Doctoral student in traffic safety focusing on data analysis and traffic simulation

Official university vacancy imported from Lund University. Details are presented for discovery and may change. Confirm the latest requirements and apply on the official source.

Lund University

Lund University was founded in 1666 and is repeatedly ranked among the world’s top universities. The University has around 46 000 students and 8 500 staff based in Lund, Helsingborg and Malmö. We are united in our efforts to understand, explain and improve our world and the human condition.

Lund University welcomes applicants with diverse backgrounds and experiences. We regard equality, equal opportunities and diversity as a strength and an asset.

Description of the workplace

Transport and Roads offer a unique and open environment for advanced research on traffic safety and behaviour. The group counts five senior researchers (postdocs and senior lecturers) and two PhD students. On the availability of the group, there is a traffic simulation lab with an advanced driving simulator. The group has several active projects in the field of traffic safety, European and national.

As a doctoral student, you will contribute to research intended to improve the understanding and prevention of road crashes and injuries. You will work closely with senior researchers while developing an independent research profile. The position provides opportunities for interdisciplinary and international collaboration, conference participation and research visits where relevant to the project.

Being a doctoral student

As a doctoral student, you are both admitted as a student and employed at Lund University.

As a doctoral student, you will be trained in a scientific approach. In short, you will be trained to think critically and analytically, to solve problems independently using the right methods, and to develop an awareness of research ethics. In addition, you will have the opportunity to work on projects, to develop your leadership and pedagogical skills. Throughout your studies, you will be guided by supervisors. Doctoral studies end with a thesis and a doctoral degree.

More about being a doctoral student at LTH on lth.se.

Subject and project description

The doctoral project concerns the development and application of quantitative methods for traffic-safety analysis. The research will combine empirical crash and traffic data with statistical modelling, machine learning and traffic or driving simulation to study crash occurrence, injury severity and road-user behaviour.

Particular attention may be given to heterogeneous effects across road users and environments, the interpretation and validation of predictive models, and the safety effects of infrastructure or policy interventions. The precise research questions and balance between methods will be developed with the doctoral student in relation to the project's data, facilities and collaborations. The work is expected to produce both scientific contributions and knowledge relevant to traffic-safety practice and policy.

Work duties

You will primarily devote yourself to doctoral studies through research, third-cycle courses, seminars and conferences. You will plan and carry out studies with increasing independence, in collaboration with the supervisory team and project partners.

• Review and synthesise research on traffic safety, crash analysis, road-user behaviour and relevant modelling methods.
• Acquire, document, clean and analyse crash, traffic, infrastructure, behavioural or simulation data in accordance with research-ethics and data-management requirements.
• Develop, implement, compare and validate quantitative models, which may include statistical, econometric, machine-learning and simulation-based approaches.
• Interpret results in relation to traffic-safety theory, human behaviour and practical decision-making, including uncertainty, bias and limitations.
• Prepare scientific articles and a doctoral thesis, and present results at seminars, conferences and meetings with project partners.
• Contribute to the group's collaborative research environment and, where relevant, undertake research visits or field and laboratory work.
• The duties may also include teaching and other departmental work, up to a maximum of 20% of working hours.

Qualifications

To be eligible for admission and employment as a doctoral student, you must fulfil the requirements below.

Admission requirements

A person meets the general admission requirements for third-cycle courses and study programmes if the applicant:

• has been awarded a second-cycle qualification, or
• has satisfied the requirements for courses comprising at least 240 credits of which at least 60 credits were awarded in the second cycle, or
• has acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad.

A person meets the specific admission requirements for third cycle studies in Technology and Society if the applicant has:

• at least 30 credits awarded in the second cycle relevant to the subject area.

Additional requirements

In order to complete the doctoral programme in question, the following are also required:

• a master's degree, or equivalent, in transportation engineering, civil engineering, traffic engineering, applied statistics, data science, computer science or another field relevant to the project.
• documented second-cycle coursework or thesis work involving quantitative analysis of transport, traffic-safety, mobility or comparable complex empirical data.
• experience of using programming languages or statistical computing environments, such as Python, R, MATLAB or an equivalent tool, for data processing and analysis.
• good ability to work independently, formulate research questions and select appropriate methods.
• good written and oral communication skills, including the ability to communicate methods and results clearly.
• good ability to cooperate in interdisciplinary and international research settings.
• very good command of English, spoken and written.
• you are structured, analytical and persistent.

Other qualifications

For the doctoral programme and project, the following are considered advantageous:

• knowledge of traffic-safety theory, crash and injury analysis, road-user behaviour, transport planning or road-infrastructure safety.
• experience of advanced quantitative methods, such as regression or discrete-choice models, latent-class or random-parameter methods, machine learning, explainable AI, causal or intervention evaluation.
• experience of working with large, multi-source or international transport datasets, including data preprocessing, reproducible analysis and model validation.
• experience of scientific writing, peer-reviewed publication, conference presentation or experience of teaching.
• experience of collaboration with researchers and stakeholders across disciplines or countries.

We offer

Lund University is a public authority, and employees receive benefits including generous annual leave and an advantageous occupational pension scheme. The Transport and Roads division offers access to an active traffic-safety research environment, advanced simulation facilities, research seminars and established Swedish and international collaborations.

More about working at Lund University on lu.se.

About the employment

The employment is a fixed-term employment at full time, starting as soon as possible. Third cycle studies at LTH consist of full-time studies for 4 years. In the case of teaching and other departmental duties, the employment is extended accordingly. Doctoral studentships are regulated in the Higher Education Ordinance (1993:100), chapter 5, 1-7 §§.

More about terms of employment for doctoral students on Lund University’s Staff pages.

Other

We plan to hold interviews at the end of October.

How to apply

Applications shall be written in English and include:

• CV and a cover letter stating the reasons why you are interested in the doctoral programme/employment and in what way the research project corresponds to your interests and educational background.
• Copies of issued study certificates and/or awarded degree certificates. These must confirm that you meet the general and specific admission requirements for the doctoral programme and show that you have the subject knowledge required for the doctoral programme project.
• Other documents you wish to be considered (grade transcripts, contact information for your references, letters of recommendation, etc.)

We welcome your application.

LTH is Lund University’s Faculty of Engineering. At LTH we educate people, build knowledge for the future and work hard for the development of society. We create space for brilliant research and inspire creative advancements in technology, architecture and design. We have nearly 12,000 students. Every year, our researchers – many of whom work in world-leading profile areas – publish around 100 theses and 2 000 scientific findings. In addition, a number of research results and degree projects are transformed into innovations. Together we explore and create – to benefit the world.

We kindly decline all sales and marketing contacts.

• Carmelo D'Agostino, associate professor, carmelo.dagostino@tft.lth.se
• SACO:Saco-s-rådet vid Lunds universitet, 046-2220000, kansli@saco-s.lu.se
• OFR/ST:Fackförbundet ST:s kansli, 046-2229362, st@st.lu.se
• SEKO: Seko Civil, 046-2229366, sekocivil@seko.lu.se