Associate or Tenure Track Assistant Professor in Sustainable Travel Behaviour – DTU

Position Overview

DTU Management invites applications for an Associate Professor or DTU Tenure Track Assistant Professor in Sustainable Travel Behaviour within its Transportation Science Division.

The position focuses on research and teaching in travel behaviour and sustainable mobility, with particular emphasis on understanding human mobility, behaviour, preferences, and choices when planning transportation systems.

The successful candidate will join an interdisciplinary research environment with links to policymakers, public authorities, industry, and research communities in Denmark and internationally.

For candidates appointed at the Assistant Professor level, the position is part of DTU's Tenure Track program.

About the Role

The overarching focus of the position is understanding human mobility and sustainable travel behaviour in the planning of transportation systems.

This includes examining how urban and rural environments influence travel behaviour and using this knowledge to help formulate policies and regulations that support more sustainable mobility.

Human behaviour and its underlying drivers are integrated throughout the division's research on transport systems and mobility. Areas of research include the green transition, mobility for different user groups, congestion, land use in urban and rural settings, equity, safety, risk, and the negative externalities associated with transport.

The Transportation Science Division brings together researchers from engineering, economics, psychology, data science, computer science, mathematics, statistics, and related disciplines.

The division conducts fundamental research and develops research-based insights and tools for policymakers and industry. Its work includes a large ongoing contract with the Danish Ministry of Transport that provides policy support and includes responsibility for the national travel survey.

Responsibilities

The successful candidate will contribute to research, teaching, scientific advice, and collaboration within sustainable travel behaviour and transportation science.

Over time, you will be expected to:

• Advance research on travel behaviour, including behaviour, preferences, choices, and their underlying drivers.
• Develop creative and independent research within sustainable mobility and transportation.
• Develop academic leadership.
• Attract external research funding.
• Teach undergraduate and graduate students.
• Take responsibility for teaching student courses.
• Strengthen DTU's research-based advice and public-sector support.
• Contribute to scientific advice and societal impact within the transport domain.
• Collaborate with researchers across disciplines.
• Work with public authorities, industry, and other sector partners.
• Disseminate research through seminars, conferences, teaching, and communication with the wider public.
• Contribute to a collaborative research environment.

Qualifications

Applicants must hold a PhD degree or equivalent.

DTU is seeking candidates with:

• A PhD in a relevant discipline or topic related to travel behaviour, such as Transportation Science, Social Data Science, Economics, Psychology, Geography, or Urban Planning, with a quantitative, evidence-oriented profile.
• Experience in application areas within the transport domain, potentially including land use.
• A strong publication record in relevant areas.
• Experience with, or a strong interest in, scientific advice and public-sector consultancy in the transport domain.
• Strong skills in sector collaboration.
• A solid national and international network within and beyond academia.
• An ambition to push boundaries and define future research agendas addressing societal challenges.
• High potential for creative and independent research.
• Willingness to collaborate and interact with other researchers.
• Ability to teach courses at different levels.
• Ability to engage in scientific advice.
• Ability to communicate and disseminate research in seminars, conferences, classrooms, and to the wider public.

DTU uses Danish and English as working languages. Applicants are expected to be fluent in at least one of these languages and, over time, to master both.

Additional Requirement for Associate Professor Applicants

Candidates applying for the Associate Professor position must also have academic qualifications equivalent to those obtained through an assistant professorship and documented didactic/pedagogic training.

Assessment Criteria

Candidates will be assessed against the responsibilities and qualifications above, as well as the following general criteria:

• Experience and quality of teaching.
• Research experience.
• Research vision and potential.
• International impact and experience.
• Societal impact.
• Innovativeness, including commercialization and collaboration with industry.
• Leadership, collaboration, and interdisciplinary skills.
• Communication skills.

Research and Teaching Environment

DTU Management offers an international, collegial, and team-oriented research environment in Greater Copenhagen.

The position provides opportunities for collaboration and for supervision and co-supervision of graduate students, as well as teaching opportunities.

Researchers have access to longitudinal datasets covering areas such as households, companies, transport behaviour, and land use. DTU's collaboration with public authorities also provides access to survey, experimental, and register data.

Denmark provides research funding opportunities through private and public research foundations and European Union funding schemes. DTU and the department provide specialized and individualized funding support and guidance based on researchers' needs and career stages.

Salary and Terms of Employment

The appointment will be based on the collective agreement with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations.

Additional supplements may be negotiated in accordance with DTU's salary structure for scientific staff.

The position is full-time and based at the DTU Lyngby Campus, just north of Copenhagen.

The starting date will be determined by mutual agreement.

For Assistant Professor candidates, the position is part of DTU's Tenure Track program.

Application Requirements

Applications must be submitted online and as one PDF file. All application materials must be in English.

The PDF must contain:

• Application/cover letter.
• Vision for teaching and research.
• CV, including employment history.
• List of publications.
• Scientific highlights for applicants applying at the Associate Professor level.
• H-index.
• ORCID.
• Teaching portfolio, including documentation of teaching experience.
• Academic diplomas (MSc/PhD).

In the application field “Please indicate which position you are applying for,” applicants must specify whether they are applying for the Associate Professor or Assistant Professor position.

Application Deadline

The complete online application must be submitted no later than October 31, 2026, at 23:59 Danish time.

Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.

How to Apply

Applicants should use DTU's online application system, complete the application form, and upload all required materials in English as a single PDF file.

If you decide to apply for this position, kindly mention that you found it on AcademyHire.

Further Information

For further information about the position, contact:

Professor Otto Anker Nielsen
Head of the Transportation Policy Division
Email: oani@dtu.dk

Additional information is available through DTU's resources on academic recruitment, tenure track, career paths, and moving to Denmark.

About DTU Management

DTU Management conducts research at the intersection of management, technology, and economics. The department develops solutions in cooperation with companies and public authorities, with research addressing welfare, productivity, sustainability, and the interaction between technology, industry, and individuals.

The department offers courses and programs at bachelor's, master's, and PhD levels across DTU's study programs. It has more than 250 employees, with approximately half of its staff coming from outside Denmark.

About DTU

The Technical University of Denmark (DTU) conducts research and education in the natural and technical sciences. Founded by Hans Christian Ørsted nearly 200 years ago, DTU focuses on developing technological solutions that benefit society.

DTU has 13,800 students, 1,600 PhD students, and 6,500 employees, with campuses across Denmark and in Greenland. The university works in an international environment and collaborates with universities around the world.

DTU encourages applications from interested candidates irrespective of age, gender, disability, race, religion, or ethnic background.

Because DTU conducts research in critical technology subject to special security and export-control rules, open-source background checks may be conducted on qualified candidates.