Postdoctoral Researcher : Regenerative Design

Full Time - Fixed Term until 30 June 2026

Becoming Regenerative: Innovation for Renewal through Entrepreneurship and Interspecies Creativity (B-Regen Project/2024-2027) seeks to investigate – in unprecedented detail – the emergence of new regenerative innovations and startups in the UK, the Netherlands, South Korea and Japan. This UKRI-funded project is unique in that it will be conducted with co-Investigators from the HE partner University and the Institute for Global Prosperity at University College London, as well as with support from multiple partners such as Pangaia (sustainable and regenerative fashion), PDIE (purpose-driven leadership and entrepreneurship network) and the Fashion District. Two postdoctoral researchers will be recruited to conduct essential research tasks, focusing on longitudinal (partly observational) field research and data collection activities with regenerative designers, entrepreneurs and their teams. The two researchers will be supervised by co-investigators from the partner university and UCL, under the overall leadership of Dr Tuukka Toivonen, the Principal Investigator (Reader in Regenerative Design & Innovation at LUL and Director of the Becoming Regenerative Lab).

Postdoctoral Researcher is expected to hold a PhD in a relevant area or discipline (e.g., biodesign, design studies, ecological or regenerative innovation, social entrepreneurship, anthropology, sociology). They will also possess a promising publication record and a demonstrated ability to write effectively for academic and general audiences. Robust methodological expertise is a core requirement of the role—along with demonstrated field research expertise, applicants will be asked to showcase their ability to creatively combine different methods to shed light on key research questions and creatively illustrate important findings. We would expect familiarity with More-Than-Human ethical and research approaches as well as readiness to methodologically and theoretically unravel creative interactions between different species (e.g., human designers and living materials such as fungi, algae and microbes).

Successful applicants will moreover possess strong communication skills and the ability to co-author publications for competitive academic journals in relevant disciplines (e.g., design research, creativity research, biodesign, regenerative innovation studies) as well as shorter public-facing outputs, along with contributions to new project briefs and funding bids. Applicants also need to demonstrate their ability to work effectively and dynamically as part of diverse teams and networks, in fluid contexts requiring strong self-leadership.

The core Becoming Regenerative team will comprise the Principal Investigator, three Co-Investigators, two Post-Doctoral Research Fellows, as well as a small number of creative freelancers. The project team will be supported by the University’s Research Management & Administration (RMA) service and other Professional Services staff within a collegiate environment offered by Loughborough University London. The academic partners (UCL and another partner university) will also serve as essential sources of complementary knowledge and networks.

This is an opportunity for a motivated individual with a resonant PhD and resonant research interests to join a world-leading project that is expected to contribute to the success of regenerative design and entrepreneurship as a field of research and practice, both in the UK and globally. The project will intersect with emerging fields such as regenerative fashion, architecture, biodesign, regenerative AI and entrepreneurship support. It will seek to have significant social impacts through informing the formation and development of regenerative innovation ecosystems and networks while allowing the project team to offer support to emerging teams and startups where relevant.

Training opportunities relevant to the needs of the project will be offered and the chosen researcher will be encouraged to participate in LUL’s academic community where possible. Key deliverables will be clearly defined and discussed, with close support from the partner university Co-Investigator in particular. The postdoctoral researcher will enjoy access to considerable career development opportunities via the project team’s strong global network and they are expected to quickly develop into a leading contributor within the growing field of regenerative design, entrepreneurship and innovation through the experience they accumulate and the pro-active support that they will receive.

From a scholarly perspective, The Becoming Regenerative Project (on the whole) will expand current understandings of the role of design and entrepreneurship in the discovery and elaboration of regenerative potentials that can help accelerate – and scale – regenerative practices across the creative industries and beyond. The project will moreover extend specific strands of theory in relation to ‘interspecies creativity’ (i.e., how humans can enter genuine co-creative relations of ontological equivalence with non-human organisms and ecosystems) as well as strategic entrepreneurship (e.g., how distinctive dimensions of materiality are utilised in the process of gaining traction and demonstrating positive impact vis-à-vis key audiences). The project will build on the findings and methodology of our prior research on Creative Jolts (see, e.g., Toivonen et al. 2023 in the Academy of Management Journal) as well as emerging pilot studies on the creative journeys of well-known regenerative startups. The 50+ designers and entrepreneurs we will invite to join this study – along with the living organisms and ecosystems they collaborate with – will be approached both as research subjects and stakeholders, with the ethical dimension of such engagements receiving extensive attention from the project team.

Both postdoctoral scholars we will recruit need to demonstrate rigorous attention to detail and a creative, interdisciplinary mindset to enable full and fruitful contributions within our diverse team and the emerging field of regeneration studies. 

Key Requirements: 

• Proven research background with a PhD in a relevant discipline or multi-disciplinary area.
• Evidence of strong methodological expertise.
• Ability to work under strict and tight deadlines, both proactively with the project team and independently as needed.
• Ability to work proactively and enthusiastically with the project. partners and professional communities.
• Ability to present research work in academic and public contexts.
• Willingness to travel domestically and internationally and attend meetings related to research projects or similar, or conduct the work online as and when required.
• Ability to work regularly form the team office at LUL in the Olympic Park and at various changing locations in London and beyond, as required by field research priorities.

With huge amount of variety in the role, there is an opportunity for you to develop and continually grow.

If this role sound of interest, we’d love to hear from you.

Informal enquiries should be directed to Dr Tuukka Toivonen, via email to T.H.Toivonen@lboro.ac.uk

For more information refer to the Job Description and Person Specification.

We are happy to consider any reasonable adjustments that candidates may need during the recruitment process.

If there are any additional adjustments, you’d like to request please contact London-HR@lboro.ac.uk  We also offer reasonable adjustments on the job.

Closing Date: 10 October 2024

Interview Date: week commencing 16 October 2024

Our Benefits

• Generous annual leave allowance up to* 44 days (inclusive of Bank Holidays & University closure days)
• Competitive pension schemes
• We offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies.
• BUPA Cash Plan (100 scheme)
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Season ticker loan scheme