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Master thesis (f/m/x) - Transnational dependencies of critical infrastructures
Job Description
Req ID:  1106
Place of work:  Sankt Augustin
Starting date:  01.06.2025
Career level:  Student research project and final thesis
Type of employment:  Part time
Duration of contract:  6 month

Remuneration: Remuneration is in accordance with the Collective Agreement for the Public Sector - Federal Government (TVöD-Bund)

Enter the fascinating world of the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V.; DLR) and help shape the future through research and innovation! We offer an exciting and inspiring working environment driven by the expertise and curiosity of our 11,000 employees from 100 nations and our unique infrastructure. Together, we develop sustainable technologies and thus contribute to finding solutions to global challenges. Would you like to join us in addressing this major future challenge? Then this is your place!

This master thesis aims to tackle challenges of transboundary resilience management under the joint supervision of Flood Risk Management - Deltares and the Institute for the Protection of Terrestrial Infrastructures of the German Aerospace Center (DLR-PI). The goal is to identify and map the interdependencies of critical infrastructures (CI) and highlighting potential transboundary connections and cascading effects in a Dutch-German border region.

 

What to expect
At Deltares and DLR-PI we are working on ensuring the safety of our future societies under increasing threats from different sources. The extreme rainfall accompanying the storm "Anett" in September 2024 caused disruptions across the borders of Poland, Czechia, and Austria simultaneously. Critical infrastructures (CI) are essential for the reliable functioning of societies by providing core services but natural hazards do not adhere to national borders. While some CI connect to neighboring countries, interdependencies between CI can potentially prompt transboundary cascading effects where a disruption of CI spreads and causes failure of CI in a neighboring country. In contrast, CI, protection measures, and disaster response strategies are defined and organized nationally. Therefore, resilience management of CI faces the additional challenge of aligning national differences. As part of the joint supervision, you are expected to spend a share of the 6 months project at both institutions, Deltares in Delft (NL) and DLR-PI in Sankt Augustin (DE). Therefore, it is required that you are proficient in either Dutch or German in addition to English.

 

Your tasks

  • developing a research design and thesis structure
  • conducting literature research into transboundary resilience management of critical infrastructures
  • identifying commonalities and differences in the definitions of CI in neighboring European countries
  • investigating data availability and quality regarding the location, specifications, condition and performance of CI
  • developing a tool to evaluate transboundary interdependencies between CI and  relevant CI operators and other stakeholders in border regions
  • present the results to Deltares and DLR-PI colleagues and discuss possible recommendations

 

Your profile

  • you are inscribed and in the final year of a master program at a university in the Netherlands, Belgium or Germany
  • possible fields of study: engineering, geo-, political, earth, or environmental sciences
  • good communication skills and self-organised work style
  • very good command in English and conversational skills in Dutch and/or German (ideally both)
  • basic programming skills, preferably python
  • ideally, basic experience or open to work with geo-information systems (GIS)
  • interest in socially relevant scientific research for future-proof societies

 

We offer

DLR stands for diversity, appreciation and equality for all people. We promote independent work and the individual development of our employees both personally and professionally. To this end, we offer numerous training and development opportunities. Equal opportunities are of particular importance to us, which is why we want to increase the proportion of women in science and management in particular. Applicants with severe disabilities will be given preference if they are qualified.

We look forward to getting to know you!

 

If you have any questions about this position (Vacancy-ID 1106) please contact:

 

Daniel Lichte 
Tel.: +49 2241 20148 10 
Apply now