PhD stipend in absolute sustainability assessment of renovation and transformation of existing buildings

PhD stipend in absolute sustainability assessment of renovation and transformation of existing buildings

Jobbeskrivelse
The Department of the Built Environment (BUILD) at Aalborg University invites applications for one PhD position within the field of environmental sustainability assessment of the built environment. The position is anchored at BUILD and contributes to the department’s research on how the renovation, transformation, and continued use of the existing building stock can support a transition towards a built environment that operates within absolute environmental limits.

The existing building stock plays a central role in climate change, resource depletion, and other environmental pressures. Renovation, transformation, and continued use of existing buildings are therefore essential strategies for reducing environmental impacts while meeting future needs for buildings and spaces. While life cycle assessment (LCA) is widely used to support decision-making in the sector, most current approaches rely on relative comparisons and do not adequately reflect absolute environmental limits, such as planetary boundaries, climate neutrality targets, or regenerative ambitions.

Against this background, BUILD invites applications for one fully funded PhD position within absolute environmental sustainability assessment of existing buildings. The position is part of BUILD’s ongoing research on developing and operationalising methods that allow renovation, transformation, and continued use of the existing building stock to be assessed and guided within absolute environmental limits, while remaining applicable to real-world practice.

The PhD candidate will be affiliated with the Division of Sustainability of Buildings, Department of the Built Environment, Faculty of Engineering and Science, Aalborg University (Copenhagen) within the general study programme Civil Engineering. The stipend is open for appointment from October 1st, 2026, or shortly thereafter. The duration of the position is three years.

Your work tasks

Environmental sustainability assessment is essential for enabling a transition towards a built environment that operates within planetary boundaries and other science-based limits. This PhD project addresses the current gap between absolute environmental sustainability concepts and their practical application in the renovation, transformation, and continued use of existing buildings.

The PhD project contributes to BUILD’s research on absolute environmental sustainability assessment (AESA), combining methodological development with practical application in the built environment.

The project will focus on developing and applying approaches for assessing renovation, transformation, and continued use of existing buildings within absolute environmental limits. This includes translating planetary boundaries and other absolute targets to relevant scales, developing scaling principles for the existing building stock, and defining limit values suitable for use in LCA-based frameworks. The work may also address targets such as climate neutrality, net-zero, and regenerative performance, as well as methodological challenges related to boundary-setting, aggregation, uncertainty, and consistency across scales.

The PhD candidate is expected to contribute to a collaborative research environment at BUILD, working with case studies, data, and analytical frameworks related to existing buildings, and contributing to the development and testing of AESA approaches for renovation and transformation practices.

Your competencies

The successful candidate holds a strong academic background within environmental engineering, civil engineering, building science, sustainability assessment, or related fields. The candidate demonstrates independence, analytical skills, and motivation to develop original PhD research in an interdisciplinary research environment.

The candidate is expected to be a collaborative team player who contributes constructively to joint research objectives while being able to work independently on the PhD project. The candidate has a clear interest in environmental sustainability assessment, life cycle assessment (LCA), and absolute sustainability concepts such as planetary boundaries, net-zero, and regenerative performance.

Experience with quantitative environmental modelling, LCA, or related methods is an advantage. The candidate should demonstrate strong written and oral communication skills in English. Read more here :

Qualification requirements
PhD stipends are allocated to individuals who hold a Master's degree. PhD stipends are normally for a period of 3 years. It is a prerequisite for allocation of the stipend that the candidate will be enrolled as a PhD student at the Doctoral School of Engineering and Science in accordance with the regulations of Ministerial Order No. 1124 of September 19, 2025 on the PhD Programme at the Universities and Certain Higher Artistic Educational Institutions. According to the Ministerial Order, the progress of the PhD student shall be assessed at regular points in time. As part of the PhD study, you are among other things required to complete PhD courses corresponding to 30 ECTS, gain experience with teaching or other forms of knowledge dissemination and complete an external research stay outside of Aalborg University, preferably 3-6 months at a foreign research institution.

Please visit the website of the doctoral school for further information on admission requirements.

Who we are
The Department of the Built Environment (BUILD) is Denmark’s largest department within construction, civil engineering, and the built environment. Research at BUILD is rooted in engineering science and integrates important elements from environmental science, social sciences, and the humanities.

AAU BUILD is a leading national and international research environment within sustainable construction and the built environment. The department works closely with public authorities, industry, and international partners on developing methods, tools, and standards for a climate-neutral, resource-efficient, and regenerative built environment.

The Division of Sustainability of Buildings conducts research on sustainability assessment, life cycle assessment (LCA), circular economy, materials, existing buildings, renovation, transformation, and design strategies, and offers a strong interdisciplinary and internationally oriented research environment for PhD studies.

How to apply
Your application must include the following:

• Application, stating reasons for applying and qualifications in relation to the position
• Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• Diplomas (bachelor's and master's degree diploma, including grades)
• A project description the project description
• Other relevant documents

The application must be submitted via Aalborg University’s recruitment system, which can be accessed under the job advertisement on Aalborg University's website.

Aalborg University wants to reflect the surrounding society and has diversity as a core value. Therefore, everyone, regardless of personal background and orientation, is encouraged to apply for the position.

Do you have any questions?
If you have any questions about the position, you are more than welcome to contact us. You will find contact persons at the bottom of the jobpost.

Further information
Read more about our recruitment process here.

The assessment of candidates for the position will be carried out by qualified experts.
Shortlisting will be applied. This means that after the application deadline, the head of the department, with the assistance of the hiring committee, will select the applicants to be assessed. All applicants will be informed whether they have been shortlisted for assessment or not.

The hiring process at Aalborg University may include a risk assessment as a tool to identify potential risks associated with new hires, ensuring the safety, compliance, and integrity of the workplace.

Read more about The Doctoral School of Engineering and Science

Salary and terms of employment
The employment is in accordance with the Ministerial Order on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities (the Appointment Order) and the Ministerial Order on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities (in Danish).

Salary and terms of employment are in accordance with the collective agreement between the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations and the state (AC collective agreement) (in Danish)

There is a mutual probationary period of 3 months for the position.

Aalborg University - Knowledge for the world
Aalborg University is an international workplace with more than 3,700 employees. We offer real-world-oriented education and create world-class research results through collaboration between researchers, students, and public and private companies. This is how we achieve insights, new solutions to societal problems, and knowledge that changes the world. Our main campus is in Aalborg, but we also have campuses in Esbjerg and Copenhagen.

Contacts

• Harpa Birgisdottir: Se telefonnummer på studerendeonline.dk, Se e-mailadresse på studerendeonline.dk

Ansøgningsfrist
Se telefonnummer på studerendeonline.dk

Ref. nummer
2026/940

Afdeling
Department of the Built Environment