Quebec Sustainable Social and Community Housing Living Lab
Funded PhD position in Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Last updated: May 1, 2026, 10:01 a.m.
Supervisory details
Supervisor: Ursula Eicker
Department: Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering
University: Concordia University, Montreal, Canada
Start date: Fall 2026
PhD Fellowship: 35K CAD per year for 4 years
Project overview
This transformational Quebec Living Lab advances decarbonization and electrification in social, affordable, and low-income housing. It combines technical innovation with community engagement to deliver scalable solutions for a sector often excluded from market-driven retrofits.
The project includes four living labs:
- Longueuil (cooperative housing retrofit) – In partnership with the Centre de transformation du logement communautaire (CTLC)
- Montreal-Nord (Black community housing project)
- Hochelaga (social housing project) – In partnership with the Centre opérationnel de transition écologique (COTÉ)
- Montreal (public social housing project) – In partnership with the Office municipal d’habitation de Montréal (OMHM)
Role description
- Develop and implement digital twin models for low-income housing and urban districts
- Build and apply building energy simulation models to evaluate pre- and post-retrofit performance
- Design and test retrofit strategies (heat pumps, thermal storage, PV systems, battery integration)
- Model electrification scenarios and assess impacts on distribution grids and demand response
- Contribute to the Tools4Cities platform, including integration of 3D city models and urban data
- Simulate urban sustainability indicators (e.g., thermal comfort, heat island exposure, walkability)
- Integrate real-time monitoring data (smart meters, indoor conditions) for model validation and calibration
- Develop decision-support tools for stakeholders (housing authorities, municipalities, community partners)
- Analyze cost, emissions, and policy constraints for retrofit scenarios
- Support implementation monitoring and continuous commissioning of retrofit interventions
- Building physics
- Urban energy systems
- Digital twins
- Retrofit strategies
- Electrification
- Smart grids
- Renewable energy
- Energy modeling
- Sustainable cities
- Low-carbon housing
- Data-driven decision tools
- Master’s degree in Building Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Energy Systems, Civil Engineering, or related field
- Strong background in building physics and energy systems modeling
- Experience with simulation tools (e.g., EnergyPlus, TRNSYS, Modelica, or similar)
- Programming skills in Python, MATLAB, or similar for data analysis and modeling
- Familiarity with digital twins, 3D city modeling, or GIS tools (asset)
- Knowledge of renewable energy systems (heat pumps, solar PV, storage technologies)
- Understanding of electrification and grid interaction concepts (demand response, flexibility)
- Experience with data integration and analysis (sensor data, urban datasets)
- Interest in sustainable cities, decarbonization, and low-carbon infrastructure
- Ability to work in interdisciplinary teams and communicate with non-technical stakeholders
- Fully funded PhD position, including tuition coverage and a competitive stipend
- Opportunity to work on real-world social housing projects across multiple living labs in Québec
- Direct engagement with community organizations, public agencies, and social finance actors
- Experience contributing to policy development, financial tools, and co-governance frameworks Interdisciplinary research environment combining policy, economics, and community-based research
- Support for publications, conferences, and knowledge mobilization activities
- Access to Volt-Age training programs (leadership, communication, applied research)
Please combine the following documents into a single PDF file:
- Letter of intent clearly aligned with the professor’s research domain (You may also review their recent publications and highlight relevant experience.)
- Academic CV Unofficial transcripts with CGPA and course names
- Names and emails of 3 referees
- Publications with embedded links, if any
- Any other supporting documents that strengthen your application
Send your PDF file to volt-age.recruitment@concordia.ca with the subject as:
Digital twins_Your name
Deadline to apply
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
Questions/contact
For all questions, please contact Alisa Makusheva at alisa.makusheva@concordia.ca.
Volt-Age is funded by a $123-million grant from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund.
