Healthy Start PhD: ‘Smart technology to empower children with a chronic disease to have a more active lifestyle’

Delft University of Technology
June 01, 2023
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Offerd Salary:Salary € 2.541,00 - € 3.
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Contract Type:Other
Working Time:Negotigation
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Healthy Start PhD: ‘Smart technology to empower children with a chronic

disease to have a more active lifestyle' Apply Now

Do you have fresh ideas on how technology can empower children with a chronic disease to be more active in daily life? Then this job opening is for you!

An active childhood is crucial for long-term health. This is especially true for children with a chronic disease, as regular physical activity improves overall health and prevents many complications of their disease. Moreover, physical activity (PA) is shown to be causally related to enhanced neurocognitive, behavioural, and academic functioning, making PA an important mechanism to improve quality of life of children.

Unfortunately, many children with a chronic disease are insufficiently active. Reasons for inactivity are multifaceted (i.e. parental overcontrol, peer pressure, lack of knowledge) and individually determined. To obtain a comprehensive understanding of children's inactivity and to develop interventions that change this, we need an interdisciplinary approach aimed at a system level that includes the children, their families, and their environment. Within Convergence Healthy Start, a collaboration between Erasmus University, ErasmusMC, and Delft Technical University we will investigate how a product-service-system (intervention) using smart technologies (e.g., wearables, apps) may offer new opportunities to monitor and stimulate daily physical activity of children with chronic diseases in a home-based context. Within this PhD-project, we aim to design and build an evidence-based smart digital platform that will facilitate children with chronic disease to achieve an active lifestyle. The aim of this PhD project is to explore and assess how we can successfully use technology to empower and assure not only the children with a chronic disease themselves, but also their families and wider environment, resulting in a more active lifestyle.

Do you want to empower children with a chronic disease to be more active in daily life, safely and with confidence? Do you see how technology can enable these children and their families to become more active? Then, apply for this position!

Job description

Within the Convergence Healthy Start program, you will have the opportunity to conduct research within an interdisciplinary team of medical, social and design scientists, societal stakeholders (e.g., patient support groups) and children and their families themselves. You will work in a multidisciplinary team of PhD students, all with a different background. Within this team, you will focus specifically on how to use the technology and platform to support not only the children, but also the family, friends and sports teachers. Therefore, you will for example organize co-creation sessions with these children, their families and other stakeholders. You are encouraged to address the research objectives with a mixed-method approach, combining quantitative (e.g., survey) and qualitative methods, particularly participatory action research and design thinking.

The Convergence Healthy Start program is committed to a healthy and promising start for future generations. A diverse team of scientists and professionals is working on scientific and societal breakthroughs - focused on prevention and intervention - to strengthen the physical, mental and social health of youth, from conception to young adulthood. The integration between excellent medical, social and technical science combined with knowledge from and application in society is crucial in this regard.

This PhD project is linked to the ambition of Healthy Start to ‘Increasing the quality of life and life expectancy of chronically ill children through more exercise and a healthier lifestyle'. You will be part of this ambition and of an interdisciplinary team of PhD's and postdocs, the Healthy Start programme, the Healthy Start Community and all its activities. See more at convergence.nl/healthy-start.

Requirements

-A relevant background in, for example, medical science, health science, movement science, sociology, psychology or medical technology;

-Affinity with inter- and transdisciplinary research;

-Affinity with medical technology and relevant applications, for example wearable technology;

-Affinity with the target group; that is, children with a chronic disease or disability and their parents;

-Mastering a rich plethora of social science methodological skills, preferably both quantitatively and qualitatively (e.g., participatory action research, design thinking, co-creation);

-Good oral and written command of English;

-Good command of Dutch is preferred, given the interaction with the target audience.

Doing a PhD at TU Delft requires English proficiency at a certain level to ensure that the candidate is able to communicate and interact well, participate in English-taught Doctoral Education courses, and write scientific articles and a final thesis. For more details please check the Graduate Schools Admission Requirements.

