The Department of Management of the Tilburg School of Economics and Management (TiSEM) at Tilburg University is offering a PhD position on the topic of Automated Contract Negotiation and Monitoring of Data Protection Rights.

More and more data are being collected and used for automated decision making. As a result, society is constantly under some form of data surveillance. Not all data surveillance is necessarily bad, but users have little control over what happens with their data. Current legal frameworks for data protection, like the GDPR, leave little or no role for end-users.

In this project, we investigate the feasibility of an approach to empower end-users to take control over the usage of their data. The project consists of a legal and a technical part:  (1) strengthen contractual rights of end-users concerning use of data and, (2) develop an architecture for automated contract negotiation, monitoring, and enforcement of these rights.

This PhD project concerns part (2). The deliverable of the project will be a PhD thesis, a working prototype, and publications in relevant conferences and journals. The project will have a duration of 4 years. We are looking for a motivated PhD candidate with a background in legal informatics or Artificial Intelligence and law.

The PhD candidate holds an Msc degree in data science, artificial intelligence, computer science, or similar, and has demonstrated affinity for contract law, technology regulation or data protection, as shown by completed courses in relevant legal subjects. She or he should be able to function in a multidisciplinary working environment, involving both legal and technical skills. Knowledge of Dutch is preferable, as part of the law is in Dutch and we expect to do interviews with prospective end-users. The candidate is fluent in English.

Fixed-term contract: 4 years.

Tilburg University is rated among the top Dutch employers, offering excellent terms of employment. The collective labor agreement of Tilburg University applies. The candidate will join the Graduate School of TiSEM and is expected to follow courses on research methodology and relevant legal subjects. The candidate is expected to set-up and perform research activities and finalize a PhD thesis before the end of the contract.

The PhD candidate will be ranked in the Dutch university job ranking system (UFO) as a PhD-researcher (promovendus) with a starting salary of € 2.222,- gross per month in the first year, leading up to  € 2.840, - in the last year (amounts fulltime, salary table January 2018). The holiday allowance is 8% (paid in May), the end-of-year bonus is 8.3% (paid in December). The project will start preferably in October 2018. The selected candidate will be appointed for 4 years.

All university employees are covered by the so-called civil servants pension fund (ABP). Researchers from outside the Netherlands may qualify for a tax-free allowance equal to 30% of their taxable salary. The university will apply for such an allowance on their behalf. The university offers very good fringe benefits (it is one of the best non-profit employers in the Netherlands), such as an options model for terms and conditions of employment and excellent reimbursement of moving expenses.

The environment

Tilburg School of Economics and Management (TiSEM) is the largest school of Tilburg University. The Department of Management offers an international and lively research environment, aiming for top quality research in the areas of organization theory, supply chain management and information management. This project will take place in the information management group, in collaboration with the Private law Department of Tilburg Law School.

Tilburg School of Economics and Management

Tilburg Law School (TLS) is a highly ranked law school with an excellent profile on research on law and technology. Both in the Tilburg Institute for Law and Technology (TILT) and in the Tilburg Institute of Private Law (TIP), which is embedded in the Department of Private Law, high-level research is performed on the interaction of law and technology. Therefore, a network of scholars will provide an inspiring academic environment for the PhD research. 

Tilburg Law School