Researcher Operational Wildfire Management

The   Centre for Civic Safety and Resilience (CCSR)  at PXL University of Applied Sciences and Arts is a multidisciplinary research and innovation centre dedicated to strengthening the resilience of people, communities, and organisations in an increasingly complex and uncertain world.
Our work focuses on understanding how citizens, volunteers, emergency services, public authorities, and societal organisations can better prepare for, respond to, and recover from crises and disruptive events. We conduct applied research and develop innovative solutions in areas such as community resilience, crisis management, risk communication, citizen engagement, volunteerism, emergency preparedness, wildfire resilience, critical infrastructure protection, and societal security.
Working closely with local, regional, national, and European partners, the Centre translates scientific knowledge into practical tools, training programmes, policy recommendations, and technological innovations that create real-world impact. Through participation in European research and innovation projects, we contribute to building safer, more resilient, and better-prepared communities across Europe.
At CCSR, we believe that resilience starts with people. By combining research, education, and stakeholder engagement, we help empower individuals and communities to anticipate, adapt to, and thrive in the face of future challenges.
About Chair of crisis Governance (UA)
The mission of the Chair is to establish itself as a leading   center of expertise  in crisis governance. By fostering   collaboration between theory and practice   , we aim to create an inclusive community that comprises private and public practitioners alongside academic partners. By integrating practical expertise with the insights of our fellow scientists, we aspire to   pave the way for future research on crisis governance   .

Our commitment extends beyond research to encompass education and service provision, all driven by our overarching goal of enhancing societal resilience and safety.
Job description PhD position in Operational decision-making during wildfire events
Wildfires have significant socio-economic and ecological impacts, posing risks to human lives, buildings, ecosystem services and biodiversity values. In Europe, areas with increased danger are being pushed north by climate change. Even though many industrialized countries have implemented fire management strategies, formal risk assessment systems are lacking in many regions, including Flanders. Pan-European initiatives are hampered by coarse spatial resolution, often underestimating local fire dynamics and overlooking the need for region-specific assessments.

Without this locally contextualised accuracy, the reliable prediction of fire propagation and optimization of resource deployment remains severely constrained.
We will recruit six PhD students to meet Fire Risk’s core objectives:
the development of a locally calibrated fire spread model that accounts for land management and design scenarios (  PhD 1 )
the generation of near-real-time, high-resolution maps of fuel loads, fuel moisture, microclimate conditions, and fire weather indices for improved wildfire risk assessment and management (  PhD
2)
understanding how land management and landscape design influence wildfire risk and post-fire ecosystem resilience (  PhD 3 )
the translation of scientific outputs into actionable frameworks for both operational decision-making (PhD
4)   and long-term governance (  PhD 5 )
the enhancement of first responder training through high-fidelity 3D visualization (  PhD 6 )
This position corresponds to the above mentioned   ‘PhD 4’   and bridges the gap between academic research and emergency response by optimizing operational decision-making during active wildfire incidents in Flanders. Working central within WP5, you will step away from the traditional desk job to collaborate directly with fire zones, emergency planners, and crisis coordinators, analyzing existing workflows to translate frontline needs into practical digital tools.

Your core responsibilities involve designing and validating data-driven models for real-time…