PhD position in Operations Research at Tilburg University CentER Graduate School of Business

Your position 

As a PhD-candidate you are going to work on food choices under stress. Households experiencing financial constraints often face numerous challenges that influence their behaviors such as food purchases and consumption. For example, the 2008 recession was associated with diverse impacts on diets in many countries, and therefore, finding and implementing effective policies to mitigate adverse nutritional changes and encourage positive changes during recent major economic shocks should be prioritized. The literature reveals several important findings on how these constraints lead to suboptimal decisions both financially and nutritionally. They include the following factors:

•     Preference for food cost rather than its nutritional value: limited budgets can force households to prioritize the cost of food over its nutritional value, resulting in the purchases of cheaper, energy-dense foods high in sugars or fats, but low in essential nutrients.
•     Shame and social stigma, possibly in interaction with cultural influences: shame associated with poverty can lead to avoidance of food assistance programs, or due to perceived judgment from peers, can result in status consumption, which further deteriorates households’ financial situation.
•     Lack of nutritional knowledge or its suppression due to decision fatigue: although poor understanding of healthy eating can lead to poor food choices, an individual’s knowledge can also be suppressed due to the stress of constantly managing limited resources, the psychological impact of shame, and the subsequent attention on immediate needs rather than long-term well-being.
•     Other issues include for example the impact of advertising, guiding consumers to possibly suboptimal choices in terms of costs or nutrition, and access issues for those who live in areas with more limited selection of stores and do not have resources to regularly reach supermarkets offering wide range of options. The economic, nutrition, and sociological research has found that these factors seem to be widespread phenomena, but their importance varies across different countries. Although anecdotal evidence from interviews with people living in poverty suggests they must deal with these factors daily, their exact prevalence is unclear, also in the Netherlands. Is it just something experienced by the people at the very bottom, or is it more widespread? 

In this research, we aim to investigate to which extent people in financially difficult situation or during recent economic shocks cope with their situation rationally given all available options and to which extent are they affected by the above-mentioned factors such as preference for energy-dense food, shame and social stigma, and the lack of or limited use of nutritional knowledge. For the most prevalent factors, interventions will be developed to diminish their effects, and it will be tested if these can lead to reduced levels of suboptimal and self-destructive behaviors.

At Zero Hunger Lab we also work on having real impact with our research. That means we want to collaborate with one, or sometimes several, organizations in the field. For example “Voedingscentrum” and/or municipalities and/or orginizations working to relieve poverty in the Netherlands.

A PhD dissertation at CentER requires the design and execution of 3 studies. The execution of the research work itself typically involves the conceptualization of the research questions and ideas, data collection, qualitative and/or quantitative analysis of the data, and writing and presenting of academic papers. The aim is to publish about those projects in high-quality academic journals. Two advisors will be assigned for supervising your PhD research. Upon successful completion of your courses and your research work, as demonstrated by a submitted and approved PhD dissertation and the subsequent defense, you will be awarded a doctoral degree by Tilburg University. 

As PhD researcher you contribute to our mission 

The Zero Hunger Lab helps to achieve global food security using mathematics and data science. We call it ‘bytes for bites’. Our mission is to make people independent of food aid so that they themselves can ensure sustainable food security. We do this not only in Africa, Asia and South America, but also in the Netherlands where more than 190.000 people (VBN, 2022) depend on food banks for their “daily bread”. Watch the videos from our recently promoted colleagues Meike, Melissa, Koen and Valentijn: Researchers Zero Hunger Lab | Tilburg University

More information on our projects: Zero Hunger Lab

You will be enrolled as a PhD candidate in the world-class PhD program of CentER Graduate School of Business, where you will receive extensive training in theory and methods by taking several PhD-level courses. The courseload amounts to 36 ECTS, which is the equivalent for 6 full courses. The course program is composed by your supervisor and PhD program coordinator, in consultation with you. 

There is also a travel budget for attending PhD level courses outside of CentER, work visits and conferences. The training can be adapted to the previous educational achievements of the PhD candidate by mutual agreement with the supervisors

80% of the position’s time will be dedicated to the completion of your PhD research, and 20% to the acquisition of academic skills through teaching courses and supervising master/bachelor theses within the department.

Requirements:

Your profile

1)    An academic Master’s or MPhil/Research Master’s degree in econometrics, operations research, industrial engineering or another relevant field that is deemed an equivalent to the previous education profile.

2)    Completed the previous degree with an excellent GPA (top 10% of class as guideline)

3)    Proficiency in English to be proven by means of an IELTS score of at least 7.0, with no sub scores below 6.5, a TOEFL score of at least 100 (internet based) or 600 (paper based), a Cambridge CAE (at least B) or a Cambridge CPE. Exemptions can be provided upon request to native English speakers or to candidates who have obtained their bachelor’s and master’s degree in English in Europe, Canada, USA, Australia, or New Zealand.

4)    A solid quantitative background, to be proven in one of the following ways:

1.    candidates with a MSc or MPhil degree from a Research University in the European Union need to have at least 24 ECTS credits in quantitative and research methods courses during their BSc and/or MSc or MPhil programs. If this is not the case, but you would still like to be considered for admission, you are welcome to hand in a GRE or GMAT test score to show your quantitative competences.

2.    candidates with a MSc or MPhil degree from a university outside the European Union: please provide a recent GRE or GMAT test score.

5)    Performing excellent research while at the same time realizing impact, asks for specific skills: perseverance to overcome challenges with a creative, solution-focused approach, collaboration within diverse teams, a deep commitment to delivering high-quality results, independence balanced with seeking support when needed, and an analytical mindset for innovative problem-solving.

Salary Benefits:

What do we offer?

Tilburg University offers excellent benefits in a pleasant working environment. Our offer includes: •    A position based on 1,0 fte (40 hours per week)

•    A salary of €2872 gross per month in the first year, up to €3670 gross per month in the fourth year for full-time employment, based on UFO profile Promovendus and salary scale P. 

•    This is a vacancy for a temporary position in accordance with Article 2.3 paragraph 8 under b of the CLA DU. You will initially receive a temporary contract for the duration of 18 months to assess your suitability. The evaluation will take place after about 14 months. If suitable, this contract will be followed by a new fixed-term contract of 30 months. (N.B. program is 4 years, full-time).

•    Vacation pay of 8% and a year-end bonus of 8.3%. 

•    Over 8 weeks of vacation leave. 

•    The opportunity to work partly on campus and partly from home with a home office allowance of €2 per day.

•    Reimbursement for sustainable commuting: walking, cycling, and public transportation. 

•    A monthly internet fee of €25.

•    An Options Model in which you exchange benefits for things such as additional leave, more pension, a bicycle or personal training at our Sports Center. 

•    A moving allowance (subject to conditions). 

•    Employees from outside the Netherlands may be eligible for the 30/20/10% tax facility.

•    A pension with ABP; the most sustainable Dutch pension fund.

•    Training in personal development, career development, leadership, education, and research or a language course at our Language Center. 

•    A work culture in which we embrace differences, everyone is welcome and given equal opportunities. 

•    A vibrant campus in green surroundings that is easily accessible by public transport. 

For more information, see our website and the Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities. 

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