PhD Position in Transport Modelling for Sustainability Transitions
Develop advanced modelling frameworks to support sustainable transport planning under deep uncertainty for a low-carbon society by 2050.
Best for:Best for candidates with a strong master’s degree in transport, economics, engineering, or related fields, who have quantitative skills and experience with modelling, simulation, or agent-based systems, and are passionate about sustainability transitions.
Overview
This PhD position at Molde University College focuses on advancing transport modelling techniques to analyse future sustainable transport scenarios under uncertainty. The successful candidate will join the TRANSPLAN Centre, a national research initiative dedicated to achieving a low-emission, nature-positive transport system by 2050. The project aims to integrate discrete choice modelling (DCM) with agent-based modelling (ABM) to explore transport behaviour and policy pathways. The PhD candidate will contribute to both methodological innovation and practical decision support for sustainable transport planning, producing 3-4 publishable articles as part of the dissertation. The position is linked to the university’s PhD programme in Logistics and offers a collaborative environment with leading Norwegian research institutions.
What you'll do
- Develop advanced modelling approaches to analyse future transport scenarios under deep uncertainty.
- Integrate discrete choice modelling (DCM) with agent-based modelling (ABM) to explore transport behaviour and policy pathways.
- Support scenario-based planning and backcasting for sustainable transport transitions by 2050.
- Advance methodological knowledge in transport modelling and provide practical decision support for sustainable transport planning.
- Produce 3-4 publishable scientific articles as part of the PhD dissertation.
- Collaborate with leading Norwegian research institutions and transport agencies within the TRANSPLAN Centre.
- Present research findings at academic conferences and workshops.
Requirements
Degree required: Master's degree in transport, economics, engineering, operations research, data science, geography, or a related field.
Degree offered: PhD
Language: English; proficiency sufficient for academic research and publication
Instruction: English
- Strong analytical and quantitative skills
- Experience with quantitative research methods, such as stated choice experiments, simulation modelling, or econometrics
- Programming skills in Python, R, or similar languages
- Familiarity with transport modelling, agent-based modelling, or discrete choice modelling
- Ability to develop advanced modelling tools for sustainable transport planning
- Excellent written and spoken English proficiency
- Master’s degree must include at least one full year of study (60 ECTS credits) and an individual academic work (e.g., master’s thesis).
- Minimum average grade of B or equivalent on the ECTS grading scale for the master’s degree.
- Applicants with degrees from certain countries may require more than five years of higher education to meet entry requirements.
Funding & terms
How to apply
Deadline: 2026-11-01
Applicants must submit a 3-5 page research proposal outlining their approach to the project, including research questions, methodology, and novelty. Required documents include a CV, certified copies of educational diplomas, a master’s thesis or equivalent work, academic publications (if any), and three reference letters. Applications must be submitted through the Jobbnorge portal.
- Research proposal (3-5 pages)
- CV summarizing education and work experience
- Certified copies of educational diplomas/transcripts
- Master’s thesis or equivalent independent student work (with certified abstract if not in English/Scandinavian)
- Academic publications (e.g., conference papers)
- Three reference letters with names, positions, and email addresses
Contact
Valerio Gatta· Professor, potential supervisor
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