Engineering Doctorate (EngD) Programs in Data, Software & Systems Design

Ready to take the next step after your MSc and launch your career? Want to become a professional and work with top organizations in the Netherlands?

We offer a unique, two-year, accredited, full-time post-master's program leading to an Engineering Doctorate (EngD) degree. This is a paid position with no tuition fees, designed to bridge the gap between academia and industry.

An EngD program is on par with a PhD program. The main difference with a PhD is the focus: a PhD is aimed to establish you as an independent researcher and an EngD prepares you for a high-level position in industry.

We’re looking for ambitious and highly motivated graduates to join our upcoming EngD programs.

The EngD programs in Data Science, Software Technology, Automotive Systems Design, and Mechatronic Systems Design within the Jheronimus Academy of Data Science (JADS) ecosystem in ’s-Hertogenbosch are embedded in an unique interdisciplinary environment focused on data, software, systems engineering, and industrial innovation.

What we offer Our prestigious EngD programs are run in close collaboration with leading companies and organizations such as ASML, Philips, Unilever, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Canon Production Printing, DAF Trucks, and many others. The programs provide top-tier MSc graduates with the opportunity to grow through real-world experience and large-scale interdisciplinary design projects.

Trainees expand and broaden their technical expertise, design capabilities, and professional skills through courses, workshops, and project-based learning. Throughout the program, trainees work on challenges connected to industrial and societal partners. Trainees will be responsible for executing at least one large project at and in close collaboration with one of the companies, public-sector organizations or research consortia.

During the recruitment phase some trainees may already be connected to specific innovation projects or strategic industry challenges, but this depends on the specialization track, the timing and available industrial collaborations. Some projects can be executed together with a single company or within larger consortia involving multiple industrial and academic partners.

More detailed information can be found on our website: 2-year post master technology: Engineering Doctorate (EngD)

MD/PhD position for clinical research in dilated cardiomyopathy.

MD/PhD position for clinical research in dilated cardiomyopathy (young heart failure patients) at the Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht (CARIM).

The Heart Failure Research team of Prof. Dr. Stephane Heymans within CARIM and the University Hospital of Maastricht (www.hfresearch.eu) is seeking a PhD candidate with a (para)medical background.

Our goal: The candidate will set-up and perform a small clinical trial within a Dutch network. The candidate will also analyze imaging, clinical data, biomarkers and genetics to optimize outcome prediction and identify new therapeutic targets for genetic, inflammatory, and idiopathic cardiomyopathies within our local and international DCM registry (DCM Share, DCM Next, totaling over 11,000 DCM patients).

Your team: You will collaborate with European and Dutch partners, as well as industry professionals, to advance new therapy development. You will join an enthusiastic and supportive research team engaged in preclinical, translational, and clinical research on non-ischemic cardiomyopathies.

If you have expertise or interest in performing a clinical trial, and in studies combining clinical, imaging, and data science for omics analysis, and are passionate about making a clinical impact through the development of new therapies, you are the ideal candidate.

What you bring

• Clinical background in medicine with an interest or experience in cardiology.
• Knowledge or interest in echocardiography and magnetic resonance imaging.
• Interest or experience in analyzing and integrating clinical, genetic, and omics data.
• Interest or experience in deep phenotyping, phenoclustering, and risk prediction.
• You master the Dutch language on C1 level.

Are you ready to set the course for the years ahead? Then we’d love to meet you.

PhD: Computational Catalyst Design

Do you want to shape the future of sustainability? We are seeking a highly self-motivated PhD candidate to join our team working on atomic level catalyst design and reaction mechanism of CO2 and CO hydrogenation processes.

The project focuses on understanding of reaction mechanisms and establishing structure–reactivity relationships in CO2 and CO heterogeneous catalysis using a combination of DFT, AIMD, and machine-learning potential driven MD. The PhD position is embedded in a broader research consortium working on green hydrogen and electrons for carbon-based chemistry. This project will have a close collaboration with experimental and industrial catalysis partners.

