PhD Positions Human-Centered, Data-Centric Design of Soundscape Platform for Healthcare Environment

Job description

Neonatal and Paediatric Intensive Care Units (NPICU) represent particularly sensitive acoustic environments where sound exposure can negatively impact the physiological and emotional development of young patients and contribute to professional fatigue among nursing staff. Despite growing awareness of these issues, current technological solutions focus primarily on measuring sound pressure levels in decibels, which are difficult for non-experts to interpret and fail to capture, even in decibel A, how sounds are actually perceived by humans in context.

This PhD position is part of the NWO-funded project "Auditory Footprints: A novel soundscape assessment platform for neonatal and paediatric ICUs, which aims to develop the first integrated technological solution that automatically evaluates the perceived quality of the NPICU sound environment and empowers nurses to actively mitigate indoor sound exposure.

This PhD research envisions the design of an NPICU Data Commons, a digital infrastructure empowering nurses, and potential other key stakeholders, to understand and actively shape their working environment through data. Rather than a traditional top-down monitoring system, this platform will enable continuous, nurse-driven investigation where data is collected, explored, and acted upon by and for the nurses themselves. While the platform revolves around soundscape data as its core focus, it will be designed to open up and encourage integration of other forms of contextual and behavioral data (e.g., activity patterns, workflow rhythms) that nurses identify as relevant to understanding their acoustic environment. This vision includes establishing appropriate data governance mechanisms that enable nurses to make informed decisions about data sharing, both within their professional community and potentially with researchers or hospital management. The goal is not simply to create another dashboard, but to facilitate a shift in how nurses can capture, explore, and intervene in their acoustic environment, positioning them as active investigators and designers of their workplace rather than passive recipients of noise measurements.

The research will follow an iterative research and development process characterized by deep, on-site engagement with NPICU nurses throughout all phases. The work begins by defining human-centered design requirements through data probes combined with qualitative research methods including observations, interviews, and user diaries to understand the user journey and establish how occurring sounds relate to nurses' contextual needs and workflows. Building on these insights, the candidate will co-create the platform prototype through participatory design sessions with nurses, integrating the computational models (developed by another PhD candidate working in parallel on sound modelling) with user experience requirements, while simultaneously collecting and analyzing behavioral data (e.g., activity levels and sleep patterns) and conducting iterative data reflections with stakeholders. This co-creation process will lead to an implementation and evaluation of a live prototype: a server-based, functional digital platform that integrates the soundscape assessment algorithms and can be tested both in controlled environments and in-situ within the actual NPICU context. The candidate will observe, capture and analyze how nurses respond to, appropriate, and potentially transform the platform in their daily practice, with each iteration informing the next phase of development and deepening our understanding of how data-centric tools can meaningfully support healthcare professionals in addressing complex environmental challenges.

This PhD project offers a unique opportunity to contribute to a pioneering interdisciplinary initiative. The candidate will collaborate with experts from academia, hospitals, and industry to create a solution that has direct societal impact for improving healthcare environments and outcomes.

Job requirements

• MSc Degree in Human-Computer Interaction, Industrial Design Engineering or related fields.
• Strong background in human-centered design and qualitative research methods.
• Experience with data-centric design approaches and data visualization.
• Proficiency in prototyping tools and methods (both digital and physical).
• Solid background in programming and experience with machine learning.
• Knowledge of participatory design and co-creation methodologies.
• Ability to learn independently and passion for research.
• Strong communication skills in English and Dutch.
• Team player, open to discussion and constructive criticism.
• Previous involvement in scientific research is a plus.
• Open-minded and excited for multidisciplinary input.
• Positive attitude to diverse approaches and inclusive behaviour.
• Interest in healthcare solutions is highly valued.

TU Delft (Delft University of Technology)
Delft University of Technology is built on strong foundations. As creators of the world-famous Dutch waterworks and pioneers in biotech, TU Delft is a top international university combining science, engineering and design. It delivers world class results in education, research and innovation to address challenges in the areas of energy, climate, mobility, health and digital society. For generations, our engineers have proven to be entrepreneurial problem-solvers, both in business and in a social context.