Conditions of employment

Doctoral candidates will be offered a 4-year period of employment in principle, but in the form of 2 employment contracts. An initial 1,5 year contract with an official go/no go progress assessment within 15 months. Followed by an additional contract for the remaining 2,5 years assuming everything goes well and performance requirements are met.

Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, increasing from € 2541 per month in the first year to € 3247 in the fourth year. As a PhD candidate you will be enrolled in the TU Delft Graduate School. The TU Delft Graduate School provides an inspiring research environment with an excellent team of supervisors, academic staff and a mentor. The Doctoral Education Programme is aimed at developing your transferable, discipline-related and research skills.

The TU Delft offers a customisable compensation package, discounts on health insurance and sport memberships, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged. For international applicants we offer the Coming to Delft Service and Partner Career Advice to assist you with your relocation.

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

atching 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.

Additional information

Convergence Healthy Start

Convergence is a collaboration between TU Delft, Erasmus University Rotterdam and Erasmus MC to tackle the urgent and complex societal challenges of our time. These challenges require fundamentally new forms of collaboration, blurring the boundaries between institutions and disciplines to develop new perspectives and solutions. Convergence combines the strength, knowledge and methods of the affiliated institutes to tackle societal challenges such as climate change, urbanization inequality of opportunity, pressure on healthcare and digitization. In meeting these challenges, Convergence works together with a large number of public and private partners in South Holland and beyond. By using the region as a living lab, the Convergence creates a leading ecosystem for research and innovation in South-Holland, with great (inter)national appeal and ambitions. See more at convergence.nl.

Application procedure

Are you interested in this vacancy? Please apply before 1 June 2023 via the application button and upload your motivation and CV.

  • You can apply online. We will not process applications sent by email and/or post.
  • A pre-Employment screening can be part of the selection procedure.
  • Please do not contact us for unsolicited services.
  • For more information about the vacancy pls contact: Maaike Kleinsmann [email protected]

    Faculty/Department

    Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering

    Job Type

    PhD

    Scientific field

    Health

    Hours per week

    32-40

    Salary

    € 2.541,00 - € 3.247,00

    Desired level of education

    University graduate

    Vacancy number

    TUD03783

    Method of applying

    Via system

    Do you have fresh ideas on how technology can empower children with a chronic disease to be more active in daily life? Then this job opening is for you!

    An active childhood is crucial for long-term health. This is especially true for children with a chronic disease, as regular physical activity improves overall health and prevents many complications of their disease. Moreover, physical activity (PA) is shown to be causally related to enhanced neurocognitive, behavioural, and academic functioning, making PA an important mechanism to improve quality of life of children.

    Unfortunately, many children with a chronic disease are insufficiently active. Reasons for inactivity are multifaceted (i.e. parental overcontrol, peer pressure, lack of knowledge) and individually determined. To obtain a comprehensive understanding of children's inactivity and to develop interventions that change this, we need an interdisciplinary approach aimed at a system level that includes the children, their families, and their environment. Within Convergence Healthy Start, a collaboration between Erasmus University, ErasmusMC, and Delft Technical University we will investigate how a product-service-system (intervention) using smart technologies (e.g., wearables, apps) may offer new opportunities to monitor and stimulate daily physical activity of children with chronic diseases in a home-based context. Within this PhD-project, we aim to design and build an evidence-based smart digital platform that will facilitate children with chronic disease to achieve an active lifestyle. The aim of this PhD project is to explore and assess how we can successfully use technology to empower and assure not only the children with a chronic disease themselves, but also their families and wider environment, resulting in a more active lifestyle.

    Do you want to empower children with a chronic disease to be more active in daily life, safely and with confidence? Do you see how technology can enable these children and their families to become more active? Then, apply for this position!

