Professor in Residential Continuity, Climate Resilience and the Built Environment

Professor in Residential Continuity, Climate Resilience and the Built Environment

At the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, your impact reaches further than you think. Every role, be it as a researcher, academic, IT professional, or adm...

For more than 50 years, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel has stood for freedom, equality and solidarity, and this is very much alive on our campuses among students and staff alike.

At the VUB, you will find a diverse collection of personalities: innovators pur sang, but above all people who are 100% their authentic selves. With some 4,000 employees, we are the largest Dutch-speaking employer, in the private sector, in Brussels; an international city with which we are only too happy to connect and where (around) our 4 campuses are located.

Add to this our principle of free research - in which self-reflection, a critical attitude and an open, creative mind around scientific and social issues are central - and you have a university that is fundamentally groundbreaking and pioneering in education and research. In short: the VUB all over again.

Moreover, the VUB is a member of EUTOPIA, an alliance of like‑minded European universities, all ready to reinvent themselves.

The Faculty of Sciences and Bioengineering Sciences, department of Geography, is looking for apart-time professor.

More concretely your work package contains:

Education and Research domain:

Research in Residential Continuity, Climate Resilience and the Built Environment.

• You will undertake a limited teaching commitment, primarily consisting of supervising Master's and PhD students in areas related to resilient housing systems, building performance, climate adaptation, and the built environment.
• You will also contribute to research seminars, doctoral training activities, and international academic exchanges within the field.

Research tasks:

• You will develop and lead an internationally recognized research program examining the relationships between:
  • Climate-related hazards and the built environment;
  • Residential building performance under extreme events;
  • Recovery, reconstruction and retrofit processes following disasters;
  • Sustainability, residential continuity and community resilience;
  • The interaction between technical, institutional, economic and social factors that shape housing vulnerability and long-term adaptation.
• You are expected to bridge engineering approaches with insights from urban studies, housing research, heritage studies, architecture, sustainability science and public policy. The research program should contribute to innovative theoretical and empirical frameworks that advance understanding of how residential systems can adapt and endure under changing environmental, social and economic conditions.
• You are also expected to strengthen international collaborations and comparative research initiatives across North America, Europe and other relevant regions.

Other tasks:

• You participate actively in the scientific activities of the Cosmopolis Centre for Urban Research and the Department of Geography.
• You strengthen the synergies between the research group of the Department of Geography and other research groups within VUB.
• You contribute to the development of international research proposals and collaborative projects.
• You engage with policymakers, professional organizations and societal stakeholders to promote knowledge transfer and societal impact.
• You foster interdisciplinary research initiatives across VUB.

For this function, ourBrussels Humanities, Sciences & Engineering Campus (Elsene)will serve as your home base.

3 - Profile

What do we expect from you?

• You hold a PhD degree in Civil Engineering relevant for the research field.
• You have established an internationally recognized research profile in at least 3 of the following areas:
  
  • Building and infrastructure performance;
  • Natural hazards and climate risk;
  • Disaster research and post‑disaster recovery;
  • Housing systems and residential environments;
  • Sustainability and climate adaptation of the built environment.
• You have at least 5 years of relevant research experience after obtaining your PhD.
• You have proven experience in acquiring project funding, leading research projects and the supervision of PhD‑students.
• You demonstrate the ability to conduct interdisciplinary research and to connect engineering knowledge with broader societal, policy and spatial challenges.
• You have a clear vision for integrating engineering, architecture, planning, heritage studies