Phd Candidate

**Date**:25 Apr 2025

**Location**: Esch-sur-Alzette, LU, L-4366

**Company**:LISER

**The Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER)**

**is recruiting a**

**Thesis title**:
**Beyond the concept of spatial accessibility: Conceptualizing and implementing ‘Hybrid accessibility’ measures to achieve sustainable mobility transitions in different mobility cultures**
- **Ref**:25-21**:

- **3 years (36 months) fixed-term employment contract at LISER**:

- **Full-time, 40 hours/week**:

- **Department: Urban development and Mobility (UDM)**:

- **Work location: Belval (Luxembourg)**:

- **Expected start date : between September 1st, 2025 and November 1st, 2025**:

- **Deadline**:15th of June 2025 at midnight CET**

TRANSFORM Project (“_Urban Mobility Cultures in Transition: Socio-spatial implications of transformative practices_”) is a Doctoral Network funded by Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (Horizon Europe Programme). TRANSFORM investigates the efficacy of transformative practices as mechanisms for initiating and consolidating transitions in urban mobility cultures, and analyses the resulting socio-spatial effects.

**About the Project TRANSFORM**:
**Your role**:
**Objectives**:
- To understand the role of physical and digital accessibility in people’s daily activities and mobility ;
- To operationalize ‘hybrid accessibility’ as a person-based accessibility measure ;
- To test the usability of hybrid accessibility with practitioners.

**Expected Results**:
- Development of ‘hybrid accessibility’ as a new concept in sustainable mobility research ;
- Design of a measurement index of ‘hybrid accessibility’ to be used in practice ;
- Insights into objective and perceived levels of _‘’hybrid accessibility’’_ and the impact on an individual’s daily activities and mobility, differentiated by socio-economic status, gender and age in Schifflange (Luxembourg) and Madrid (Spain) based on a (map-based) questionnaire and activity diaries (N = 600 in each case study).

**Duties**:
- Complete a research proposal, containing research objectives, description of research, methodology, proposed completion timeframe and originality of contribution ;
- Participate in network-wide training events in the course of the project and complete any additional training required to successfully carry out the research proposal ;
- Develop materials for TRANSFORM reporting and personal training requirements (e.g., personal career development plan; annual summaries of research findings) ;
- Prepare and disseminate research findings, in academic journals and for relevant stakeholders ;
- Prepare a manuscript for submission as a PhD thesis in accordance with the regulations of the University of Luxembourg.

Three secondments are foreseen within the framework of this position, and each one with a duration of approx. 2-3 months: (i) Universidad Politécnica de Madrid UPM (Spain), (ii) Research Centre for Territory, Transports and Environment, Faculty of Engineering UPORT-CITTA, Porto (Portugal), (iii) STRATEC (Belgium). The purpose of secondments are field visits, to prepare the conceptual framework, to develop mathematical model to include virtual accessibility in accessibility measures and to analyse how hybrid accessibility can be used and incorporated into planning practice.

**Your profile**:

- Master’s degree in Quantitative Geography / Transport or Civil engineering / Data Science / Psychology / Sociology / Health or Epidemiology / Urban Planning / or other relevant quantitative field ;
- Excellent knowledge and experience in regression analyses (SEM, multi-level, discrete choice behavior modeling ) based on statistical software (R, STATA or SAS) ;
- Excellent skills in GIS, Python is an asset ;
- Excellent communication and collaboration skills ;
- Excellent verbal communication and academic writing skills in English, any other language such as French, German, or Luxembourgish is considered as an asset ;
- Enthusiasm for research, critical thinking and working in an interdisciplinary and diverse team.

**What we offer**:

- A dynamic and international research environment with attractive working conditions and a stimulating work environment ;
- Flexibility in the organisation of the working hours and the possibility of teleworking ;
- Competitive remuneration according to the Collective Labour Agreement in force ;
- Investment in career support and development (trainings, seminars, participation to international meetings and conferences);
- 32.5 days of annual leave for a full-time contract.

**How to apply**:

- Curriculum vitae ;
- Motivation letter ;
- Recent piece of research/reporting ;
- Copy of your Master diploma and transcripts;

**Why LISER?**:
LISER is a publicly funded research institute located in Luxembourg and dedicated to applied empirical research in economic, social and spatial sciences. The Institute attracts top researchers from all over the world and high-level student training is a vibrant part of the Inst