The Digital Building Technologies (DBT) Section at DTU Civil and Mechanical Engineering Department is looking for an ambitious, motivated and skilled PhD student eager to dedicate three years emphasizing the development and testing of next-generation serious gaming approaches with respect to construction safety, health, and well-being or emergency response applications . 

This PhD project aims to develop a field-realistic VLE prototype for education and training purposes of emergency response, construction safety and health, lean construction, construction progress inspection, and capital facility maintenance operations. The virtual education and training environment incorporates Digital Twin Construction project data, multimodal and augmented tools for realistic haptic control and feedback, and real-time agent-based simulation for guiding optimal work performance. Following smart serious gaming approaches, novel artificial intelligence forecasts human behavior and provides active personalized learning for improved instant decision making. Key beneficiaries are expected to be construction industry stakeholders, for example, project owners, architects, engineers, site management (incl. health, safety, environment), equipment operators, pedestrian workers, and emergency responders. The initial contributions are expected to be in (a) digitalizing existing Prevention through Design and Planning (PtD/P), risk assessment, and safety compliance checking processes, and (b) new performance requirements and measurement (metrics) for both lean and safe workflow planning and scheduling. In the furthermore, core works are envisioned in (c) initiating novel VLE design using foundational Digital Twin for Construction Safey (DTCS) components (e.g., city models, nD BIM, IoT/sensor data, TPTC, LPS, LBS), (d) development of rich VLE prototypes through creation of serious gaming scenarios using state-of-the-art technologies, and (e) validation in large-scale realistic building and infrastructure construction settings focusing on multi-user interaction, pro-actively engaging safety benchmarks, and High Energy Control Assessment (HECA) simulation and tracking.

It is notable that this PhD scholarship is part of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Network called ‘NATECH Risk management and Resilience of High-TECH industries and Critical infrastructures across EUrope’ (REUNATECH) . A short description of the REUNATECH project and its overall objectives can be found next.

Ageing infrastructures, urbanization, and climate change are intensifying the vulnerability of critical infrastructures (CI), high-tech industries (HTI), and communities to cascading hazards, particularly NaTech (Natural Hazard Triggering Technological) events. REUNATECH is a Horizon Europe Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Network that aims to educate and train the new generation of Doctoral Candidates (DCs) capable of tackling these challenges through cutting-edge interdisciplinary research and innovation. REUNATECH brings together leading universities, research institutes, and industrial partners across Europe to deliver a world-class doctoral training programme in risk assessment, resilience engineering, and smart technologies. Its scientific vision targets: (1) the development of a holistic multi-hazard risk framework capturing cascading effects across systems and scales; (2) the creation of digital environments utilizing real-time data for dynamic risk evaluation; (3) the advancement of risk-to-resilience methodologies; and (4) the establishment of digital twin-based resilience frameworks for CI, HTI, and urban environments. The network emphasizes innovation through the development of a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) for construction safety or disaster response simulation, integration of Information Backbones including Digital Twins and Building Information Modelling (BIM) with Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) applying smart sensor networks, Internet of Things (IoT), and resilience-informed design platforms. Furthermore, REUNATECH pro-motes transdisciplinary collaboration via multi-stakeholder platforms, bridging academia, industry, and policy. Through its holistic, digital, and resilience-centered approach, REUNATECH supports the European Green Deal, Sendai Framework, and UN Sustainable Development Goals. DCs will benefit from an immersive training structure comprising cross-sectoral secondments, workshops, and summer schools, enhancing their expertise in NaTech risk and resilience and enabling their integration into European and international research and innovation landscapes.

Responsibilities and qualifications
Your primary responsibilities and tasks include (but not limited to):

• All steps from requirements analysis to conceptual design and final creation and validation of Runtime Multimodal Multiplayer Virtual Learning Environment (RMM-VLE) based on DTCS and real-time IoT/sensor data
• Assessment of pedagogical value in user experience studies on enhancing learning experiences (e.g., engagement, motivation, and knowledge retention) through immersive and interactive VLE
• Preparation of scientific publications and effective presentation of the research findings in international conferences, workshops, and training schools.
• Active support of REUNATECH’s vision and mission statements and across the doctoral training network
• Support of relevant teaching activities of DTU’s Civil and Mechanical Engineering Department
• Co-supervision of BSc and MSc projects that are complementary of this PhD project   

Candidate Profile
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. You should be a motivated candidate with background in Civil or Mechanical Engineering or other related engineering fields. Additionally, you should be equipped with critical qualifications and technical skills that are listed below.

• MSc Degree (or equivalent) in Civil or Mechanical Engineering or other related engineering or science fields (e.g., Architectural, Electrical, Mechanical or Industrial Engineering, Autonomous Systems, Computer Science, Medical Engineering, and Human Psychology)
• Excellent background in the design, creation, and testing of Virtual Learning Environments (VLE), serious gaming, agent-based simulation, knowledge of relevant research methodologies and practical experience with adequate state-of-the-art tools
• Very strong skills in coding (e.g., Python, C#, C++) and demonstration in the development of serious games (e.g., Unity, Unreal) is required, ideally for pedagogical use
• Solid background or interest in emergency response, construction safety, health and well-being (PtD/P, HECA, pro-active real-time safety technology), and lean construction methods (e.g., TPTC, LPS, LBS)
• Familiarity and experience with building and infrastructure construction sector projects (e.g., capital facilities, industrial, commercial, education, road, railway and/or maritime or offshore) are helpful 
• Construction engineering and project management knowledge and skills are advantageous
• Strong analytical and technical problem-solving skills, with a solid foundation in computational engineering
• Ability to work independently and take initiative in planning and executing computational and experimental research incl. studies on user experience, usability, and net promoter scoring
• Effective communication and teamwork abilities, with a commitment to contributing to interdisciplinary research and collaborative projects
• Self-motivated to publish results in international peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings
• Willingness to join multi-national secondments
• Fluent in 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 undertaken by the members of the supervisory team embracing this PhD scholarship.

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 expected starting date for the PhD scholarship is 1 April 2026. The position is a full-time position.

You can read more about career paths at DTU here .

Further information
Further information may be obtained from Professor Jochen Teizer  from DTU - Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering at teizerj@dtu.dk . Additionally, general information about the Horizon Europe Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Network REUNATECH ca be found by reaching the REUNATECH’s Management Team at mailto:reunatech@rwth-aachen.de .

You can read more about Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering at https://construct.dtu.dk/ .

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 19 October 2025 (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
• List of Publications (if any) and results or experiences from related projects in serious game development, digital twins, and internet of things
• Evidence of English proficiency
• Any additional material useful for the assessment of your application (e.g., recommendation letters, research project/statement in agreement with the requirements specified above)

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.

DTU Civil and Mechanical Engineering develops and utilizes science and technical knowledge for the benefit of society and the sustainable development. We undertake research, education, innovation, and scientific advice of the highest quality within building design and processes, building construction and safety, building energy and services, solid mechanics, fluid mechanics, materials technology, manufacturing engineering, engineering design and thermal energy systems.

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.