postdoctoraal onderzoeker

ABOUT GHENT UNIVERSITY

Ghent University is a world of its own. Employing more than 15,000 people, it is actively involved in education and research, management and administration, as well as technical and social service provision on a daily basis. It is one of the largest, most exciting employers in the area and offers great career opportunities. With its 11 faculties and more than 80 departments offering state-of-the-art study programmes grounded in research in a wide range of academic fields, Ghent University is a logical choice for its staff and students.

YOUR TASKS

• You will contribute to ongoing research situated within the broad field of the digital design process, focusing specifically on automating regulatory and requirements checking of digital building models, a research field known as Automated Compliance Checking (ACC). The research starts from a growing tension. On the one hand, there is an increasing need for well-founded design decisions in early project phases; on the other, most existing ACC approaches assume the availability of richly structured, semantically enriched BIM models, which in practice only emerge late in the design process. The research aims to bridge this gap by exploring alternative, lighter forms of modelling and by explicitly repositioning compliance checking as a design-support process.
• In addition to the scientific work, which will result in a number of publications, a significant part of the role involves drafting project proposals to secure additional funding.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

• You hold a PhD in Engineering Science: Architecture.
• You are familiar with a wide range of digital design tools, with a particular focus on building information modelling (BIM) techniques.
• You demonstrate an interest in general-purpose artificial intelligence and natural language processing.

WHAT WE CAN OFFER YOU

• We offer you a contract of definite duration for the period of 12 months.
• Your contract will start on 1/11/2026 at the earliest.
• All Ghent University staff members enjoy a number of benefits, such as a wide range of training and education opportunities, 36 days of holiday leave (on an annual basis for a full-time job) supplemented by annual fixed bridge days, bicycle allowance and eco vouchers. Click here for a complete overview of all the staff benefits .

As Ghent University maintains an equal opportunities and diversity policy, everyone is encouraged to apply for this position.

MORE INFORMATION

For more information about this vacancy, please contact Prof. ruben.verstraeten@ugent.be.