Quebec Sustainable Social and Community Housing Living Lab – PhD Fellowship in Decarbonization and Digital Twins Concordia University in Canada

The Quebec Sustainable Social and Community Housing Living Lab at Concordia University offers a fully funded PhD fellowship focused on advancing decarbonization and electrification in social, affordable, and low-income housing. This innovative project integrates technical innovation with community engagement to deliver scalable solutions for sectors often excluded from market-driven retrofits. The Living Lab encompasses four distinct sites across Quebec, including cooperative, Black community, social, and public housing projects, in partnership with organizations such as CTLC, COTÉ, and OMHM.

As a PhD fellow, you will develop and implement digital twin models for low-income housing and urban districts, build and apply building energy simulation models to evaluate retrofit performance, and design and test retrofit strategies including heat pumps, thermal storage, PV systems, and battery integration. You will model electrification scenarios, assess impacts on distribution grids and demand response, and contribute to the Tools4Cities platform by integrating 3D city models and urban data. The role also involves simulating urban sustainability indicators such as thermal comfort, heat island exposure, and walkability, as well as integrating real-time monitoring data for model validation and calibration.

Additional responsibilities include developing decision-support tools for stakeholders, analyzing cost, emissions, and policy constraints for retrofit scenarios, and supporting implementation monitoring and continuous commissioning of retrofit interventions. The project provides hands-on experience with digital twins, urban energy modeling, and exposure to renewable energy systems, electrification, and grid interaction. Fellows will have opportunities to contribute to decision-support tools for cities and housing partners, participate in publications, conferences, and research dissemination, and access Volt-Age training in leadership, communication, and applied research.

Applicants must hold a Master’s degree in Building Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Energy Systems, Civil Engineering, or a related field, with a strong background in building physics and energy systems modeling. Experience with simulation tools (EnergyPlus, TRNSYS, Modelica), programming skills (Python, MATLAB), and familiarity with digital twins, 3D city modeling, or GIS tools are highly valued. Knowledge of renewable energy systems and electrification concepts, experience with data integration and analysis, and an interest in sustainable cities and low-carbon infrastructure are essential. The ability to work in interdisciplinary teams and communicate with non-technical stakeholders is required.

The fellowship offers full tuition coverage and a competitive stipend of 35,000 CAD per year for four years. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. To apply, submit a single PDF containing your letter of intent, academic CV, unofficial transcripts, names and emails of three referees, publications (with links), and any other supporting documents to [email protected]. Use the subject line 'Digital twins_Your name'. For questions, contact Alisa Makusheva at [email protected].