Background
Since late 2014, the REC has been developing and piloting on site a tool to monitor and help reduce CO2 and pollutant emissions and improve the energy efficiency of its employees’ commuting. The data it gathers (including fuel costs, savings and calories burned) feed into a daily ride-sharing platform and a website that also offers other information on public transport services, bike-to-work options and mobility planning. The technical set-up is illustrated here.
Interest in the REC’s sustainable commuting toolkit has been shown by, inter alia, the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the German Embassy in Hungary, Leicestershire County Council (UK), the city of Szeged and the University of Szeged (Hungary), the Hungarian Business Leaders’ Forum, the EU’s CIVITAS Initiative as well as the new Interreg CENTRAL EUROPE project: MOBI-Plan. Corporate interest has also been shown by regional energy providers.
The REC would like to bring the philosophy of smart, sustainable commuting to third-party users from 2018. The long-term aim is not to sell the resulting open-source tool, but to advocate and assist in its take-up at any workplace site numbering more than 50 employees via workshops, guidelines, webinars etc.
Main tasks
In phase one, by mid-2017 the selected intern(s) or partners will help to realise the following development activities as part of the REC’s system upgrade:
- programming and development to render the toolkit technically ready for off-site use (on MS Windows, Linux and OS/X systems platforms), where the REC remains the data host (thereby ensuring secure communication with remote third-party datasets and the safe transmission of third-party data to the REC);
- assurance of full legal compliance to host third-party personal (anonymous) data;
- elaboration of a state-of-the-art Internet interface (also suitable for mobile devices), including downloadable workplace mobility planning guidelines;
- development of a smart mobile device application (in order to encourage ride sharing to the office), including ping/push notification capabilities;
- integration of commuter/societal full-cost accounting into the user-reporting framework as well as different vehicle types (electric vehicle, hybrid, biofuel, diesel, petrol etc.);
- re-branding of the REC’s smart sustainable commuting tool; and
- in a second phase, from mid-2017 until the end of the year, oversee the pilot implementation of the above on site at the REC.
Work experience, knowledge and skill level required
The IT developer should have the following experience, knowledge and skills:
- Database design and MySQL programming; familiarity with Javascript; Google Maps Web service and Google Charts; desktop authority scheduling; PHP programming; and ldap authentication
- Excellent knowledge- and task-management skills
- Excellent written and spoken English (Hungarian a plus)
- Ability to work in a multicultural environment and be a team player
- Experience of working on EU-funded projects is a plus
- Regular use of sustainable (including active) forms of mobility
Education
The IT developer should have the following educational qualification:
- University degree in a relevant field connected to IT development. A post-grad qualification in the field of sustainable urban mobility or smart cities is a plus.
Application
Expressions of interest for internships must include a cover letter and CV. Expressions of interest from philanthropists/strategic partners should include offers/proposals and company references. In both cases, applications should be submitted to recruitment@rec.org.
The application deadline is 3 October 2016.
Please indicate the position reference number in the subject line:
- For interns: 2016/8a
- For philanthropists: 2016/8b
- For strategic partners: 2016/8c
Ideally, one IT developer or strategic partner will be selected for all tasks, unless: a) there are one or more philanthropists; b) there is more than one self-funded developer (intern); and/or c) the developer’s availability is limited to less than 15 months.
This full-time assignment is based at the REC’s head office in Szentendre (Hungary), although interns need not be physically located at the REC throughout the assignment. A tentative start date would be 1 October 2016.