Project Assistant Prae-doc

Open position (all genders, staggered over three years — 75% in year 1, 50% in year 2, and 25% in year 3)

TU Wien is Austria's largest institution of research and higher education in the fields of technology and natural sciences. With over 26,000 students and more than 4000 scientists, research, teaching, and learning dedicated to the advancement of science and technology have been conducted here for more than 200 years, guided by the motto "Technology for People". As a driver of innovation and research, TU Wien fosters close collaboration with business and industry and contributes to the prosperity of society.        

The Research Unit of Landscape Architecture and Landscape Planning is offering a PhD position, available from September 2026. The position is staggered over three years — 75% in year 1, 50% in year 2, and 25% in year 3 — and is fixed-term for a duration of three years.

Doctoral position within the research project “INFRA-CARE: Nurturing INFRAstructures of CARE by Centering Culture, Nature, and Solidarity in the Green Transition”

Europe stands at a crossroads. The green transition unfolds amid a polycrisis that reshapes how people live, work, and relate. A green transition without social care cannot endure.

INFRA-CARE strengthens the social fabric of European neighbourhoods through cultural participation and carebased governance for the green transition:

1. It explores how everyday cultural and caring practices foster trust, belonging, and civic engagement, particularly among marginalised groups, and identifies the conditions under which participation reinforces cohesion and ecological transformation

2. Across five European cities, it co-creates and tests evidence-based strategies through Living Labs and Biennales to embed care, creativity, and inclusion into neighbourhood transformation;

3. Through a Digital Neighbourhood Atlas, it visualises social, ecological, cultural, institutional, and digital infrastructures of care, while the Caring Neighbourhood Index measures their impact on cohesion and green discontent;

4. It develops Caring Futures Guidelines that translate insights into scalable, policy-relevant tools for inclusive, sustainable, and beautiful green transitions;

5. Together, these actions generate evidence and transferable strategies that show how culture and care can nurture Europe’s social fabric, ensuring the green transition becomes a care transition.

Project Data:

• Project start: 1 September 2026

• Project end: 31 August 2029

TU Wien:

At TU Wien, the research project is jointly conducted by the Research Unit LANDSCAPE — Landscape Architecture and Landscape Planning, led by Univ.-Prof. Dr. sc. Susann Ahn — and the Research Unit URBAN — Interdisciplinary Centre for Urban Culture and Public Space, led by Assoc. Prof. Dr. phil. habil. Sabine Knierbein.

Project partnership:

University of Copenhagen, Leibniz University Hannover, University of Lodz, National Technical University of Athens, Gruppe F, Almen Kunst Klub, Studio Temporal.

Research funding:

INFRA-CARE is funded by the European Union under Horizon Europe as part of the New European Bauhaus initiative.

Your tasks:

For the research project INFRA-CARE, we are seeking a team member with expertise in landscape architecture, focusing on the care, maintenance, and development of blue-green infrastructures.

• Conducting the site analysis in Vienna-Meidling

• Contributing to the Caring Neighbourhood Index, in particular through mapping, participatory, digital and artistic methods, as well as spatial analyses including data collection, processing and evaluation

• Visualising care relations, infrastructures, networks, interdependencies and landscape maintenance practices

• Developing, implementing and testing arts- and culture-based methods, including Accountability Walks

• Building and activating a stakeholder network with relevant local groups

• Organising, moderating and documenting co-creative workshops, including workshops on landscape care, scenarios and maintenance practices

• Contributing to the Biennales and Living Labs, where appropriate also through horticultural, landscape gardening or hands-on practical activities

• Supporting knowledge transfer with international networks, municipalities and practice partners

• Contributing to publications, such as scientific articles and project reports in English

• Contributing to social media posts, websites and press releases in English

• Contributing to the development of the Caring Futures Guidelines

Your profile:

• Completed master’s degree in landscape planning, landscape architecture, spatial planning, geography, urban planning, or sociology, cultural studies, ethnography, political science with a clear reference to landscape research (or an equivalent qualification or university degree obtained in Austria or abroad)

• Relevant practical knowledge in landscape architecture and landscape planning

• Relevant experience with participation and moderation processes

• Relevant experience with qualitative and quantitative research methods

• Strong interest in the further development of exploratory and integrated participation, design and planning methods for urban open spaces

• Strong research interest and explicit intention to pursue a dissertation

• Reliability, goal orientation and good time management

• Organisational skills and the ability to work independently, analytically and in a structured manner

• Strong social skills and very good communication skills

• Teamwork skills, motivational ability and problem-solving skills

• Excellent language skills in German and English; knowledge of Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian/Montenegrin is an advantage

• Manual and practical skills

• Capacity for innovation and a high degree of initiative

We offer:

• Work in a developing and innovative environment: collaboration with committed colleagues and institutions across Europe, offering a broad range of expertise

• The opportunity to pursue a dissertation

• Work in a supportive environment that also provides scope to further develop and strengthen your own research profile and career planning

• A broad range of internal and external training opportunities as well as flexible working arrangements

• Family-friendly working time arrangements

• A central location in Vienna with good accessibility

Further information:

For further information, please contact Prof. Dr. Susann Ahn (susann.ahn@tuwien.ac.at). Information is also available at https://landscape-tuwien.at and https://skuor.tuwien.ac.at.

TU Wien is committed to increasing the proportion of women in particular in leadership positions. Female applicants are explicitly encouraged to apply. Preference will be given to women when equally qualified, unless reasons specific to a male applicant tilt the balance in his favour.

People with special needs are equally encouraged to apply. In case of any questions, please contact the confidant for disabled persons at the university, Mr. Gerhard Neustätter.

Entry level salary is determined by the pay grade B1 of the Austrian collective agreement for university staff. This is a minimum of currently EUR 2.832,08/month gross, 14 times/year for 30 hours/week (1st year).

We look forward to receiving your application until July 23th, 2026. Please send your application materials to Prof. Dr. Susann Ahn (susann.ahn@tuwien.ac.at) with the subject line “INFRA-CARE Prae-Doc.”

Your application should include the following documents:

• Letter of motivation (maximum 2 pages)

• Curriculum vitae

• Bachelor’s and master’s degree certificates

• Portfolio or work samples

• List of publications, or a short a writing sample

• Academic exposé in English with a possible dissertation topic (3–5 pages)