EngD in Designing a framework for the digitalization of condition-based maintenance for Lock Complexes of RWS (Case of Hengelo)

The Project

The transition to digital CBM is vital for asset owners as they face challenges such as labour shortages and aging infrastructure. Traditional CBM still relies heavily on information coming from manual inspections, analysis, and planning. While generic digital tools exist, they often fail to deliver efficiency gains for complex and specialized assets like navigation locks.

Navigation locks are made up of many structural and mechanical components, each with unique degradation mechanisms. These can be detected and structural condition indicators drawn when changes in certain parameters are detected/triggered. Understanding these “triggers” is essential for building a digital CBM ecosystem that truly works. By identifying and clustering triggers, and deploying sensors optimally, we can create a Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) system that offers reliable, real-time insights into the condition of a lock complex.

Challenge
The aim of this project is to design a framework for the SHM system of the Hengelo Lock Complex. You will investigate how the condition of the lock is currently assessed and identify triggers that allow for automated, continuous SHM with minimal human interventions.

Your research will cover:

• Analysis of structural and mechanical behaviour of lock components.
• Review of relevant national, regional, and organizational regulations and guidelines.
• Evaluation of current practices and feasible structural health monitoring technologies.
• Cost–benefit assessment of sensor deployment and measurement interpretation strategies.

This is a multifaceted project at the intersection of structural and mechanical engineering, asset management, and Civionics – sensor-based SHM of civil infrastructure.

Context and Supervision
The project is sponsored and hosted by Rijkswaterstaat, the executive agency of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. Rijkswaterstaat designs, constructs, manages, and maintains key infrastructure in the Netherlands.

You will be supervised by:

• Dr. Farid Vahdatikhaki (University of Twente)
• Dr. Roland Kromanis (University of Twente)
• Mr. Sukon Wu (Rijkswaterstaat)

You will work closely with Rijkswaterstaat to deliver a tailor-made design artifact with real-world impact. The project is based in Enschede/Hengelo.

On successfully completing the program, you will receive a certified and recognised degree. You will be entitled to use the academic title of Engineering Doctorate (EngD). You will be registered as a Technological Designer in the Dutch register kept by the Royal Institution of Engineers in the Netherlands (KIVI).

Basketbaltrainer & coach Heren 1

• As the basketball coach of Gents 1, you will join D.B.V. Arriba, the student basketball association of the University of Twente. Gents 1 is our competitive team competing in the Second Division. You will work with an ambitious and international team of dedicated students who are eager to develop both individually and as a team.
• You will lead two training sessions per week, on Mondays and Thursdays from 18:00 to 19:30. In addition, you will coach the team during games, which mainly take place during the weekends, usually on Saturdays and occasionally on Friday evenings or Sundays.
• You will play an important role in the team’s sporting development. You will prepare training sessions and games, develop players on both a technical and tactical level, and help the team get the most out of themselves together. You will also have the freedom to bring your own vision and coaching style to the team.
• In addition to coaching Gents 1, you will become part of a close-knit and enthusiastic student basketball association, run by and for students. At Arriba, basketball is the heart of what we do, but our social atmosphere and the involvement of our members are equally important to us. We have five teams, and our shared passion for basketball connects players, coaches and members from different backgrounds and nationalities.
• Would you enjoy coaching an ambitious student team at a high level and becoming part of our basketball community? Then we would love to get to know you!

Recordmanager

Je werkt aan de verdere ontwikkeling en borging van ons digitale informatie- en archiefbeheer, zeker nu de nieuwe Archiefwet in werking gaat treden. Je bent als informatie adviseur sterk op inhoud, maar ook op de mens- en proceskant en houdt de kwaliteit van de dienstverlening duidelijk voor ogen.
Je neemt graag medewerkers mee in hoe het slimmer en efficiënter kan, bijvoorbeeld door het geven van trainingen. Je coördineert de opdrachten waar je verantwoordelijk voor bent. Je draagt samen met je collega’s bij aan beleidsvorming van de afdeling.

Je voert reguliere werkzaamheden zowel centraal als decentraal uit bij een of meer organisatieonderdelen. Je komt te werken in een team van recordmanagers en recordbeheerders. De afdeling werkt in flexibele teams, maakt gebruik van elkaars expertise en competenties en verdeelt waar nodig de werklast.

Je krijgt ruimte voor eigen inbreng, ontwikkeling en concretisering van je eigen takenpakket en functie. Als team zijn we voortdurend op zoek naar verbetering en digitalisering van onze dienstverlening, producten en diensten.

Er wordt van alle teamleden een constructieve en samenwerkende houding verwacht. Belangrijke waarden in onze cultuur zijn: samenwerken, eigen initiatief, ontwikkeling, innovatie en zorgvuldigheid. Van onze teamleden wordt verwacht dat ze flexibel en allround inzetbaar zijn en een goede band opbouwen met de organisatieonderdelen van de UT waar zij werkzaam zijn.

4-year Postdoc position: 3D-printing of polymer foams for drones (resin formulation)

Job description

In the context of a NWO-KIC grant “Materials for defense”, we will investigate fluidic/chemical routes enabling a new generation of porous, graded, and composite materials. We are assembling a team of excellent and highly motivated scientists, who will together investigate and advance the fluid mechanics, the resin formulation, the mechanical properties, and process integration during Direct Bubble Writing. This novel additive manufacturing process for polymer foams was recently invented and patented by the University of Twente. The team will closely interact with ten project partners, including National Dutch Research Institutes (NLR and MARIN), the Ministry of Defense, and globally leading industry partners specializing in the chemistry, the methods (design, printing, composites), or key applications (sailing/flying drones). In the final stage of the project, the printed materials will be tested in unmanned airborne/seaborne vehicles.

We are looking for a chemist/chemical engineer/materials scientist (4-year Post-doc; this vacancy), leading the formulation challenges of the foam printing resins. You will focus on formulating resins (rather than synthesis), enabling e.g. printing of stiff, light, and dampening parts with minimal post-processing. An understanding of photo-curable systems, resin formulation, fluid mechanics, and/or soft matter is beneficial. The position is hosted at the University of Twente, starting 1 Jan 2027 or as soon as possible after that date.

You will closely collaborate with two PhD/PD-level team members who will (1) lead the understanding and development of the fluidic print process, and (2) lead the integration of printed foams with composites and subsequent upscaling. Together, you will fundamentally change how foams are made: From uniform blocks to precisely graded materials at cell level. Based on this understanding, the team will systematically develop methods for integration, scaling, and application of advanced foams and composites.

PhD position on explainable DeepFake detection using Foundation models

The challenge:
In the past decades, photographs and videos of events were regarded as reliable evidence for both news media and forensic investigations. However, recent developments in AI technology now make it possible, with minimal technological knowledge or skills, to create extremely convincing manipulated or synthesised images, audio and video data, often called DeepFakes.

This fact is a serious threat to the trustworthiness of news in the media and forensic processes in criminal investigations. Therefore, development of reliable methods to detect manipulations and distinguish bonafide from synthesised data is of utmost importance. In addition, especially for forensic investigations, simple detection is not sufficient. An explanation of the traces of manipulation and tools used for the synthesis or
manipulation should be produced as well.

In the EU project DEFORM, 14 research institutes, universities and companies from 6 different countries aim to develop methods and tools for explainable detection of DeepFakes using Foundation models and other techniques.

At the University of Twente, we are looking for a PhD
researcher who will work in close collaboration with the
other partners on detection of fake videos using
inconsistencies in video as well as audio.