Tenure track lecturer 'Urban and Landscape Design for Socially Inclusive Sustainability Transition'

1 - Working at the VUB

For more than 50 years, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel has stood for freedom, equality and solidarity, and this is very much alive on our campuses among students and staff alike. 

At the VUB, you will find a diverse collection of personalities: innovators pur sang, but above all people who are 100% their authentic selves. With some 4,000 employees, we are the largest Dutch-speaking employer, in the private sector, in Brussels; an international city with which we are only too happy to connect and where (around) our 4 campuses are located. 

Add to this our principle of free research - in which self-reflection, a critical attitude and an open, creative mind around scientific and social issues are central - and you have a university that is fundamentally groundbreaking and pioneering in education and research. In short: the VUB all over again. 

Moreover, the VUB is a member of EUTOPIA, an alliance of like-minded European universities, all ready to reinvent themselves.

2 - Position description

The Faculty of Sciences and Bioengineering Sciences, Department of Geography, is looking for a tenure track lecturer. 

More concretely your work package contains: 

Education and Research domain:

Urban and landscape design

Education tasks:

• You will teach in programmes offered in Dutch and English in urban design, spatial planning and urban studies, mainly at the master’s level.
• Your teaching duties will be in the field of urban and landscape design and research by design and will be aimed at a mixed group of Belgian and international students.
• In addition to giving lectures, supervising master’s theses and organising domestic and foreign excursions and workshops, you will develop a design studio. In this, you will determine your own thematic perspective, which can range from sustainability transition to social inclusion, and set your own methodological emphases, such as the use of mapping, survey or innovative design strategies.
• Teaching duties include providing teaching during evenings and Saturdays.
• You will take on responsibilities with regard to curriculum development, also in collaboration with other universities, and you will take initiatives with a view to the internationalisation of the educational programmes in which you will be involved.

Research tasks:

• Your fundamental and applied research activities will focus on socially inclusive sustainability transition, in relation to urban and landscape design.
• You will conduct this research within the Cosmopolis Centre for Urban Research research group, with a view to academic, professional and popularising publication and valorisation, supervise PhD trajectories, and contribute to the academic and societal debate on urban development, both in the Brussels metropolitan region and beyond. You will bridge the gap between research by design and academic publishing, you will link education to research, and you will develop synergies between your academic activities and your professional design activities.
• You will acquire external resources to set up research projects, develop your research team, and initiate PhD trajectories.

Other tasks:

• You will take on responsibilities within the structures of the research group, department and faculty, including educational programme boards, examination committees, management team, department board and faculty committees.
• You will take an active role in communicating about the activities of the research group and the programmes you are involved in, in recruiting students, and in organising activities at the level of the research group.

For this function, our Brussels Humanities, Sciences & Engineering Campus (Elsene) will serve as your home base. 

3 - Profile

What do we expect from you?

• You hold a PhD in urban design, spatial planning, architecture, geography, urban studies or a related discipline, awarded based on an original dissertation.

• You have a portfolio that demonstrates significant experience in urban design practice, international experience at the postdoctoral level, and an excellent publication record combining academic, professional and popular work.

• You have an extensive international network and you are willing to familiarise yourself with the field in Brussels and Flanders.

• You can demonstrate substantial experience in developing innovative research by design strategies and you have significant experience in leading a team.
   

• You subscribe to the university’s vision of education. The full text in relation to this is available on the university website.

• Every first appointment is dependent upon the successful delivery of a teaching session.  

• Language regulations:

A member of the academic staff who is entrusted with a teaching assignment must also be able to demonstrate that the language of instruction is known at ERK level C1 through a qualification certificate or through an adequate diploma. The VUB also provides courses in, for example, academic English.

The administrative language of the VUB is Dutch. In case of insufficient knowledge of Dutch, the VUB will provide an integration course. After a maximum of five years, a member of the academic staff must demonstrate adequate knowledge of the administrative language (ERK level B2).

For a complete overview, please consult the complete language regulations on https://jobs.vub.be/content/Regulations-concerning-language-proficiency/. 

Certificates demonstrating knowledge of the language can already be added to the application. 

The VUB wants to be a reflection of the society where everyone's talent is valued, regardless of gender, age, religion, skin color, migration background, disability and neurodiversity.

4 - Offer

Are you going to be our new colleague?

You’ll be offered a tenure track appointment, for an assignment of 0.7 FTE, for 5 years, with eligibility for tenure in the rank of senior lecturer by the end of this initial period, with planned starting date 01/10/2025. 

You’ll receive a salary linked to one of the scales set by the government.

At the VUB, you’re guaranteed an open, involved and diverse workplace where you are offered opportunities to (further) build on your career.

As well as this, you will also enjoy various other benefits:

• Extensive homeworking options, a telework allowance of 50 euros per month OR an internet fee of 20 euros per month;
• An open and informal working environment where attention is paid to work-life balance, and exceptional holiday arrangements with 35 days of leave (based on a fulltime contract), closure between Christmas and New Year and 3 extra leave days;
• Cost-free hospitalisation insurance;
• Full reimbursement of your home-to-work commute with public transport according to VUB-policy, and/or compensation if you come by bike; 
• A wide selection of meals in our campus restaurants at attractive prices;
• Excellent and affordable facilities for sport and exercise, a range of discounts via Benefits@Work (in  all kinds of shops, on flights, in petrol stations, amusement parks...) and Ecocheques; 
• Nursery near campus, discount on holiday camps; 
• The space to form your job content and to continuously learn through our VUB learning platforms and training courses;
• And finally: great colleagues with a healthy drive.

5 - Interested?

Is this the job you’ve been dreaming of?

Then apply, at the latest on 24/03/2025, via jobs.vub.be, and upload the following documents:

• your motivation letter, including your vision on education and research, and an explanation about the development of your future research;
• your curriculum vitae, including you academic dossier; 
• your diploma (not applicable for VUB alumni) and language certificates.

Do you have questions about the job content? Contact Prof. Dr. Kobe Boussauw at kobe.boussauw@vub.be or (by phone number upon request).

Would you like to know what it’s like to work at the VUB? Go to jobs.vub.be, and find all there is to know about our campuses, benefits, strategic goals and your future colleagues.

Would you like more information about EUTOPIA? Go to eutopia-university.eu, and read more about the role of the VUB in the development of the EUTOPIA alliance.