Introduction
Are you motivated to contribute to the transition toward regenerative agriculture and sustainable food systems? Join our Horizon Europe GroundWork project as a PhD codesigning business models and ecosystems with farmers across Europe to enable regenerative grazing, while publishing cutting-edge research in strategy and entrepreneurship.
Job Description
Regenerative agriculture is widely recognized as essential for sustainable food systems, yet its large-scale adoption is constrained by a fundamental challenge: viable business models and ecosystem coordination are often missing. This PhD addresses this challenge by studying—and actively shaping—how farmers and ecosystem actors:
- Recognize and evaluate new opportunities for regenerative practices,
- Experiment with and develop viable business models,
- Align stakeholders and financing mechanisms to enable long-term sustainability.
The core ambition is to translate theoretical insights on opportunity recognition, entrepreneurial resourcefulness, and business model experimentation into concrete tools, practices, and interventions that farmers can use in their daily decision-making.
The project adopts a design science research approach embedded in five European Living Labs (Portugal, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Serbia). This means that your work will combine:
- in-depth field research with farmers and other stakeholders,
- iterative design of interventions such as workshops, tools, and business model frameworks,
- real-world testing and validation of these interventions in practice.
You will study opportunity recognition and business model development as dynamic, situated processes, while simultaneously designing mechanisms that improve these processes in practice. The ambition is to generate high-impact publications in journals such as Research Policy, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Business Venturing, and Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, while maintaining strong practical relevance.
This position requires a candidate who is comfortable operating at the interface of theory and practice: developing rigorous academic insights while engaging directly with farmers and ecosystem partners to co-create solutions that work in real-world settings.
The position is embedded in the Innovation, Technology Entrepreneurship & Marketing (ITEM) group at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), a leading group in research on innovation, ecosystems, and business model design.
Job Requirements
- An outstanding, motivated, and curiosity-driven researcher with strong analytical skills and the ambition to contribute to top-tier academic research in strategy, entrepreneurship, and innovation.
- A MSc degree in Innovation Management, Strategy, Entrepreneurship, Industrial Engineering, or a related field, with a solid foundation in business models and/or innovation management.
- A strong interest in sustainability transitions and agrifood systems, with the motivation to work on real-world challenges in regenerative agriculture.
- Demonstrated ability or clear interest in conducting qualitative and/or mixed-method research (e.g., case studies, interviews, fieldwork), ideally combined with an affinity for design science or intervention-based research.
- Ability and willingness to engage directly with stakeholders (e.g. farmers, industry partners, policymakers) and translate complex theoretical concepts into actionable insights and tools.
- A strong affinity with interdisciplinary research, combining a rigorous scientific approach with openness to collaboration across domains and with non-academic partners.
- Interest in business model innovation, entrepreneurial processes, and/or ecosystem dynamics, and how these unfold in practice over time.
- Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, and the ability to operate effectively in an international research environment.
- Proactive, independent, and organized, with the ability to manage a complex, multi-partner research project.
- Motivated to contribute to teaching and student supervision as part of your academic development.
- Fluent in spoken and written English (at least C1 level) and at least one of the languages spoken in the countries of the living labs (i.e. German, Swedish, Portuguese, French or Serbian.
Conditions of Employment
A meaningful job in a dynamic and ambitious university, in an interdisciplinary setting and within an international network. You will work on a beautiful, green campus within walking distance of the central train station. In addition, we offer you:
- Full-time employment for four years, with an intermediate assessment after nine months. You will spend a minimum of 10% of your four-year employment on teaching tasks, with a maximum of 15% per year of your employment.
- Salary and benefits (such as a pension scheme, paid pregnancy and maternity leave, partially paid parental leave) in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, scale P (min. € 3,059 - max. € 3,881).
- A year-end bonus of 8.3% and annual vacation pay of 8%.
- High-quality training programs and other support to grow into a self-aware, autonomous scientific researcher. At TU/e we challenge you to take charge of your own learning process.
- An excellent technical infrastructure, on-campus children's day care and sports facilities.
- Unlimited access to the modern on‑campus TU/e Student Sports Center at an exceptionally affordable rate.
- An allowance for commuting, working from home and internet costs.
- A Staff Immigration Team and a tax compensation scheme (the 30% facility) for international candidates.
On our website you can discover even more information about our conditions of employment. Build on your career at TU/e!
About us
We are a leading international university where scientific curiosity meets a hands-on mindset. We work in an open and collaborative way with high-tech industries to tackle complex societal challenges. Our responsible and respectful approach ensures impact — today and in the future. TU/e is home to over 13,000 students and more than 7,000 staff, forming a diverse and vibrant academic community.
Our university is located in Brainport Eindhoven — a world‑leading tech region with more than 7,000 high‑tech companies and strong R&D activity. Known for breakthroughs in AI, photonics, semiconductors and advanced manufacturing, Brainport is a place where technology serves people and society. Learn more about the Brainport region here.
The Industrial Engineering & Innovation Sciences (IE&IS) department combines disciplinary knowledge from the humanities, social sciences and technical sciences to solve the complex problems of industries and society. We collaboratively focus on and create responsible and effective innovations for the research themes: Humans and Technology, Supply Chain Management, Sustainability and Circularity, and Value of Data-Driven Intelligence.
Information
Do you recognize yourself in this profile and would you like to know more? Please contact the hiring manager Dr. Annelies Bobelyn, [email protected].
Visit our website for more information about the application process. You can also contact Jolanda van der Sande, HR Advice, [email protected], +31 40 2474979.
Curious to hear more about what it’s like as a PhD candidate at TU/e? Please view the video.
Are you inspired and would like to know more about working at TU/e? Please visit our career page.
Application
We invite you to submit a complete application by using the apply button. The application should include a:
- Cover letter in which you describe your motivation and qualifications for the position.
- Curriculum vitae, including a list of your publications and the contact information of three references. Kindly note that we may reach out to references at any stage of the recruitment process. We recommend notifying your references upon submitting your application.
Ensure that you submit all the requested application documents. We give priority to complete applications.
We look forward to receiving your application and will screen it as soon as possible. The vacancy will remain open until the position is filled.
Please note
- You can apply online. We will not process applications sent by email and/or post.
- A pre-employment screening (e.g. knowledge security check) can be part of the selection procedure. For more information on the knowledge security check, please consult the National Knowledge Security Guidelines.
- Please do not contact us for unsolicited services.
Type of employment: Temporary position
Contract type: Full time
Salary: Scale P
Number of positions: 1
Full-time equivalent: 1.0 FTE
City: Eindhoven
County: Noord-Brabant
Country: Netherlands
Reference number: 2026/292
Published: 2026-05-18
Last application date: 2026-06-18
