PhD scholarship in Modelling of Human Mobility in Urban Environments - DTU Management

Are you interested in the interrelationship between urban design and human mobility behaviour? 

Are you keen on using advanced computer science to help create more knowledge on how cities can be planned better to support sustainable transport to the benefit of the users and society, for example through the concept of 15-minute cities? And do you have a background in computer science, mathematical modelling, data science, transport behaviour, or related fields?

Then this PhD position might be the right for you.

Ensuring sustainable mobility in dense urban areas is a big challenge faced by most cities around the world. Addressing this challenge requires a focus on how to design the city in coherence with the transport system that supports the usage of public transport as well as active modes of transport. The 15-minute city is a planning concept that addresses this challenge through ensuring that residents can access most daily necessities within a 15-minute walk, bike ride or public transport trip from their home. This requires attractive urban design to accommodate user needs in terms of pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure planned coherently with public transport terminals. Analysing the interrelationship between urban design and human mobility behaviour in relation to the 15 minute city is the overall focus of this PhD study.

Specifically, the study aims at investigating the interrelationships between characteristics of the urban environment and mobility behaviour through using a combination of innovative big data sources on urban characteristics, revealed travel preferences from users focusing on both public transport, walking and bicycle trips focusing on the full door-to-door travel. The data sources include image data in terms of photos and videos of the urban landscape as well as in and around public transport stations, travel survey data, and satisfaction survey data. Further data is expected to be collected during the project. The focus will be on analysing and modelling the factors that increase and decrease the attractiveness of moving around the urban environment with the purpose of evaluating how urban design should be improved, and which amenities are important for ensuring sustainable travel in cities as well as improved well-being of travellers.

You will work within the European research project NextLogic - Next-Gen urban freight logistics for net zero emissions through innovative solutions, which is a large European research project spanning freight logistics, urban design and mobility behaviour, funded by the European Commission. The consortium includes 34 academic and industry partners from 13 European countries. This part of the project will have most direct collaboration with Aarhus Municipality and Copenhagen Metro, but also collaboration with the other partners of the project.

Responsibilities and qualifications
Your overall focus will be to build a digital twin model of urban surroundings based on large-scale image data that can be used for analysing how urban design influence mobility behaviour. This will include developing and using state-of-the-art image recognition algorithms to create digital twin models as well as statistical and machine learning methods for analysing large-scale mobility datasets to extract mobility behaviour. The project has access to large-scale data sources on both urban environments and mobility behaviour, which the selected candidate will be expected to use in the project. More specifically, the research should include the following:

• Creation of a digital twin model of urban surroundings based on large-scale image data that can be generally applicable in various urban settings 
• Using the digital twin model of urban surroundings to analyse the relationship between urban design and mobility behaviour with a focus on public transport terminals
• Analyse and evaluate the influence of urban amenities on public transport stations on mobility behaviour and use of public transport

You will be part of a research project with project participants from both DTU and abroad covering both academia and industrial partners. We therefore expect the following from you:

• A background within computer science or similar, preferably with knowledge within the transport domain or related
• Skills related to handling and analysing large datasets
• Knowledge on image recognition algorithms as well as applied statistical and machine learning methods
• Relevant independent research skills proven through a top-ranked master thesis and/or through experience with conducting research

The following soft skills are also important:

• Curiosity and interest within the interrelationship between urban design and transport 
• Interest in travel behaviour and behavioural and attitudinal data
• Good communication skills in English, both written and orally
• Danish/Scandinavian language skills are preferable, but not compulsory
• Willingness to engage in group-work with a multi-national team, consisting of both academic and industry partners

You are further expected to have an active role in the NextLogic project, contributing to model development, implementation, as well as active participation in project meetings and fulfilling milestones and writing deliverables. 

You must have a two-year master's degree (120 ECTS points) or a similar degree with an academic level equivalent to a two-year master's degree.

Approval and Enrolment 
The scholarship for the PhD degree is subject to academic approval, and the candidate will be enrolled in one of the general degree programmes at DTU. For information about our enrolment requirements and the general planning of the PhD study programme, please see DTU's rules for the PhD education. 

Assessment
The assessment of the applicants will be made by the advisor team as soon as possible after the application deadline.

We offer
DTU is a leading technical university globally recognized for the excellence of its research, education, innovation and scientific advice. We offer a rewarding and challenging job in an international environment. We strive for academic excellence in an environment characterized by collegial respect and academic freedom tempered by responsibility.

