TILT considers it important to continue and strengthen research and teaching at full professor level into regulatory challenges surrounding digital technology that increasingly affect work and private life, also due to developments such as the pandemic and the global climate crisis. 

The chair’s contribution to the curriculum of the department concerns the field of law and digital technology in a broad sense with special attention to liability, responsibility and accountability, viewed across the boundaries of traditional jurisdictions in the context of multi-level and international governance.

The chair’s research will focus on liability, responsibility and accountability in the context of the development and use of digital technologies which challenges prevailing views on regulatory choices and affect the diversity of, and (power) relations between, stakeholders within development processes. Furthermore, Artificial Intelligence and other emerging digital technologies, such as the Internet of Things, distributed ledger technologies and quantum computing, will continue to raise fundamental responsibility/liability questions in the coming years. Traditional approaches, often based on trading products as a core economic activity, will be challenged by a radical shift towards data-driven 'products' and services.

The chair’s research on responsibility/liability extends beyond civil liability and will be complementary to our expertise on data protection, cybercrime and cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, environmental issues, ethics and governance issues (including certification and standardization governance).

The professor to be recruited participates in, and will further develop, the ongoing signature research programme of TILT, "Regulating Socio-Technical Change".

The chair holder to be appointed is responsible for the development of research in the domain outlined above, especially also for the purpose of developing education in this area. The insights gained from research should be used for both the design and content of education and contribute to the existing faculty strategy and the Tilburg Education Profile. Strengthening cooperation within the triple helix (academia, industry, government) is also on the agenda of the new chair holder. Research and education must meet needs from the future work practice of students and society.

The chair is in line with the VSNU and the ambition expressed by Tilburg University to strengthen the link between education, research and the professional field.

Tilburg University believes that academic excellence is achieved through the combination of outstanding research and education in which social impact is made by sharing knowledge. In doing so, we recognize that excellence is not only achieved through individual performance but mostly through team effort in which each team member acts as a leader, connecting people. 

• The candidate (m/f) demonstrates a good understanding of law and digital technology with a fundamental view of the field;
• She/he knows how to link knowledge of the law regarding innovation and technology to developments in society and can signify the impact of technological developments;
• She/he is able to demonstrate excellent scientific qualifications, as evidenced by a PhD dissertation in the field of the chair, (international) articles and other authoritative publications;
• She/he has extensive research experience in the field of the chair or an important part thereof, and in any case has a demonstrable affinity with and interest in multidisciplinary and/or empirical-legal research, for example by participating in or leading multidisciplinary or empirical-legal research;
• She/he shows affinity and experience with fulfilling, coordinating and management tasks in an international educational environment;
• She/he has an extensive network in the relevant work practice of Law & Technology students;
• She/he preferably has experience in setting up and supervising PhD research and can show that she/he has managed to enthuse and stimulate young researchers;
• She/he is able to develop promising applications for indirect and contract funding and to successfully complete the resulting research programs and studies;
• She/he is able to demonstrate her/his good didactic qualities (UTQ and SKO/education or comparable qualifications and good student evaluations) and is good at providing and developing education in the field of the chair, both for Dutch and international students;
• She/he is willing to use her/his qualities in the field of binding, inclusive and positive leadership for the benefit of the organization in which she/he is embedded and is able to use these managerial, organizational and leadership qualities in various ways. 
• She/he is able to establish connections with various (internal and external) stakeholders and has demonstrated very good communication skills;
• She/he can demonstrate an excellent command of the Dutch and English language in word and writing.

Fixed-term contract: 12-18 months.

Tilburg University offers excellent terms of employment. We believe flexibility, development, and good employee benefits are very important. We make clear agreements on career paths and offer several facilities and schemes to maintain an optimum balance between work and private life. Tilburg University fosters diversity and inclusion; that is why we pursue an active policy for inclusive teams where diverse talents can flourish.

The starting gross salary varies between €5,843 and €8,508 per month (full time) based on scale H2 of the Collective Labour Agreement Universities (vsnu.nl). Tilburg University actively promotes equal and transparent salary between men and women by strictly applying predetermined parameters based on the candidate’s experience. Employees recruited from abroad may be eligible for the 30% tax facility—this means that 30% of your salary will be paid as a tax-free reimbursement.

The employee will receive a temporary employment contract for the duration of 18 months (for external candidates) or 12 months (for internal candidates). After assessment this contract will be converted into a permanent position. 

You are entitled to a holiday allowance amounting to 8% and a year-end bonus of 8.3% of your gross yearly income. If you work 40 hours per week, you receive 41 days of paid recreational leave per year.

Please visit Working at Tilburg University | Tilburg University for more information on our employment conditions. 

Tilburg University

Under the motto “Understanding society”, Tilburg University’s more than 1,500 employees develop knowledge, transfer it to over 19.000 students of 110 nationalities, and bring people from various disciplines and organizations together to learn from each other. In this way, we want to contribute to solving complex social issues. Our focus areas are economics, business and entrepreneurship, social and behavioral sciences, law and public administration, the humanities and digital sciences, and theology. We seek the connection between different disciplines in order to find solutions to the major issues we face as a society. Our students are trained to be responsible and entrepreneurial thinkers, driven by solidarity, a sense of responsibility and empathy, who are able to influence and give direction to a rapidly changing society in an innovative way. Tilburg University has a culture of collaboration and co-creation, at local, regional, national, and international levels.

Department of Law, Technology, and Society (TILT)

The Department of Law, Technology, and Society (TILT) is the home of teaching and research on the effects of socio-technical change on the regulation and management of economic activities in an age where information technology is a major driver of innovation. TILT is one of the leading research groups in Europe at the intersection of law, technology and society. It is based on a multidisciplinary study of socio-technical change, aimed at understanding the interaction between technology and social and normative practices, in order to clarify how to address the regulatory challenges of socio-technical change.