Researcher Gamification of Urban Digital Twins

The project CU: European Cityverses Uniting for Inclusiveness (www.itc.nl/global-impact/itc-major-projects/!/cu) is a research and development initiative co-funded by the European Commission and the Royal Dutch Enterprise Agency (RVO). The University of Twente is a consortium partner in this project and is tasked with the gamification of the digital twin of the city of Gothenburg in Sweden (as a pilot project) to enhance the inclusivity of activities and the total experience of the city for people with diverse abilities and families of children with disabilities. The project has a total duration of 30 months, starting from October 2024 and ending on the 1st of April 2027.

Accordingly, we are looking for fresh graduates of geo-informatics, computer science (computer graphics), architecture (computational or procedural design), or related fields with demonstrable expertise in 3D modelling, gamification, and geospatial informatics. The topical subject areas of Procedural Content Generation (PCG), Role Playing Games (RPGs), Algorithmic Graph Drawing, Transport Modelling, Guided Way-Finding, and Optimal Path-Finding, Machine Learning, AI Assistants, Collaborative Filtering (Recommender Systems), and/or Polygon Mesh Processing are envisaged to be addressed in these temporary research assignments.

Your activities include assistance in writing reports and articles next to working on the digital implementation of gamified digital twin prototypes or digital proofs of concept; procedural cartography, defining location-based services, designing user interfaces, extended reality experiences, or a creative combination of these activities in consultation with the project partners. Experience in working with (vector-based) diagramming tools like FIGMA and DrawIO is quite helpful for this project. You will also be guided and encouraged to write open-source code in Python (NumPy-SciPy dialect) and work with MarkDown, LaTeX, and GitHub to produce the results. You can set up and run effective Git-based digital and online workflows for collaborative work.

Requirements:

• An MSc degree in geo-informatics, geomatics, computer science, architecture, or a related field
• A background in geospatial information, information systems, and/or computer science
• Experience with 3D modelling or gamification
• Interest in the mathematical and artistic aspects of gamification
• Excellent level of spoken and written English, including the ability to present and explain scientific/technical work clearly and effectively
• Demonstrable experience in academic writing in English (e.g. a relevant MSc Thesis)
• Social skills, open-mindedness, critical thinking, and a sense of humour are necessary to navigate the multi-disciplinary, interdisciplinary, and trans-disciplinary setup of the project
• An interest in collaborating with other researchers and people with diverse backgrounds (including children) is appreciated
• Familiarity with Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, or Extended Reality (XR) or Game Engines like GoDot, UnrealEngine, or Unity is a major plus

Salary Benefits:

• An inspiring transdisciplinary, international, and academic environment with ample opportunities and space for learning cutting-edge technical and methodical skills from your supervisors
• A meaningful research position for max 2 years (28 hours per week)
• Gross monthly salary € 3.378,- (fulltime) per month (UFO profile Researcher 4, scale 10-0);
• A holiday allowance of 8% of the gross annual salary and a year-end bonus of 8.3%
• ·Assistance in applying for the 30% ruling (a possible tax deduction for foreigners)
• Excellent support for research and facilities for professional and personal development
• A solid pension scheme
• A total of 41 holiday days per year in case of full-time employment (adjusted pro-rata this will e.g. be circa 28.7 working days)
• Excellent working conditions, an exciting scientific environment, and a lively green campus
• The possibility of working remotely and digitally.

40 hours per week

Drienerlolaan 5