PhD scholarship in energy community development - DTU Wind

Background

We are seeking a candidate for a 3-year PhD project as part of the EU-funded project “CommUnity Power”. The project seeks to support the development of energy communities in the Øresund-region by gathering municipalities, universities and local communities, who work with a range of pilot projects to create a solid knowledge base and develop methods and tools that can strengthen inclusive and just energy community development across the region. The project has become particularly relevant following EU’s Clean Energy for all Europeans Package from 2019, which introduced new legislation to strengthen citizen participation in the green energy transition and foster more locally embedded, flexible and democratic energy provision. The new legislation grants communities of households, companies, associations, and municipalities entirely new opportunities to co-produce, store, distribute and trade renewable energy, leading to new energy community setups currently being developed across the EU.

If you want to contribute to the green transition of society, thrive in collaborative teamwork and have ambitions for an academic research career, then you might be our new colleague in our research section ‘Society, Market & Policy’ (SMP), in the Department of Wind and Energy Systems at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), where we offer a vibrant and inspiring research community in social sciences embedded in an engineering environment. Your main supervisor will be Senior Researcher Sophie Nyborg, and you will join the PhD School at DTU Wind and Energy Systems.

Responsibilities and qualifications

The PhD project is an explorative research project, which aims to investigate current socio-technical barriers as well as design and mobilisation opportunities for developing socially, culturally and environmentally sustainable energy communities. In your project, you will study, and collaborate with, a range of the pilot projects involved in the CommUnity Power project, as case studies. In doing so, you will gain insights into how their agency is shaped by conflicting interests and multiple socio-material elements such as legislation, social practices, technology designs, community identities and -cultures, regulation, geopolitical instability and planning practices, to provide analyses and insights in collaboration with the rest of the project consortia. Applicants for the position should develop an independent research proposal that relates to and addresses these issues.

Your research will be based on qualitative social science methods, e.g. case study research, participant observation, workshop facilitation, conducting interviews and analyzing documents, and will involve writing scientific articles as part of the thesis. Besides this, your tasks may include teaching and co-supervising Master students and participation in outreach and dissemination activities of the department commensurate with research at PhD level. The supervision team for the PhD project consists of main supervisor Sophie Nyborg (DTU) and co-supervisor David Philipp Rudolph (DTU).

You must have a two-year master's degree (120 ECTS points) or a similar degree with an academic level equivalent to a two-year master's degree. We are seeking candidates trained in relevant Social Science & Humanities disciplines, preferably in Science and Technology Studies (STS), Human Geography, Sociology, Anthropology or a related field. An interdisciplinary background in both social sciences and energy system engineering is also considered an advantage.

The following further qualifications will be considered in the assessment:

• Documented experiences with and interest in qualitative research methods
• Knowledge on renewable energy systems and the green energy transition
• Excellent communication skills, both in writing and oral presentation
• Open-minded team player, able to work in multidisciplinary and multinational teams
• A long-term interest in pursuing a research career

The working language of the project is Danish and Swedish and thus proficiency in a Scandinavian language is an advantage, beyond suitable skills in both written and spoken English.

Approval and Enrolment The scholarship for the PhD degree is subject to academic approval, and the candidate will be enrolled in one of the general degree programmes at DTU. For information about our enrolment requirements and the general planning of the PhD study programme, please see DTU's rules for the PhD education .

Assessment

The assessment of the applicants will be made by a committee consisting of Sophie Nyborg (Senior Researcher), David Rudolph (Senior Researcher) and Head of Section Ulrich E. Hansen (Senior Researcher).

We offer

DTU is a leading technical university globally recognized for the excellence of its research, education, innovation and scientific advice. We offer a rewarding and challenging job in an international environment. We strive for academic excellence in an environment characterized by collegial respect and academic freedom tempered by responsibility.

Salary and appointment terms

The appointment will be based on the collective agreement with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. The allowance will be agreed upon with the relevant union. The period of employment is 3 years. The workplace is primarily DTU Risø Campus, Roskilde, Denmark.

Starting date is 1st of May 2026 (or according to mutual agreement). The position is a full-time position.

You can read more about career paths at DTU here http://www.dtu.dk/english/about/job-and-career/working-at-dtu/career-paths.

Further information

Further information may be obtained from Head of Section (SMP), Ulrich E. Hansen, uleh@dtu.dk , 0045 93 51 16 22.

You can read more about DTU Wind and Energy Systems at www.vindenergi.dtu.dk/english

If you are applying from abroad, you may find useful information on working in Denmark and at DTU at DTU – Moving to Denmark . Furthermore, you have the option of joining our monthly free seminar “PhD relocation to Denmark and startup “Zoom” seminar ” for all questions regarding the practical matters of moving to Denmark and working as a PhD at DTU.

Application procedure

Your complete online application must be submitted no later than 18 March 2026 (23:59 Danish time) .

Applications must be submitted as one PDF file containing all materials to be given consideration. To apply, please open the link "Apply now", fill out the online application form, and attach all your materials in English in one PDF file . The file must include:

• A letter motivating the application (cover letter)
• Curriculum vitae
• Grade transcripts and BSc/MSc diploma (in English) including official description of grading scale
• A short PhD project proposal (maximum 2 pages plus references) describing a possible research objective, theoretical framework and intended methodological approach.

You may apply prior to ob­tai­ning your master's degree but cannot begin before having received it.

Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.

All interested candidates irrespective of age, gender, disability, race, religion or ethnic background are encouraged to apply. As DTU works with research in critical technology, which is subject to special rules for security and export control, open-source background checks may be conducted on qualified candidates for the position.

About DTU Wind Energy

DTU Wind and Energy Systems, which used to be a division of Risø National Laboratory (until 2012), has undertaken basic research, teaching and commercial activities in all aspects of wind energy since the mid-1970’s. DTU Wind and Energy Systems is now the world’s largest public research institute for wind energy and energy systems transition, with about 400 staff members. The department is internationally recognized as being in the forefront of wind energy technology and smart energy systems research.

In the section Society, Market and Policy (SMP) at DTU Wind and Energy Systems, we work towards a sustainable and just energy system and perform multi-disciplinary social science research in the technological, economic and societal nexus of renewable energy. We are about 20 researchers, using qualitative and quantitative methods, empirical data, interviews, case studies, financial modelling, socio-economic and policy analysis to study renewable energy project development, environmental impacts, social interactions, markets, policy, and industry processes.

Technology for people

DTU develops technology for people. With our international elite research and study programmes, we are helping to create a better world and to solve the global challenges formulated in the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Hans Christian Ørsted founded DTU in 1829 with a clear mission to develop and create value using science and engineering to benefit society. That mission lives on today. DTU has 13,500 students and 6,000 employees. We work in an international atmosphere and have an inclusive, evolving, and informal working environment. DTU has campuses in all parts of Denmark and in Greenland, and we collaborate with the best universities around the world.