At TU Delft we embrace diversity as one of our core values and we actively engage to be a university where you feel at home and can flourish. We value different perspectives and qualities. We believe this makes our work more innovative, the TU Delft community more vibrant and the world more just. Together, we imagine, invent and create solutions using technology to have a positive impact on a global scale. That is why we invite you to apply. Your application will receive fair consideration.

Challenge. Change. Impact!

Faculty Industrial Design Engineering
Matching the evolution of people with the speed of the revolution of technology. This is the focus of the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering (IDE). Delft designers act as a bridge between advances in technology and the needs of people, organisations and society to create products, services and systems with purpose.IDE is a leader in design research across the application areas of mobility, sustainability and health, as well as its development of design tools and methods. A 350-strong research team and over 2,000 students work together in our inspiring hall, labs and studios.In close cooperation with industry, the public sector and NGOs we rehearse possible futures in research and education to design for a complex future.

Click here to go to the website of the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering.

Postdoc: The renewable energy transition on farms

In the context of renewable energy production at the farm level, new innovations such as the production of electricity via agrivoltaics or through bio-methanation are practices with realistic and practical potential.

In the agricultural sector, the transition to more sustainable systems requires innovations and practices that enhance environmental conditions whilst improving the economic revenue of the farm. In the EU H2020 Value4Farm project (value4farm – Sustainable renewable energy value chains for answering farmers’ needs), an Audit tool will be developed for supporting and assisting farmers to select and take the best decisions about establishing and upscaling renewable energy production on their farms.

Building on the 3 pillars of sustainability, this Audit tool will help a farmer to evaluate the actual farm potential for renewable energy and provide insights into the key considerations requiring consideration for on-farm renewable energy production.

The audit tool will help a farmer to explore the possibility of producing electricity by implementing agrivoltaics, or via the production of biogas. This solution-oriented tool will have both qualitative and quantitative components, requiring the user to reflect on their own farm situation to provide an assessment for the production of renewable energy.

The Postdoc will help in the development and testing of the audit tool, working closely with an international team from the VALUE4FARM project.

The Postdoc will combine theoretical knowledge with qualitative and quantitative analysis, supported by wider team members. Alongside scientific social research, and multicriteria analysis, the postdoc will collaborate with partners to identify operational needs and elaborate the prototype of the audit tool.

Your duties and responsibilities include:

• The co-development and testing of the audit tool
• Social and economic analysis of the implementation of the Audit tool

Your team
You will work with an international team from the VALUE4FARM project. Weekly meetings will take place with local partners of the project, and monthly meetings (mainly online) will be performed with partners abroad.

Junior onderzoeker: onderzoek naar verhogen van de implementatie van hybride CGT

Wil jij wetenschappelijk onderzoek doen naar de implementatie van Blended Cognitieve Gedragstherapie (bCGT) in de klinische praktijk? Wil je met op maat gemaakte implementatieadviezen de implementatiegraad van bCGT binnen drie GGZ-instellingen verhogen? Solliciteer dan nu voor deze junior onderzoeker-positie aan de afdeling Klinische Psychologie van de VU!

Om de zorg toegankelijk en betaalbaar te houden, hebben het Ministerie van Volksgezondheid, Welzijn en Sport (VWS) en diverse zorgpartijen, waaronder de GGZ, beleidsafspraken vastgelegd in het Integraal Zorgakkoord (IZA). Een van de speerpunten van dit akkoord is de digitalisering en automatisering van processen in de GGZ. Het uitgangspunt daarbij is ‘digitaal als het kan,’ met als doel dat ten minste 50% van de daarvoor geschikte patiëntenpopulatie hybride zorg ontvangt.

De afgelopen decennia zijn verschillende evidence-based digitale behandelvormen ontwikkeld voor angst- en stemmingsstoornissen, waaronder bCGT. In bCGT worden online behandelmodules gecombineerd met face-to-face sessies binnen één behandelprotocol. Ondanks de bewezen effectiviteit van deze interventies, de tevredenheid onder cliënten en therapeuten, en het feit dat er in de GGZ vaak aan randvoorwaarden wordt voldaan (zoals de beschikbaarheid van online behandelplatformen), blijft de implementatiegraad van bCGT in de klinische praktijk vaak achter.