The PhD will be located in the Transport Network Modelling section within the Transport division at DTU Management. The research group consists of scholars with expert knowledge within various aspects of the transport field across all modes of transport and spanning methods such as statistical modelling, machine learning and transport economics. The position will furthermore be strongly linked to the Section for Cognitive Systems at DTU Compute, which uses advanced data analysis for understanding the interactions between man and machine. The main advisor will be Professor Otto Anker Nielsen (DTU Management) with Associate Professors Laura Alessandretti (DTU Compute), Jesper Bláfoss Ingvardson (DTU Management) and Guido Cantelmo (DTU Management) as co-advisors.

This project will give you unique opportunities for close collaboration with leading international scholars as well as being close to real-life applications due to the PhD project being part of a large European research project (NextLogic) involving both national and international, academic and industry partners. 

In the Transport Division, we focus on improving mobility in relation to the three main challenges within this sector: 1) climate and environment 2) traffic congestion, and 3) traffic safety. We put numbers on traffic effects and the economic and societal effects using statistical analysis of transport behaviour. We conduct public sector consultancy for the Ministry of Transport and collaborate with transport companies and government agencies. The division considers all scales within transport from the modelling of local pedestrian flows and bicycle traffic to international flight transport. We study all modes of transport both within passenger and freight transport. Our specific focus areas are green transport, electric cars and charging infrastructure, planning and optimisation of public transport, bicycle traffic. Our research has a special focus on human behaviour, and we assess the socio-economic perspectives of transport, including policy instruments and welfare economic appraisal of transport projects.

Salary and appointment terms 
The appointment will be based on the collective agreement with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. The allowance will be agreed upon with the relevant union. 

The period of employment is 3 years. The position is a full-time position. The starting date is as soon as possible, to be agreed upon with the selected candidate.

You can read more about career paths at DTU here.

Further information 
Further information may be obtained from Associate Professor Jesper Bláfoss Ingvardson, jbin@dtu.dk, Associate Professor Guido Cantelmo, or Professor Otto Anker Nielsen, oani@dtu.dk.

You can read more about DTU Management at https://www.man.dtu.dk/english.

If you are applying from abroad, you may find useful information on working in Denmark and at DTU at DTU – Moving to Denmark. Furthermore, you have the option of joining our monthly free seminar “PhD relocation to Denmark and startup “Zoom” seminar” for all questions regarding the practical matters of moving to Denmark and working as a PhD at DTU. 

Application procedure 
Your complete online application must be submitted no later than 20 October 2025 (23:59 Danish time). Applications must be submitted as one PDF file containing all materials to be given consideration. To apply, please open the link "Apply now", fill out the online application form, and attach all your materials in English in one PDF file. The file must include:

• A letter motivating the application (cover letter)
• Curriculum vitae 
• Grade transcripts and BSc/MSc diploma (in English) including official description of grading scale
• Excel sheet with translation of grades to the Danish grading system (see guidelines and Excel spreadsheet here) 
• Applicants from institutions where the language of instruction and examination are not entirely in English are required to provide English language test (e.g. TOEFL, GRE, or IELTS)

You may apply prior to ob­tai­ning your master's degree but cannot begin before having received it. If you have finished your master’s degree, you may attach a PDF version of this to the application and any published English papers.

Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.

All interested candidates irrespective of age, gender, disability, race, religion or ethnic background are encouraged to apply. As DTU works with research in critical technology, which is subject to special rules for security and export control, open-source background checks may be conducted on qualified candidates for the position.

DTU Management conducts excellent research in the intersection between management, technology and economics. We develop solutions in close cooperation with companies and public authorities. Our research aims at strengthening welfare, productivity, and sustainability within society. A key element is the role of technology and its interaction with industry and individuals. The department is divided into four divisions: Technology & Business Studies, Management Science, Climate & Energy Policy and Transportation Science. The department offers a wide range of courses and programs at bachelor, master and PhD level across DTU’s study pro-grams. The department has around 200 employees, with around half coming from abroad.

Technology for people
DTU develops technology for people. With our international elite research and study programmes, we are helping to create a better world and to solve the global challenges formulated in the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Hans Christian Ørsted founded DTU in 1829 with a clear mission to develop and create value using science and engineering to benefit society. That mission lives on today. DTU has 13,500 students and 6,000 employees. We work in an international atmosphere and have an inclusive, evolving, and informal working environment. DTU has campuses in all parts of Denmark and in Greenland, and we collaborate with the best universities around the world.