Research Associate in the field of Transport planning and Mobility (Post-doc, f/m) - Ref: 24-07

The Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER)

is recruiting a

Research Associate in the field of Transport planning and Mobility (Post-doc, f/m)

• Ref: 24-07
• 2 years fixed-term contract, full-time (40h/week)
• Expected start date : between June 1st, 2024 and September 1st, 2024 (not later than October 1st, 2024)
• Department : Urban Development and Mobility (UDM)
• Work location: Belval (Luxembourg)
• Deadline: until the position is filled

This position is part of the FNR-funded INTER project « Value Of Time estimation considering Automated Vehicle Impacts (VOTAVI) » and will be under the supervision of Dr. Tai-Yu Ma (LISER) and Prof. Constantinos Antoniou (Technical University of Munich).

About the VOTAVI project

Value of travel time, or interchangeably, value of time (VOT) has been a crucial instrument for travel demand modeling, travel behavior analytics, transport policy, and investment evaluation. With the introduction of autonomous modes, such as autonomous vehicles (AVs), but also autonomous Urban Air Mobility (UAM), the perception of VOT is fundamentally changed as AVs enable individuals the capability of performing multiple tasks while traveling. VOTAVI aims at defining a novel methodological framework for the estimation of VOT in the era of AVs, utilizing innovative data collection methods that would allow to explore more thoroughly the impact of latent personal characteristics on their choices. VOTAVI will systematically examine, based on a critical assessment of the current state of the art of value of timing research and offer innovative improvements that reflect emerging lifestyles, technological breakthroughs, and new mobility concepts in different activity contexts. VOTAVI goal is twofold: a) provide an exploration of these factors by the creation of a series of surveys that would investigate the value of travel time in a novel use of both revealed preference (RP) and stated preference (SP); and b) explore the potential of novel data collection techniques (Smartphone Apps) to provide a more thorough investigation for the exploration of VOT changes.

The research project is supported by FNR (Luxembourg National Research Fund) and DFG (Germany Research foundation). It’s an international collaboration between LISER and the Technical University of Munich (the Chair of Transportation Systems Engineering).

Your role

The successful candidate will be tasked to:

• Develop theoretical and methodological framework for the value of travel time estimation considering automated vehicles impacts ;
• Design original best-worst scaling experiments and stated preference choice experiments; design questionnaires and collaborate with LISER’s survey team ;
• Analyze the survey data ;
• Develop models for the adoption of emerging modes using hybrid choice modeling approaches ;
• Collaborate with the project partner at TUM and write academic papers and present the results in national/international conferences.

Your profile

• Ph.D. degree in transport planning/economics/engineering, or other relevant field ;
• Excellent knowledge in discrete choice behavior modeling/travel behavior modeling/stated preference survey design ;
• Good skills and experience in data analysis using statistical software ;
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills ;
• Fluency in English (speaking and writing), any other language is considered as an asset.

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 (half of a 13th month salary, meal vouchers, etc.) ;
• 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.

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 Institute’s activities. LISER staff consists of approx. 200 employees, about 60% of the staff being researchers; mainly from the fields of economics, geography and sociology. The vision of the institute is to be a socio-economic research institute internationally recognised, focused on scientific excellence and societal impact, able to contribute through multi-disciplinary and intersectoral research, in an active and inclusive way to a sustainable and inclusive society at national and international level.

The institute is located on the new Belval campus in the south of Luxembourg (Cité des Sciences, Luxembourg), which hosts the University of Luxembourg and a substantial part of the country’s publicly funded research facilities, i.e. LISER, the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) cross-national data centre, the Luxembourg institutes of Health (LIH) and of Science and Technology (LIST). Information on research in Luxembourg is accessible via the national EURAXESS platform.

How to apply

Please submit your complete application in English via https://jobs.liser.lu/ by including the following documents:

• a full CV ;
• a motivation letter, in which you present your relevant skill with respect to the project (2 pages max) ;
• PhD thesis, 1 or 2 representative research papers, or already published articles ;
• Two letters of reference (to be uploaded with the application documents or sent separately to recruitment@liser.lu).

Please note that the position will remain open until filled

Early application is encouraged as the applications are processed upon reception.

Would you have any work-related question on the position, please contact Dr. Tai-Yu MA (tai-yu.ma@liser.lu).

For administrative matters, please contact Mrs Vanya KIROVA at recruitment@liser.lu.

LISER is an Equal Opportunity Employer