PhD: Leveraging Adolescent Agency to Improve Food Environments at School

Are you a development or behavioural economist interested in how young people make decisions about their health and nutrition? Would you like to conduct experimental research on adolescent nutrition and school food environments in Indonesia?

Adolescent nutrition in low- and middle-income countries remains a critical yet understudied determinant of health and development. While policy attention has traditionally focused on early childhood, adolescence constitutes a second window of opportunity for nutritional improvement. It is also a period of substantial emotional, cognitive and social change, in which growing agency and decision-making capacity increasingly shape health behaviours.

This PhD position is part of a research project examining how adolescent agency can be leveraged in school-based nutrition interventions in Indonesia. The research focuses on food preferences, dietary intake and purchasing behaviour and brings together insights from development economics, behavioural economics and public health nutrition.

As a PhD candidate, you will be involved in field experiments that explore behavioural mechanisms through which agency may affect food preferences of adolescents. You will conduct extensive fieldwork in Indonesia and work closely with an international and multidisciplinary research team.

Your duties and responsibilities in this project :

• conduct co-creation sessions and focus group discussions with local stakeholders;
• contribute to the design and implementation of a behavioural experiments and large-scale randomized controlled trial in secondary schools in Indonesia;
• manage and analyse experimental and survey data using rigorous econometric methods, and prepare pre-analysis plans, research reports and academic papers;
• communicate and collaborate local research partners and stakeholders, and contribute to dissemination meetings, policy briefs and academic conferences.

You will work here
This position will be based at the Development Economics Group at Wageningen University and Research (WUR). You will be co-supervised by dr. Robert Sparrow (WUR), prof. dr. Matthias Rieger (Erasmus University Rotterdam), and prof. dr. Tri Mulyaningsih (Universitas Sebelas Maret).

The project brings together researchers from Wageningen University & Research, Erasmus University Rotterdam and Universitas Sebelas Maret. You will collaborate closely with researchers across these institutions throughout the project.

The empirical research will take place in and around Solo, Central Java. You will therefore spend a considerable amount of time in Indonesia, where you will be hosted by the Faculty of Economics and Business at Universitas Sebelas Maret during fieldwork. You will also spend time at Erasmus University Rotterdam to engage with the wider research team.

EngD position on smart sensors for health monitoring via breath gas analysis

Are you interested in engineering, health and building new technology? Then we are looking for you! We are seeking an amazing Engineering Doctorate (EngD) candidate to help us unravel what we can measure in breath and understand physiology.

Every breath you exhale carries information about the health of your body and its systems. Trace gases can signal the presence of chronic or acute disorders, or give insight into respiratory or metabolic status. Imagine if you could breathe into a small device a few times a day, and it would tell you this information? A smart breath sensing device like that could be highly valuable, for instance to consumers and patients wanting to monitor and optimize their health in a home setting, or to workers operating outside the reach of regular medical care and diagnostic equipment.

As an Engineering Doctorate (EngD) candidate in this project, you will design a system and develop a first feasibility prototype for such a device, based on photonic sensing technology and advanced data analysis techniques.

Your responsibilities include:

• scoping the most promising application areas for this breath sensing device and do an in-depth user journey mapping for one or multiple selected applications;
• design and develop a system architecture based on established design principles and stakeholder requirements;
• scoping out the most promising gases to target, from both a technological and (health) application perspective;
• planning and conducting benchtop spectroscopy experiments;
• data analysis, quantifying sensitivity and performance of the technology, and formulating algorithms for automated data interpretation and reporting;
• completing relevant courses (30 ECTS).

You will work here
This EngD position is jointly embedded within OnePlanet Research Center (see below) and Wageningen University. At OnePlanet, you will work within the Domain AI team, which houses expertise in advanced data analysis techniques, merging the power and flexibility of machine learning and AI with the rigor and explainability of domain knowledge. Members of OnePlanet’s gas sensing team will provide additional technical guidance and assistance with spectroscopy experiments.

Your primary supervisor will be Dr. Ruben van Bergen (Senior Data Scientist in the Domain AI group), with co-supervision from Dr. Ruud van Stiphout (Principal Data Scientist and Team Lead in Domain AI).Your employment contract and academic embedding will be at Wageningen University, within the research group of Dr. Guido Camps, who completes the supervision team. Dr. Camps contributes expertise in physiological modelling, AI-based signal interpretation and translational research.

On successfully completing the EngD program, you will receive an Engineering Doctorate diploma - see here for more information.

OnePlanet Research Center
You will be an EngD at OnePlanet Research Center, which is a multidisciplinary collaboration between Wageningen University & Research (WUR), Radboud University, Radboud UMC and nano-technology world-player imec. OnePlanet Research Center develops digital and sensor technologies that enable personalized health and sustainable food systems, translating imec's expertise in nanoelectronics, sensing and AI into real-world impact. Working at OnePlanet means you will:

• have access to a diverse team of experts with the necessary technical and domain expertise to supervise and support you;
• be working on a relevant, real-world problem where you have freedom to come up with creative ideas to solve the various technical challenges;
• be able to exchange views and knowledge with the OnePlanet and imec community of experts and scientists, widening your professional network.

At OnePlanet we embrace diversity and thus give equal opportunities to candidates with diverse backgrounds.

Scrum Master

Wil jij een sleutelrol spelen in het begeleiden en inspireren van teams binnen een dynamische en maatschappelijke omgeving? Ben jij een verbinder en wil je werken binnen een vernieuwende Agile Organisatie? Heb je een passie voor Agile en Scrum en ben je in staat om samenwerking en continue verbetering te stimuleren? Dan ben jij de Senior Scrum Master die wij zoeken!

