Background

Global resource scarcity and increasing environmental challenges call for a shift from traditional production systems based on "take, make, dispose" to circular value creation. In the truck industry, achieving a circular economy requires comprehensive traceability throughout the entire vehicle lifecycle: design, production, use, maintenance, dismantling, and recycling.

Currently, however, data relevant to lifecycle management is fragmented among suppliers, internal departments, fleet operators, dismantlers, and recyclers. This hinders transparency and limits opportunities for repair, refurbishment, remanufacturing, and high-quality recycling. Addressing these challenges requires coordinated data exchange, shared governance, and aligned incentives among ecosystem partners.

Research Goal

You will investigate how a data-sharing ecosystem for truck traceability can be structured, governed, and incentivized to enable circular economy objectives. Depending on your interests and background, potential research directions include:

• Ecosystem mapping: Identify key actors, data assets, and roles across the truck lifecycle through interviews and desk research
• Benchmark analysis: Compare traceability practices from other industries (e.g., aerospace, consumer electronics) to derive transferable patterns
• Governance & architecture evaluation: Assess data-sharing models (e.g., data spaces, blockchain, cloud-based) and propose suitable governance mechanisms
• Incentive design: Develop and evaluate mechanisms (financial or non-financial) that motivate stakeholders to share data responsibly
• Data-sharing blueprint: Formulate practical guidelines on data ownership, access, interoperability, and integration across the ecosystem

Your Profile

• You are interested in topics such as sustainability and circular economy, data ecosystems, and digital traceability
• You are highly motivated to work on recent real-world problems in a self-organized and goal-oriented working mode, and you bring in your own ideas
• You are open-minded and willing to get in touch with professionals, e.g., throughout an interview study
• Very good English skills as the thesis will be written in English

Details

• Start: Immediatly

• Language: English

We offer you an exciting research topic, close supervision, and the opportunity to develop practical as well as theoretical skills. If you are interested, please send a current transcript of records, a short CV, and a brief motivation (2-3 sentences) to Linda Sagnier (linda.sagnier∂kit.edu).