The section Public Administration in the Technology, Human and Institutional Behaviour (HIB)-department is currently seeking an PhD (1.0 fte) in the areas of Public Administration and Computational Social Science.

THE CHALLENGE

Today's society is characterized by sudden events that disrupt our social and economic systems. This research project covers a very urgent problem: critical digital infrastructures are highly vulnerable to disruptions. One important source is cyber-attacks. While these attacks become increasingly serious, sophisticated, and frequent governments should prepare; however, they cannot do so on their own. In your PhD project you will shed light on how a broad range of public, private, and semi-public actors can closely cooperate to make local and regional governance networks resilient to future cyber-security disruptions. You will combine state-of-the-art computational approaches with mixed methods of data collection (interviews, surveys, simulations) to study governance networks. Your research can help executives, managers, and professionals avoid major crises. You will be a key player in a dynamic, international, and interdisciplinary team of social scientists. The PhD project is part of a larger research project funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO).

YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES

As a PhD researcher you study the current practices in government preparedness for technological disruptions in each of (and across) the 25 Dutch Safety Regions. You will gather data and perform analyses that allow you to closely examine the extent to which these regions, and the local governments embedded therein, organize for technological disruptions by examining their risk profiles, as well in more specific policy documents. You will also be involved in broader questions on societal resilience to technological disruptions, like cyber-attacks.

• you have obtained a MSc degree in a relevant field of the social sciences. Completion of a research master is a plus.
• you have a clear interest in computational social sciences and Public Administration research.
• you have a strong background in research methods and are comfortable working in, or learning about programming languages, for example R, Python, or Matlab. You have a keen interest in qualitative research, including interviews and content analysis.
• you have good social and communication skills which enable you to interact efficiently with both scientists and practitioners.
• you have excellent English language skills, both in writing and speaking. Fluency in Dutch is highly desired, given your role in data collection in a Dutch context.
• you are creative, critical, and highly motivated.

You are appointed as PhD (1.0 fte) for a period of four years. Initial gross salary is € 2,434 in the first year going up to € 3,111 per month in the fourth year. Preferred starting date is 1 January 2022. The University of Twente offers excellent facilities for professional and personal development within the Twente Graduate School, combined with excellent mentorship, an international and dynamic atmosphere, a green and lively campus, holiday allowance (8%), end-of-year bonus (8.3%), pension and diverse fringe benefits.

The HIB-department is one of four departments at the faculty. The department is committed to design, evaluation and implementation of and teaching about comprehensive technology-based solutions supporting people in behaviour that promotes their health, safety, resilience, connectedness and joy. The HIB-department comprises research groups of Communication Science; Psychology, Health & Technology; Psychology of Conflict, Risk and Safety; and Public Administration. For more information on these groups, see: https://www.utwente.nl/en/bms/organization/departments-institutes/#department-clusters