Your duties and responsibilities include:

• atomic-scale modeling of heterogeneous catalysis of CO2 and CO hydrogenation reaction;
• reaction mechanisms, kinetics, and dynamics under realistic conditions;
• development and application of machine-learning methods;
• supervision of thesis students and teaching assistance.

You will work here
The research is embedded within the chair Biobased Chemistry and Technology, and member of the Computational Catalysis and Surface Chemistry team, which is led by Dr. Guanna Li.

PhD position in practical implementation of nature-based solutions

To have successful NbS projects (specifically sediment based NbS – such as sedimentation enhancing strategies), we need to identify and overcome major practical challenges in their implementation. This includes the physical capabilities of NbS to create and maintain new land and ecosystems, the usability of these new areas for different purposes, possibilities for integration with existing grey infrastructure and how NbS projects are practically implemented with stakeholders (including successes and challenges).

You will explore critical challenges faced by NbS namely: 1) delivery of sediment and spatial patterns of sedimentation, 2) quality of sediment delivered and possibilities for other land uses, 3) synergy with existing infrastructure and 4) social acceptance of NbS.

The types of NbS considered are salt marshes, tidal mudflats, and retention basins, which have the capacity to create land, buffer flooding, and store water while delivering ecological and societal benefits. Examples include the Rammegors wetland, the Perkpolder and Wisselpolders.

Your research will focus on understanding the role of extreme events in shaping coastal landscapes, including the importance of storm delivered sediment in annual land building and whether storm surge barriers can hinder or enhance this process.

It will further assess the quality and suitability of deposited sediments, which are hypothesized to preferentially trap macro and micro plastics and heavy metals – potentially making them unsuitable areas for long-term habitat development or too low soil quality for agricultural land.

The project will investigate how NbS can integrate with existing infrastructure like storm surge barriers. Can these projects reduce the pressure on existing infrastructure? Can they work in synergy or are there trade-offs in terms of hydro and morpho dynamics?

Finally, after physical conditions have been consider, you will evaluate the social feasibility of implementing solutions in real-world settings, working closely with partners like the Delta Climate Center and local stakeholders.

Methods will include fieldwork and analysis of sampled data, experiments at the Metronome (our world-renowned tilting tidal flume at Utrecht University) and stakeholder workshops.

We also aim to set up a citizen science project in collaboration with colleagues at the Hogeschool Zeeland to monitor storm-driven sediment delivery as part of the project.

Your responsibilities:

• Conducting fieldwork, lab analyses, and experiments to study sediment dynamics and NbS effectiveness.
• Develop models and maps to assess the suitability and impact of NbS in coastal zones.
• Engage with stakeholders to understand social acceptance and long-term feasibility.
• Publish in peer-reviewed journals, present at conferences, and contribute 10% of your time to teaching.

The project will have close links to Delta-Enigma, the Delta Climate Center and ongoing research on storm surge barrier feasibility.

Junior lecturer in Energy Sciences

We are looking for an enthusiastic new colleague to teach in the Master programme Energy Science, and also contribute to the teaching in the Master programme Sustainable Development and the Bachelor programme Global Sustainability Science.

You will work as junior lecturer in the Energy and Resources group of the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development at Utrecht University. Together with your colleagues, you will contribute to the teaching of and organization of Master and Bachelor courses, including:

• natural science courses (e.g. Advanced Energy Analysis, Energy Conversion Technologies , Energy Systems Modelling, Energy System Integration, Life Cycle Assessment, Applied Thermodynamics and Energy Conversions)
• interdisciplinary sustainability courses (for example Consultancy project, Perspectives on Sustainable Development),
• individual student supervision (e.g. Bachelor’s thesis and Master’s internships).

To develop yourself as a teacher, you can follow didactic trainings. Moreover, a small part of your time can be devoted to contributing to our research program. This can be done by writing scientific articles based on previous research, by participating in research of senior staff members, by involvement in educational innovation projects, or by reaching out to societal stakeholders. Please note that writing a PhD thesis is not part of this function.

We are especially keen on candidates who have a passion for teaching and an interest in scientific research, who have recently obtained their PhD or MSc in a relevant field. We would like to welcome you in our team before August 15th 2026.