PhD Thesis “Transport Modelling for Sustainable Mobility”

As Austria's largest research and technology organisation for applied research, we are dedicated to make substantial contributions to solving the major challenges of our time, climate change and digitisation. To achieve our goals, we rely on our specific research, development and technology competencies, which are the basis of our commitment to excellence in all areas. With our open culture of innovation and our motivated, international teams, we are working to position AIT as Austria's leading research institution at the highest international level and to make a positive contribution to the economy and society.
 
Our Competence Unit “Digital Resilient Cities”, part of our Center for Energy located in Vienna invites applications for a PhD Thesis position. The Competence Unit "Digital Resilient Cities" supports cities and their stakeholders in the cross-sectoral transformation process, combining expertise in climate, energy, mobility, and urban planning. With the aim of creating climate-neutral, competitive, and sustainable living spaces, we develop and integrate state-of-the-art evidence-based analysis and simulation tools for sustainable transportation, systemic urban transformation, as well as for the concrete planning and management of neighborhood and building solutions.
 
As part of our mission to develop smart solutions to tackle the climate change, we have launched a PhD program with TU Munich – Hereby we offer a PhD Thesis focusing on the topic of Transport Modelling for Sustainable Mobility. Our main goal is to further develop and apply the agent-based simulation framework MATSim. The existing MATSim model will be improved and become better applicable in predicting multiple policy interventions.

PhD Thesis “Transport Modelling for Sustainable Mobility”

CENTER FOR ENERGY

The main topic of our PhD Thesis focuses on Transport Modelling – The PhD candidate, depending on his / her expertise and preferences may consider one of the followings specific PhD topics:

• Restrict usage of lanes: Integrate high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes or lanes reserved for buses, electric or autonomous vehicles.
• Mobility Credit System: Explore the potential integration of MATSim with tradable credit schemes (e.g., mobility coins, mobility budgets) to include externalities of traffic.
• Parking policies: Include parking space in the MATSim model and analyze impacts of policy interventions related to parking, including limitations on parking space and the assignment of parking areas. Another possible topic is to integrate parking search traffic in the modelling framework.
• Destination Choice Modelling: Develop destination choice model that consider the multiple factors influencing travel decisions. This involves understanding how those factors affect destination choices and travel patterns.

The PhD position may utilise a range of methods to achieve its objectives, including:

• Programme development: Most of the tasks are related to manipulate the code of MATSim. Coding skills in Java are therefore mandatory for this position.
• Data Collection of Parking: Gather data on parking infrastructure, availability, and usage patterns through surveys, sensors, and other data collection methods, including street-level cameras.
• Satellite Image Evaluation: Utilise satellite imagery and remote sensing techniques to evaluate land-use and use of public space which can be included in the MATSim model.
• Choice Modelling: Employ choice modelling techniques to understand the factors influencing parking choices and integrate them into macroscopic transportation models.

Your qualifications as an Ingenious Partner:

• Master's studies in the field of Computer Science, Civil Engineering, Transport Systems Engineering, Traffic & Transport Engineering, Mobility & Transport Planning, Mathematics, or related fields
• Experience with agent-based simulation and transport planning tools, proven experience with MATSim is an asset
• Strong programming skills with Java are essential
• Experience with other programming languages (e.g. Python, R, …), Data Science and machine learning applications are an asset
• Willingness to publish in scientific journals and present research results at international conferences
• High level of commitment and team spirit
• Very good English language and presentation skills are essential, German language skills are an asset

 Details:

• Duration of the PhD project: 4 years
• Start date: as soon as possible
• Location: the primary location is Vienna with possibility to work partly remotely
• In order to enroll for the PhD program at TU Munich you must first undergo an admission process.
• You work on your research project directly with our team at AIT in Vienna. Your PhD studies, incl. exams will take place remotely / on site in coordination with your supervisor at TU Munich.
• As part of the TUM PhD programme, it is mandatory to take part in the TUM Graduate School and be physically present at the Chair for Traffic Systems and Control in Munich for some weeks of the year
• You will also have the opportunity for traveling to Munich to exchange with experts from the Chair of Traffic Engineering and Control
• You will be supervised (remotely) by Prof. Dr. Klaus Bogenberger from TU Munich and by Dr. Stefan Seer at AIT as well as by scientists and engineers from our Digital Resilient Cities team

What to expect:
EUR 2.684,10 gross per month (14 times / year), for 30 h / week. In addition to numerous events, seminars, networking opportunities and additional company benefits, you will be part of our AIT PhD community with around 150 international students. As a research institution, we are familiar with the supervision and execution of PhD theses, and we are looking forward to supporting you accordingly!
 
At AIT diversity and inclusion are of great importance. This is why we strive to inspire women to join our teams in the field of technology. We welcome applications from women, who will be given preference in case of equal qualifications after taking into account all relevant facts and circumstances of all applications.
 
Please submit your documents including your CV, cover letter and your certificates (Transcript of records) online.
 
For further information please contact:
Dr. Stefan Seer, stefan.seer(at)ait.ac.at