Als Scrum Master ben je een drijvende kracht achter effectieve Agile-werkwijze. Je ondersteunt teams en Product Owners bij het leveren van waarde en het optimaliseren van processen.

Dit ga je doen:

• Teams en Product Owners inspireren en ondersteunen in het leveren van maximale waarde.
• Procesverbeteringen initiëren en coördineren, waardoor teams effectiever samenwerken.
• Het herkennen van patronen en trends binnen jouw teams en het implementeren van verbeteringen met impact.
• Een cultuur van vertrouwen en open communicatie stimuleren, waarin conflicten constructief worden opgelost en samenwerking centraal staat.

Onze teams werken in een complexe omgeving voor verschillende domeinen (onderzoek, onderwijs, bedrijfsvoering), verschillende belanghebbenden en afhankelijkheden. Als Scrum Master help je minimaal twee teams in hun groei naar (Agile-)volwassenheid. Je kijkt verder dan de Scrum-events: je herkent patronen in samenwerking, eigenaarschap, prioritering en uitvoering, en op basis van deze inzichten voer je verbeteringen door. In deze rol wordt van je verwacht dat je teams actief coacht in het verbeteren van hun werkwijze, het aanpakken van obstakels en het versterken van de samenwerking met hun stakeholders.

Hier ga je werken
Binnen onze IT-afdeling – met 200 bevlogen professionals – werken we in multidisciplinaire teams aan thema’s als digitalisering, selfservice, security, datamanagement, high performance computing en cloud strategie. Een omgeving vol actuele uitdagingen én volop kansen om je verder te ontwikkelen.

Wij zijn trots op onze 1e plaats in de top 10 in de ranglijst van beste werkgevers bij niet-ICT-organisaties volgens de Computable Career Guide 2024 Computable Career Guide | Computable.nl.

Scrum Master

Do you want to play a key role in guiding and inspiring teams within a dynamic and social environment? Are you a connector and do you want to work within an innovative Agile Organization? Do you have a passion for Agile and Scrum and are you able to drive collaboration and continuous improvement? Then you are the Senior Scrum Master we are looking for!

As a Scrum Master, you are a driving force behind effective Agile working methods. You support teams and Product Owners in delivering value and optimizing processes.

This is what you will do:

• Inspire and support teams and Product Owners in delivering maximum value.
• Initiate and coordinate process improvements, allowing teams to work together more effectively.
• Recognizing patterns and trends within your teams and implementing improvements with impact.
• To stimulate a culture of trust and open communication, in which conflicts are resolved constructively and cooperation is central.

Our teams work in a complex environment for different domains (research, education, operations), different stakeholders and dependencies. As a Scrum Master, you will help at least two teams in their growth towards (Agile) maturity. You look beyond the Scrum events: you recognize patterns in collaboration, ownership, prioritization and execution, and based on these insights you implement improvements. In this role, you are expected to actively coach teams in improving their way of working, tackling obstacles and strengthening cooperation with their stakeholders.

This is where you will work
Within our IT department – with 200 enthusiastic professionals – we work in multidisciplinary teams on themes such as digitization, self-service, security, data management, high performance computing and cloud strategy. An environment full of current challenges and plenty of opportunities for further development.

We are proud of our 1st place in the top 10 in the ranking of best employers among non-ICT organizations according to the Computable Career Guide 2024 Computable Career Guide | Computable.nl.

Software engineer met affiniteit voor de veehouderij

Ben jij een software engineer die verder kijkt dan alleen code? Heb je een praktische achtergrond of sterke affiniteit met de veehouderij en wil je jouw technische skills inzetten om de agrarische sector slimmer en duurzamer te maken? Dan zijn wij op zoek naar jou.

Wat ga je doen?
Als software engineer werk je aan innovatieve digitale oplossingen voor de veehouderij. Denk aan simulatieprogramma’s om scenarioanalyses uit te voeren, applicaties voor dataverzameling en -analyse en managementsystemen voor veehouderijbedrijven (digital twins). Je vertaalt praktijkvragen naar slimme software en werkt nauw samen met collega’s uit zowel de IT als de agrarische praktijk.

Jouw taken:

• ontwikkelen en onderhouden van software (bijvoorbeeld webapplicaties, dashboards of andere software instrumenten);
• vertalen van praktijkbehoeften van onderzoekers en adviseurs naar technische oplossingen;
• samenwerken met onderzoekers, adviseurs en eindgebruikers;
• testen en verbeteren van bestaande systemen;
• ontwikkelen en onderhouden van software (bijvoorbeeld webapplicaties, dashboards of andere software instrumenten).

Jouw team
Binnen de afdeling Animal Farming Systems ga je samenwerken met een onderzoeksteam van 35 zeer gemotiveerde projectleiders, onderzoekers en projectassistenten. We staan bekend om onze innovatieve en integrale aanpak in het ontwerpen en evalueren van de duurzaamheid van dierhouderijsystemen. Je werkt samen met collega’s uit je eigen team en collega’s van andere afdelingen of onderzoeksinstituten in projectteamverband.

Hier ga je werken
Je gaat werken op de groenste en meest innovatieve campus van Nederland, en op een universiteit die 20 keer is gekozen tot de “beste universiteit” van Nederland en ook wereldwijd gezien wordt als de beste universiteit op het agrofooddomein.