Join a groundbreaking EU Project at the intersection of Circularity, Education, and Industry Innovation!

The RECEBA (Regional Circular Economy Business Acceleration) project is a flagship EU-funded initiative aimed at transforming Vocational Education and Training (VET) to support the transition to a circular economy. As part of this project, the University of Groningen/Campus Fryslân is leading the Work Package ‘Co-Designing & Delivering Circular Economy VET Programmes’.

In collaboration with NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences, which participates in the recruitment and supervision of the PhD project, we are seeking a motivated PhD candidate to contribute to this interdisciplinary, impact-driven research.

This PhD position offers a unique opportunity to:

• Engage in applied research with real-world impact on sustainability, education, and regional economic development.
• Collaborate with a diverse, international consortium of academics, industry leaders, and policymakers.
• Design and research innovative pedagogical models, with Challenge-Based Learning at the core, to bridge the gap between theory and practice in circular economy education.
• Enhance your knowledge on theory and practice of circular economy.
• Publish in high-impact journals and present findings at international conferences.

If you are passionate about sustainability, challenge-based learning, educational innovation, and systemic change, this PhD project will allow you to shape the future of circular economy skills for SMEs development while advancing your academic career.

What are you going to do?

In this PhD project, you will conduct interdisciplinary research focused on co-creating, implementing, and evaluating innovative vocational training programs for the circular economy. Your research will explore how collaborative design processes—involving educators, industry experts, and policymakers—can develop high-impact, demand-driven learning approaches that bridge theory and practice. You will investigate variegated approaches to challenge- and work-based learning and their effectiveness in fostering circular economy competencies among learners, while also examining the role of micro-credentials in recognizing and validating these skills. Additionally, you will analyze how regional contexts and stakeholder dynamics influence the adoption and scalability of these training programs, contributing to theoretical frameworks on sustainability education, vocational training innovation, and systemic transitions to a circular economy. Your findings will inform policy recommendations, pedagogical best practices, and industry strategies, ensuring that your research not only advances academic knowledge but also drives real-world change in VET systems and regional economic development.

Co-Creating Research-Based Circular Economy Training Programmes

You will play a central role in designing and validating 12 modular training programmes (EQF levels 5–8) that equip learners with the skills needed to drive circular economy transitions in key industries. These programmes will be grounded in and informed by research on Challenge-Based Learning, using real-world challenges as a starting point to bridge theory and practice.

The training programmes will be developed through a co-creation process with industry partners and educational institutions, ensuring both relevance and impact.

The key industries include:

• Manufacturing.
• Construction.
• Resource Management.
• Digital/Technology.

Leading Stakeholder Engagement and Co-Design Workshops

You will facilitate and analyze a series of transdisciplinary VET co-creation workshops, bringing together:

• VET educators (to ensure pedagogical rigor).
• Industry experts (to validate real-world relevance).
• Regional policymakers (to align with Smart Specialisation Strategies, S3/S4).

Building Capacity for VET Teachers and Industry Mentors

You will help design and deliver a capacity-building program (i.e. train the trainer) for VET teachers and industry mentors, with Challenge-Based learning as the central pedagogical approach focusing on:

• Designing and facilitating Challenge-based learning experiences and methodologies .
• Integrating technical and business skills in circular economy education.
• Industry immersion experiences to strengthen teacher-industry collaboration.

Other tasks of the PhD candidate

• Publish and present your work at international conferences and scholarly journals.
• Engage in teaching activities as part of your doctoral training.
• Complete and defend your PhD thesis within four years.