    Job description

    Within the Convergence Healthy Start program, you will have the opportunity to conduct research within an interdisciplinary team of medical, social and design scientists, societal stakeholders (e.g., patient support groups) and children and their families themselves. You will work in a multidisciplinary team of PhD students, all with a different background. Within this team, you will focus specifically on how to use the technology and platform to support not only the children, but also the family, friends and sports teachers. Therefore, you will for example organize co-creation sessions with these children, their families and other stakeholders. You are encouraged to address the research objectives with a mixed-method approach, combining quantitative (e.g., survey) and qualitative methods, particularly participatory action research and design thinking.

    The Convergence Healthy Start program is committed to a healthy and promising start for future generations. A diverse team of scientists and professionals is working on scientific and societal breakthroughs - focused on prevention and intervention - to strengthen the physical, mental and social health of youth, from conception to young adulthood. The integration between excellent medical, social and technical science combined with knowledge from and application in society is crucial in this regard.

    This PhD project is linked to the ambition of Healthy Start to ‘Increasing the quality of life and life expectancy of chronically ill children through more exercise and a healthier lifestyle'. You will be part of this ambition and of an interdisciplinary team of PhD's and postdocs, the Healthy Start programme, the Healthy Start Community and all its activities. See more at convergence.nl/healthy-start.

    Requirements

    -A relevant background in, for example, medical science, health science, movement science, sociology, psychology or medical technology;

    -Affinity with inter- and transdisciplinary research;

    -Affinity with medical technology and relevant applications, for example wearable technology;

    -Affinity with the target group; that is, children with a chronic disease or disability and their parents;

    -Mastering a rich plethora of social science methodological skills, preferably both quantitatively and qualitatively (e.g., participatory action research, design thinking, co-creation);

    -Good oral and written command of English;

    -Good command of Dutch is preferred, given the interaction with the target audience.

    Doing a PhD at TU Delft requires English proficiency at a certain level to ensure that the candidate is able to communicate and interact well, participate in English-taught Doctoral Education courses, and write scientific articles and a final thesis. For more details please check the Graduate Schools Admission Requirements.

    Conditions of employment

    Doctoral candidates will be offered a 4-year period of employment in principle, but in the form of 2 employment contracts. An initial 1,5 year contract with an official go/no go progress assessment within 15 months. Followed by an additional contract for the remaining 2,5 years assuming everything goes well and performance requirements are met.

    Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, increasing from € 2541 per month in the first year to € 3247 in the fourth year. As a PhD candidate you will be enrolled in the TU Delft Graduate School. The TU Delft Graduate School provides an inspiring research environment with an excellent team of supervisors, academic staff and a mentor. The Doctoral Education Programme is aimed at developing your transferable, discipline-related and research skills.

    The TU Delft offers a customisable compensation package, discounts on health insurance and sport memberships, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged. For international applicants we offer the Coming to Delft Service and Partner Career Advice to assist you with your relocation.

    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

    atching 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.

    Additional information

    Convergence Healthy Start

    Convergence is a collaboration between TU Delft, Erasmus University Rotterdam and Erasmus MC to tackle the urgent and complex societal challenges of our time. These challenges require fundamentally new forms of collaboration, blurring the boundaries between institutions and disciplines to develop new perspectives and solutions. Convergence combines the strength, knowledge and methods of the affiliated institutes to tackle societal challenges such as climate change, urbanization inequality of opportunity, pressure on healthcare and digitization. In meeting these challenges, Convergence works together with a large number of public and private partners in South Holland and beyond. By using the region as a living lab, the Convergence creates a leading ecosystem for research and innovation in South-Holland, with great (inter)national appeal and ambitions. See more at convergence.nl.

    Application procedure

    Are you interested in this vacancy? Please apply before 1 June 2023 via the application button and upload your motivation and CV.

  • You can apply online. We will not process applications sent by email and/or post.
  • A pre-Employment screening can be part of the selection procedure.
  • Please do not contact us for unsolicited services.
  • For more information about the vacancy pls contact: Maaike Kleinsmann [email protected]

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