Institute of Mechanics, Materials, and Civil Engineering (iMMC)
Organisation/Company université catholique de Louvain Department Institute of Mechanics, Materials, and Civil Engineering (iMMC) Research Field Engineering » Systems engineering Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Positions PhD Positions Application Deadline 1 Jun 2026 - 08:00 (Europe/Brussels) Country Belgium Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Hours Per Week 38 Offer Starting Date 1 Oct 2026 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No
Offer Description
Context
We are seeking an outstanding and highly motivatedPhD candidate in Energy System modellingfor afully funded 4-year positionat UCLouvain (Belgium), within the interdisciplinary ARC projectLESS4MORE( Leveraging Individual and Collective Engagement in Sufficiency Strategies for Mobility ).
The PhD will be supervised byProf. Francesco Continoand embedded in a dynamic, international research environment at the intersection ofenergy system analysis, environmental impact assessment, and modeling to generate alternatives.
Project Overview
Personal mobility stands out as a particularly pressing challenge: it is the only sector whose emissions have not decreased since 1990.The transition toward sustainable mobility cannot rely on technological innovation alone. It should also and in priority rely on sufficiency. Sufficiency-based strategies have been identified as a key lever for defossilisation in the scientific literature (and referred to in the IPCC's last assessment report), but they raise critical legal, social, psychological, technical, and political challenges.
The LESS4MORE project brings together law, engineering, psychology, health, and economics to address central questions about sufficiency in mobility. How can energy system modelling, legal feasibility, behavioural dynamics, and socio-economic considerations be integrated into a coherent analytical framework? How do factors such as legality, distributive fairness, psychological adherence, and health co-benefits influence not only policy acceptance, but also the performance and structure of future energy systems? The engineering component focuses on analysing the deployment of mobility-related sufficiency measures in Belgium and quantifying their impacts on energy demand, system configurations, and environmental outcomes.
We are recruiting a PhD candidate in engineering to contribute to the systemic transformation of energy systems, with a focus on mobility and sufficiency in Belgium. The candidate will develop and apply the EnergyScope model to better represent mobility demand—accounting for heterogeneity in practices across income groups, regions, and uses—and to explore alternative, sufficiency-oriented energy futures.
PhD Objectives
The research focuses on improving and applying an energy system model to study mobility transitions under sufficiency constraints.
Main objectives include:
* Enhancing the representation of mobility demand in EnergyScope (trip types, socio-economic groups, regional differences), building in particular on analyses conducted by the economics team using the BEAMM platform (More information: https://beamm.brussels/ )
* Exploring reference andsufficiency-oriented mobility scenariosinformed by constraints and insights from the law, psychology, and economics teams and study their impact on the energy system.
* Assessing environmental impacts, including life cycle analysis (LCA)
* Analysing trade-offs and flexibility using advanced modelling approaches (MGA), with interdisciplinary discussion
* Contributing to participatory modelling approaches ( human-in-the-loop ) integrating stakeholder preferences informed by constraints and insights from the law, psychology, and economics teams
* Co-develop, in close collaboration with the other LESS4MORE research teams, a robust interdisciplinary framework for the analysis and operationalisation of sufficiency in energy and mobility systems
Research Approach
The work is strongly systemic and interdisciplinary. The candidate will:
* Use and develop energy system modelling tools
* Integrate behavioural, socio-economic, and legal dimensions into technical analysis
* Collaborate closely with researchers in psychology, health & economics, and law
* Contribute to an interdisciplinary research process for a sufficiency approach, where modelling informs and is informed by other disciplines
The candidate will collaborate closely with an interdisciplinary team, including:
* Alexandre Heeren(Psychological sciences)
* Sandy Tubeuf(health economics and public health).
Profile
* Master’s degree in engineering (energy, environmental, or related field)
* Strong interest in energy systems and sustainability transitions
* Strong interest in sufficiency approaches for the energy transition
* Ability and motivation to work in an interdisciplinary environment
* Curious, open-minded, and attentive to interdisciplinary discussions and analysis
* Good analytical and programming skills
A strong understanding of interdisciplinary issues is expected to contribute to a coherent and realistic transition analysis.
What We Offer
* A 4-year fully funded PhD position in Belgium (starting 1st of October)
* A dynamic interdisciplinary research environment
* Collaboration with multiple research teams and stakeholders
How to Apply
Applications should include:
* CV
* A short video (less than 5’) in French, Dutch, or English highlighting your interest in the project, showcasing why you believe sufficiency strategies matter, and your motivation for interdisciplinary work
* Academic transcripts
* (if available) previous written production
* An example of how you use AI in your work
* Two letters of recommendation (one from an individual who has supervised your academic work)
The interviews will be conducted mid-June.
Where to apply
E-mail francesco.contino@uclouvain.be
Requirements
Research Field Engineering Education Level Master Degree or equivalent
Skills/Qualifications
* Master’s degree in engineering (energy, environmental, or related field)
Specific Requirements
* Strong interest in energy systems and sustainability transitions
* Strong interest in sufficiency approaches for the energy transition
* Ability and motivation to work in an interdisciplinary environment
* Curious, open-minded, and attentive to interdisciplinary discussions and analysis
* Good analytical and programming skills
* A strong understanding of interdisciplinary issues is expected to contribute to a coherent and realistic transition analysis.
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