Het BEACON-project richt zich op het verhogen van de implementatiegraad van evidence-based blended therapieën voor angststoornissen en depressie binnen de zorglijnen angst en depressie van drie GGZ-instellingen. Dit wordt bereikt door het ontwikkelen en toepassen van op maat gemaakte (tailored) implementatieadviezen. De theoretische basis voor deze adviezen ligt in modellen zoals RE-AIM (Reach Effectiveness – Adoption Implementation Maintenance), CFIR (Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research) en ERIC (Expert Recommendations for Implementing Change). Gedurende het gehele proces wordt intensief samengewerkt met relevante stakeholders.

Jouw taken

• Meelopen bij en verwerken van interviews met managers, behandelaren en andere betrokkenen over de implementatie van bCGT, aan de hand van bovengenoemde implementatiemodellen
• Meeschrijven aan adviesrapporten voor GGZ-instellingen, met implementatieadviezen op maat
• Meeschrijven aan wetenschappelijke artikelen
• Intensieve samenwerking met onder andere implementatiedeskundigen en science practitioners (incl. een andere junior onderzoeker en twee postdocs)

Manager IT Services - Bureau - KNAW

In deze inspirerende omgeving is een vacature voor: Manager IT Services

Als Manager IT Services zorg je ervoor dat moderne technologie en betrouwbare digitale voorzieningen naadloos aansluiten op een organisatie met een rijke traditie én een toekomstgerichte blik. Je verbindt verleden, heden en toekomst – midden in de wetenschap.

Jouw rol
Je geeft leiding aan een team van circa 12 IT-professionals (servicedesk, technisch- en functioneel beheer). Je vertaalt strategie naar de dagelijkse praktijk en zorgt voor stabiele, klantgerichte en continue verbeterende IT-dienstverlening voor de KNAW en haar instituten. Je combineert people management, servicemanagement en verandermanagement in een complexe, bestuurlijke omgeving.

Je bent verantwoordelijk voor:

• Leidinggeven, coachen en ontwikkelen van het IT-team
• Borging van kwaliteit, klanttevredenheid en prestaties (KPI’s, SLA’s)
• Initiëren en begeleiden van verbeter- en verandertrajecten
• Servicemanagement en escalaties bij complexe incidenten
• Budget, compliance, security en risicobeheersing

Wat typeert jou
Je bent een verbindende leider met visie, die energie krijgt van het bouwen aan een professionele IT-organisatie met maatschappelijke impact. Je creëert vertrouwen, stimuleert eigenaarschap en weet koers te houden in een complexe omgeving.

Postdoc on prediction, subgrouping, and outcomes in osteoarthritis

De postdoc zal deel uitmaken van het PROBE-consortium, een 5-jarig internationaal samenwerkingsverband met 38 partners. Het consortium heeft als doel de manier waarop artrose wordt begrepen, gediagnosticeerd en behandeld fundamenteel te vernieuwen. Dit gebeurt door de ontwikkeling van multimodale, patiëntrelevante eindpunten, geavanceerde voorspellende modellen en innovatieve klinische trial-ontwerpen, gebruikmakend van gefedereerde big-data- en AI-technologieën.

Als postdoc ben je verantwoordelijk voor het structureren en integreren van input van artrose-experts ten behoeve van de selectie, training en harmonisatie van PROBE-data. De focus ligt daarbij op:

• Demografische patiëntkarakteristieken
• Patiëntgerapporteerde uitkomstmaten (PROMs)
• Pijn typen
• Functionele metingen
• Comorbiditeiten

In nauwe samenwerking met data-experts maak je gebruik van bestaande foundation models en ben je verantwoordelijk voor het toezicht op biomarkeranalyses, waarbij klinische en wetenschappelijke expertise op het gebied van artrose centraal staat. Daarnaast analyseer en interpreteer je onderzoeksresultaten en zorg je voor de verspreiding van bevindingen via wetenschappelijke publicaties in internationale peer-reviewed tijdschriften.