News

With RISE now officially funded by NWO, we are excited to start building our research team.

We are currently recruiting four PhD candidates who will work together across Eindhoven University of Technology, Wageningen University & Research, and Leiden University to help develop new approaches for nature-inclusive decision-making.

RISE is an interdisciplinary research program that brings together expertise in biodiversity, ecology, spatial planning, systems thinking, and innovation. Together with farmers, horticultural businesses, governments, and other regional partners, the PhD candidates will work on real-world challenges around restoring ecosystems while maintaining viable food production and attractive living environments.

We are looking for curious and motivated researchers who enjoy working across disciplinary boundaries and who want their research to make a difference in practice.

Interested in becoming part of RISE? Take a look at our open positions:

— Positions closed —

Know someone who might be a great fit? Please share!

We look forward to welcoming the first RISE researchers to the team.

We are delighted to announce that the Dutch Research Council (NWO) has awarded funding to RISE – Restoring Integrated Systems for Ecosystems.

Led by Bob Walrave and Rianne Valkenburg from the Innovation, Technology, Entrepreneurship and Marketing (ITEM) research group at Eindhoven University of Technology, RISE brings together researchers from TU/e’s Department of the Built Environment, Wageningen University & Research, Leiden University, and Inholland University of Applied Sciences, alongside a broad network of public and private partners.

RISE aims to develop new ways of making nature-inclusive decisions at both farm and regional level. The project will create an interactive framework that connects scientific knowledge about biodiversity and ecosystems with the everyday realities of agriculture and horticulture, while also taking into account what matters to local communities and other stakeholders.

By bringing together ecological, technological, economic, and societal perspectives, RISE seeks to better understand the connections and trade-offs within regional ecosystems—and to explore solutions in which nature restoration, food production, economic activity, and quality of life can reinforce one another.

Over the coming years, researchers and partners will develop and test the RISE approach in real-world regions, working closely with farmers, horticultural businesses, governments, knowledge institutions, and local stakeholders.

We are excited to get started and to build RISE together with our partners!