Building permit assessment remains a major bottleneck in accelerating new construction and renovation projects needed to meet energy transition goals and growing market demand. While efforts have been and are being made to transition the highly manual process to a more digitally supported workflow, most developments focus on the formalization of the rules and regulations and formal compliance checking using semantic methods. However, these developments fail to account for the highly interpretive nature of often ambiguous and sometimes contradictory national and EU regulations. To account for the interpretative and context-sensitive nature of building rules, it is important to adopt a comprehensive approach to automating compliance checking. Such an approach should determine how such rules are interpreted and operationalized in each specific context and try to support the decision-making based on that context-specific interpretation.

The Challenge

The aim of this project is to design a hybrid Artificial Intelligence (AI) platform that integrates codified regulatory knowledge (across regional, national, and EU jurisdictions) with data-driven analysis of previous permit applications and associated decisions. This integrated approach aims to establish the foundational infrastructure for automated, context-sensitive compliance assessment. Particular emphasis will be placed on scenarios where identical regulations are interpreted differently depending on regional or local context. The objective is to leverage AI techniques to learn mappings between contextual attributes (e.g., geographic location, project characteristics) and likely interpretative outcomes.

Context and Supervision

The project is sponsored by the EU (OIVA project) and the Joint Innovation Centre between TNO and the University of Twente. The consortium involves a number of municipalities in the Netherlands that will provide expertise and support (in the form of data and feedback). 

You will be supervised by:

Dr. Farid Vahdatikhaki (University of Twente)

Dr. Erwin Hofman (University of Twente)

Dr. Joao Santos (University of Twente )

Mr. Irfan Pottachola (TNO)

You will work closely with TNO and municipalities to deliver a tailor-made design artifact with real-world impact. The project will start in August/September 2026 and is based in Enschede/Hengelo.

Your profile

We invite you to apply when fulfilling the following conditions. You are:

A qualified M.Sc. graduate with a background in one or several of data-driven modelling, construction management, architecture, building technology, and urban/spatial planning;

You have the ambition and talent to excel in designing innovative solutions for complex technological issues with a multidisciplinary character;

Your professional English proficiency is high. A working command of Dutch is highly preferred;

You enjoy collaborating with public-sector and industry partners, such as a municipality;

You work systematically and like designing innovative solutions;

You can work independently;

You have strong communication and social skills;

You can collaborate in teams and take initiative to develop solutions;

You must be willing to move to (the vicinity of) Enschede. Presence at the UT and Rijkswaterstaat branch in Hengelo is expected on a daily basis.

Our offer

Two-year full-time EngD position, where scientific and research domains are combined optimally with education and practical implementation of innovative design.

Full status as an employee at the UT, including pension and health care benefits

Tailor-made educational/development program of at least 6 months (30 EC), including visits to conferences.

A salary of €3.029,- gross per month.

An annual holiday allowance of 8% of the gross annual salary, and an annual year-end bonus of 8.3%.

Minimum of 29 holidays per year in case of fulltime employment.

A work environment on a green and lively campus with sports and leisure facilities.

Mentorship that supports your professional and personal growth.

On successfully completing the program, you will receive a certified and recognised degree. You will be entitled to use the academic title of Engineering Doctorate (EngD). You will be registered as a Technological Designer in the Dutch register kept by the Royal Institution of Engineers in the Netherlands (KIVI).