[agents] PhD position on Responsible Design for Wearable Soft Actuators @ UTwente, NL

Fri Sep 2 07:14:33 EDT 2022

=== PhD position on Responsible Design for Wearable Soft Actuators ===

Project: SOFTWEAR (https://softwear-dn.eu<https://softwear-dn.eu/>)
Keywords: responsible design, wearable robotics, textiles, disability, co-design
Offer: fully funded 4-year PhD position at University of Twente, The Netherlands
Application and more information: https://utwentecareers.nl/en/vacancies/746/phd-position-on-responsible-design-for-wearable-soft-actuators/

Deadline for application: September 30th, 2022

JOB DESCRIPTION

The position is associated with the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Network SOFTWEAR (https://softwear-dn.eu<https://softwear-dn.eu/>). This is a highly interdisciplinary Doctoral Network in the emerging and rapidly growing field of wearables, with a unique focus on soft actuators for wearables and exoskeletons. The primary objective of SOFTWEAR is to train young researchers in the multidisciplinary science of soft actuators for integration in wearables and augmenting textiles.

While soft actuators aim, in the first place, at empowerment of users, applications may also introduce new personal and societal vulnerabilities. For example, while soft exoskeletons may extend physical abilities, they may also reinforce ableist views that inclusion efforts are primarily the responsibility of the disabled or vulnerable person. Moreover, while the technologies are developed for societally beneficial purposes, they may also be used for harmful objectives (dual use risks).

We offer a fully funded 4-year PhD position to address these challenges by developing a design framework that supports developers of applications of wearable soft actuators in analysing how human vulnerabilities are transformed through the envisaged applications. The research will identify key categories of applications of soft actuators, together with an envisioning tool for analysing how these give rise to different types of ethical and social issues. Design guidelines will be created that can be used for addressing these issues. This framework will be built on existing research on Value-Sensitive Design, Coactive Design, and ethics of technology such as guidance ethics, through a user-centred design process.

REQUIREMENTS

The prospective candidates are expected to perform and publish high quality and internationally visible research, and be involved in teaching and student supervision to a limited extent.

Profile:

- You hold or will soon hold a Master's degree (or equivalent) in human-computer interaction, design, interaction technology, disability studies, philosophy, cognitive psychology, human-robot collaboration, or a related field;
- You have excellent proficiency in English in speaking and writing (C1; above IELTS 7 or equivalent);
- You have good communication skills, excellent conceptual and analytical skills, and you have an interest in working in a multidisciplinary environment;
- You have interest and some experience in one or more of the following, or related topics: user-centred design, co-design, human performance modeling, or responsible research & innovation.

Formal requirements from MSCA:
- No previous doctoral degree.
- Mobility Rule: researchers must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the recruiting beneficiary (i.e. The Netherlands) for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before their date of recruitment.

WHAT WE OFFER

The position is embedded in the Human Media Interaction (HMI) department at University of Twente. HMI is a friendly and welcoming research group, with attention to employee wellbeing. The terms of employment are in accordance with the Dutch Collective Labour Agreement for Universities (CAO) and include:

- A fulltime PhD position for four years, with a qualifier in the first year.
- Full status as an employee at the UT, including pension and health care benefits.
- The salary will range from € 2.434,- (1st year) to € 3.111,- (4th year) per month, plus a holiday allowance of 8% and a year-end bonus of 8.3%;
- A solid pension scheme;
- a minimum of 29 leave days in case of fulltime employment, based on 38 hours a week. A week schedule of 40 hours would result in 12 extra leave days;
- Excellent facilities for professional and personal development.

HOW TO APPLY

The deadline for application is September 30th, 2022. The preferred starting date is January 2023. Informal inquiries about this position can be sent to Dr. Angelika Mader (a.h.mader at utwente.nl<mailto:a.h.mader at utwente.nl>) and Dr. Birna van Riemsdijk (m.b.vanriemsdijk at utwente.nl<mailto:m.b.vanriemsdijk at utwente.nl>).

More information about how to apply, and about the HMI research group and the University of Twente can be found via this link: https://utwentecareers.nl/en/vacancies/746/phd-position-on-responsible-design-for-wearable-soft-actuators/

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Dr. M. Birna van Riemsdijk
Associate professor Intimate Computing
University of Twente
Website: https://intimate-computing.net<https://intimate-computing.net/>
Twitter: @mbirna
Skype: mbirna

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Dr. M. Birna van Riemsdijk
Associate professor Intimate Computing
University of Twente
Website: https://intimate-computing.net
Twitter: @mbirna
Skype: mbirna

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