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Professor on Reuse in Circular Construction

KU Leuven has a full-time academic vacancy at the Department of Civil Engineering on the reuse of structural and building components in circular construction. The vacant position is available at Bruges Campus, part of the Faculty of Engineering Technology of the Science, Engineering and Technology Group KU Leuven.

We are looking for internationally oriented candidates with proven teaching skills and an excellent research record in the domain of structural engineering and building technology with emphasis on design of components and structures through reuse. The intended research entails experimental research on construction components and existing structures, as well as the development and use of numerical models.

The successful applicant will be appointed as a tenure track professor at the Department of Civil Engineering and the Faculty of Engineering Technology of the Science, Engineering and Technology Group of KU Leuven. The Faculty of Engineering Technology has an extensive national and international network, both in the academic and business world.

Research in the Materials and Constructions (MAT) Section of the Department of Civil Engineering aims to generate advanced knowledge through fundamental and application-oriented research on durable and sustainable building materials, structural components and construction, contributing to new, existing and heritage structures with low environmental impact, structural resilience and improved service life. The MAT group has research activities and laboratories in Leuven, Bruges, Sint-Katelijne-Waver and Ghent. The research section has an extensive national and international network, both in academics and construction industry, connections with companies, standardization committees and non-profit sector organisations, a stable offer of talented PhD students and a supportive work environment.

Research

• You develop a research programme at an international level on design principles for the reuse of structural materials and components (e.g. precast concrete, steel, wood, …) from end-of-life buildings and structures in the framework of circularity in construction. The envisaged research develops and implements engineering approaches for structural application of reused components, assembly and disassembly techniques and selective demolition for the development of reusable structural systems (modular construction, demountable systems) via experimental, numerical or theoretical  approaches, or a combination thereof. Research should contribute to pre-normative guidelines and standardization enabling reuse of structural materials and components in new constructions. The candidate should play a leading role in this field and represent our university at national and international level through sector organizations and standardization committees.
• You have access to testing equipment and are expected to further strengthen and extend laboratory facilities.
• You engage in targeted scientific research, resulting in PhD’s and publications that meet international standards and lead to broad international recognition.
• As part of your research programme, you develop international partnerships, within the academic world as well as in close cooperation with industry to achieve industrial innovation and scientific output that adheres to the highest international standards.
• You support or initiate a network of companies through the valorisation of research results and by delivering industrial services to achieve technology transfer and application of the results of your research in industry/government/society.
• You are able to acquire competitive funding, both project-based government funding as well as industrial funding. Experience in applying for research funding will be appreciated.
• You strive for excellence and thus contribute to the further development of the research group and the faculty.

Teaching

• Teaching duties connected to this vacancy will be in the Faculty of Engineering Technology at Bruges Campus. Within the multi-campus model of the Faculty of Engineering Technology, you may be asked to take up limited teaching activities at other campuses.
• You provide high-quality education within the programs of the Faculty of Engineering Technology for both bachelor and master students. These academic programs are aimed at educating engineers with a strong focus on industry-ready technological development. Your teaching activities take place mainly within the area of structural mechanics, design of structures (concrete, steel, timber) and building technology, with a clear commitment to the quality of the programme as a whole. All professors are expected to teach a few basic undergraduate courses or more advanced graduate courses.
• You contribute to the faculty’s and the university’s pedagogical project through the supervision of student projects (for example bachelor’s and master’s theses) and by acting as a supervisor of PhD students.
• You develop your teaching in accordance with KU Leuven’s views on activating and research-based education and make use of the possibilities for educational professionalisation offered by the faculty and the university.

Service

• You are prepared to provide services to the scientific community, to society and to the university, with particular focus on services to industry in the context of applied research and development.
• You develop a strong network with industrial partners and in particular with the construction sector.
• You play an active role in promoting the Faculty of Engineering Technology towards new students and the industry by, for example, participating in information days and events.

Profile

• You have a master's degree in Civil Engineering or an equivalent degree, and a PhD whereby the subject of your doctoral thesis relates to the research field, namely re-use of structural and building components in circular structures. Industrial experience or an extended network in the relevant industrial sector is an important advantage.
• You have a strong (applied) research track record in the discipline, evidenced by your publications or by your research experience in industry. You have the ambition to contribute to the valorisation of research in industry and in society. International experience is an important advantage.
• You have verifiable qualities related to academic education. Teaching experience is an advantage.
• You possess organisational skills and have a cooperative attitude. You also possess leadership competencies in a university or industry context.
• For this position, it is expected that you are able to teach courses in Dutch or in English from the start (native or C1 level CEFR). The official language at KU Leuven is Dutch. If you do not speak Dutch (or do not speak it well) at the start of employment, KU Leuven will provide language training to enable you to take part in meetings and to acquire the level of Dutch that is required for tenure. Before teaching courses in Dutch or English, you will be given the opportunity to learn Dutch resp. English to the required standard.

Offer

• We offer full-time employment in an intellectually challenging environment.
• KU Leuven is a research-intensive, internationally oriented university that carries out both fundamental and applied scientific research. Our university is highly focused on interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research and strives for international excellence. In this regard, the university actively works together with research partners in Belgium and abroad and provides its students with an academic education that is based on high-quality scientific research.
• Your main workplace is KU Leuven Campus Bruges in Bruges, in a historic city with a seaport and modern industrial activities. Bruges has a 70 minute railway connection to Brussels, capital of the European Union, and about three hours to Paris, London and Amsterdam.
• You will be appointed as an assistant professor on the tenure track for a period of 5 years. Upon a positive evaluation at the end of this period, you are permanently appointed (or tenured) as an associate professor.
• To facilitate scientific onboarding and accelerate research in the first phase, you can apply for a start-up grant of EUR 110.000, on the condition that you are appointed for at least 50%.
• KU Leuven is well set to welcome foreign professors and their family and provides practical support with regard to immigration & administration, housing, childcare, learning Dutch, partner career coaching, …

Interested?