PhD Position Assessing Private Climate Change Adaptation Effectiveness and Limits NL

PhD Position – Climate Change Adaptation Research

Join our TU Delft team to contribute to policy‑relevant research on climate change adaptation in a vibrant European‑wide team.

Global adaptation to climate change remains both critical and urgent. The project ADELE aims to assess adaptation effectiveness and limits across European contexts through primary quantitative data collection and advanced computational modeling.

• Large‑Scale Survey Development & Data Analysis (70 %) – develop and deploy structured household surveys in three European countries, analyse data to evaluate perceived effectiveness of private adaptation and identify soft limits.
• Agent‑Based Modeling & Ex‑Ante Assessment (30 %) – translate survey evidence into modular ABM components, use existing TU Delft ABMs (EMERGO, CRAB, FAST) to project adaptation uptake, and contribute standardized modules to the open‑source repository agentblocks.org.

• Master’s degree in Environmental Economics, Psychology, Complex Systems, Engineering & Policy Analysis, or related field.
• Experience with data analysis and statistical methods.
• Strong interest in developing, conducting, and analysing surveys.
• Experience with Agent‑Based Modeling or programming skills in a scientific language (Python, Julia, etc.).
• Domain interest in climate change impacts, climate adaptation or coupled social‑environmental systems is an advantage.
• Teamwork and communication skills, ability to collaborate in an international multidisciplinary research project.
• Fluent written and spoken English.

Doctoral candidates will receive a 4‑year period of employment in principle, divided into two contracts: an initial 1.5‑year contract with a progress assessment within 15 months, followed by a subsequent 2.5‑year contract contingent on performance.

Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, ranging from €3059 to €3881 gross per month over the four years, plus 8 % holiday allowance and an end‑of‑year bonus of 8.3 %. Additional benefits include health‑insurance discounts, monthly work‑costs contributions, and flexible work schedules.

• Submit motivation letter, CV, and list of publications or software outputs (if applicable) through the online application system by 31 August 2026.
• Selected candidates will be invited to a two‑stage interview process, starting in September.