Delft community more vibrant and the world more just. Together, we imagine, invent and create solutions using technology to have a positive impact on a global scale. That is why we invite you to apply. Your application will receive fair consideration.

Challenge. Change. Impact!

Faculty Architecture and the Built Environment
The Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment has a leading role in education and research worldwide. The driving force behind the faculty’s success is its robust research profile combined with the energy and creativity of its student body and academic community. It is buzzing with energy from early in the morning until late at night, with four thousand people studying, working, designing, conducting research and acquiring and disseminating knowledge. Our faculty has a strong focus on 'design-oriented research’, which has given it a top position in world rankings.

Staff and students are working to improve the built environment with the help of a broad set of disciplines, including architectural design, urban planning, building technology, social sciences, process management, and geo-information science. The faculty works closely with other faculties, universities, private parties, and the public sector, and has an extensive network in the Netherlands as well as internationally.

Click here to go to the website of the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment.
 

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. 

Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, increasing from € 2872 per month in the first year to € 3670 in the fourth year. 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.  

For international applicants, TU Delft has the Coming to Delft Service. This service provides information for new international employees to help you prepare the relocation and to settle in the Netherlands. The Coming to Delft Service offers a Dual Career Programme for partners and they organise events to expand your (social) network.

Additional information
For more information about this vacancy, please contact Nan Bai, e-mail: n.bai@tudelft.nl.

For information about the application procedure, please contact Nynke Schik, HR advisor, e-mail: recruitment-BK@tudelft.nl.

Application procedure
Are you interested in this vacancy? Please apply no later than 2 February 2025 (local Dutch time: UTC time + 2 hrs) via the application button and upload the following documents:

• Detailed CV - highlight examples of projects and/or achievements that demonstrate skills relevant to the advertised position.
• Motivation letter (no more than 600 words) addressing your interests and describing how your experience and and plans fit with the position.
• Contact information for two references (letters not required at this stage).
• MSc thesis (if finished) and, if applicable, one or two notable conference/journal publications you have co-authored.
• Undergraduate and graduate transcripts (if finished).

Doing a PhD at TU Delft requires English proficiency at a certain level to ensure that the candidate is able to communicate and interact well, participate in English-taught Doctoral Education courses, and write scientific articles and a final thesis. For more details please check the Graduate Schools Admission Requirements. 

Please note:

• You can apply online. We will not process applications sent by email and/or post. 
• A pre-employment screening can be part of the selection procedure.
• For the final candidates, a knowledge security check will be part of the application procedure. For more information on this check, please consult Chapter 8 of the National Knowledge Security Guidelines. We carry out this check on the basis of legitimate interest.
• Please do not contact us for unsolicited services.