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Interdisciplinary PhD: User-Centric Wireless Networks and Urban Co-Creation

  • //applyindex.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/belgium.png Belgium
  • University/Institute Name KU Leuven
  • Attendance Type On Campus (Full Time)
  • Position DurationSee Position Description
  • Position Funding Type PhD Research Funding
  • Application deadlineMarch 27, 2026
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Position Details (PhD Research Project)

The PhD will be hosted within the Department of Electrical Engineering (Waves:Core Research and Engineering) and the Department of Architecture (Design and Engineering of Construction and Architecture) at KU Leuven.

The primary research home will be the DRAMCO group, under the supervision of Prof. dr. ir. Gilles Callebaut. DRAMCO specializes in low-power wireless communication, distributed networks, sensing technologies, and experimental validation using advanced infrastructures such as the Techtile testbed.

The Faculty of Architecture brings expertise in spatial design, public space, and human–technology interaction. This interdisciplinary environment provides access to state-of-the-art measurement equipment, prototyping facilities, and a vibrant network of researchers working on wireless systems, urban design, and citizen-centred innovation.

A unique aspect of this position is its connection to the Creative Makers (CM³) initiative, a long-running interdisciplinary program that brings together engineering, architecture, and the arts through hands-on making, prototyping, and experimental design. CM³ has traditionally focused on education, offering students a platform to explore technology and spatial design through creative and collaborative processes. In this PhD, you will have the opportunity to investigate how making, prototyping, and cross-disciplinary design methodologies can be integrated into scientific inquiry. You will transform these hands-on, creative processes, into a research-oriented framework for developing adaptive wireless networks.

The PhD candidate will operate across these units, combining solid engineering foundations with architectural perspectives to develop pioneering concepts for user-centric wireless networks.
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Project

This PhD explores how citizens, spatial context, and devices jointly shape the behaviour of future wireless networks. Building on the Cocoon project's ambition to rethink mobile infrastructure beyond static, top-down deployments, the research studies how low-height, lightweight, adaptable access points can become meaningful elements of public space.
The project has two core research pillars:
1. Spatial, Architectural, and Human-Space Analysis
You will investigate how people use, move through, and experience wireless systems in public and semi-public space. This includes:
  • analysing how urban form, materiality, enclosure, and human presence influence network performance;
  • studying the behaviour of low-height, body-proximal, or mobile access points in real environments;
  • employing spatial analysis, prototyping, and sensing-based observation as methodological tools.
2. Designing User-Centric, Co-Created Wireless Infrastructures
Using insights from spatial and technical studies, you will contribute to new design principles for adaptive, energy-efficient, and citizen-driven networks. This involves:
  • developing measurement-informed spatial maps of real-time channel conditions;
  • designing early-stage co-creation tools that enable citizens to position, move, or adjust network elements;
  • exploring architectural principles for integrating wireless components as intentional parts of the built environment;
  • using making-based and cross-disciplinary design methodologies (inspired by CM³) to prototype lightweight "contact service points" that adapt to users and spatial dynamics.
Across these pillars, your work spans measurement campaigns, wireless experimentation, spatial analysis, prototyping, and the development of participatory design methodologies. The final aim is to build a methodological and scientific foundation for a new type of wireless infrastructure that is open, adaptable, energy-conscious, and architecturally embedded in the city.

Profile

General:
  • You hold a Master's degree with distinction.
  • You have an excellent command of English, both spoken and written.
  • You are able to critically analyse theoretical texts and empirical studies, and you write clearly and convincingly.
  • You can work independently, you take initiative, and you function well in a collaborative team setting.
  • You are motivated and capable of successfully completing a PhD under supervision.
We welcome candidates from Architecture or Engineering (Electrical/ICT) with a strong interest in the complementary domain.
1. Candidates from Architecture
You are motivated to work with:
  • data-driven spatial analysis;
  • prototyping and hands-on making;
  • sensing technologies and environmental mapping;
  • human-space interaction and participatory design;
  • exploring how architectural methods can inform and reshape technological systems.
2. Candidates from Engineering
You are motivated to engage with:
  • spatial design and human-space interaction;
  • public-space thinking and urban context;
  • participatory and co-creation methodologies;
  • prototyping in real environments where user behaviour and spatial form matter.
Across both profiles, you are hands-on, curious, comfortable iterating between theory and experiment, and interested in fieldwork and real-world prototyping. You can translate insights between technical and spatial domains and are eager to develop new interdisciplinary research methodologies.

Offer

  • We offer a full-time fixed-term position for one year, renewable up to a maximum of four years.
  • The intention is that the research evolves into a complete PhD trajectory, with the doctoral degree to be obtained at the end of the four-year period.
  • Working hours are flexible, and your schedule is defined in mutual agreement.
  • KU Leuven encourages an active campus environment where on-site work is combined with teleworking when appropriate.
  • You can expect varied and meaningful work with room for professional development and increasing responsibility.
  • KU Leuven provides a broad range of training opportunities focused on strengthening your talents and supporting your personal growth.

Dramco Research Group
Creative Makers (CM³)

Interested?

For more information, please contact Prof. dr. ir. Gilles Callebaut, mail: [emailprotected].

KU Leuven strives for an inclusive, respectful and socially safe environment. We embrace diversity among individuals and groups as an asset. Open dialogue and differences in perspective are essential for an ambitious research and educational environment. In our commitment to equal opportunity, we recognize the consequences of historical inequalities. We do not accept any form of discrimination based on, but not limited to, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, age, ethnic or national background, skin colour, religious and philosophical diversity, neurodivergence, employment disability, health, or socioeconomic status. For questions about accessibility or support offered, we are happy to assist you at this email address.

Research Areas & Fields of Study involved in the position

Position Start Date

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