The VIA AUGUSTA project involves two PhD positions in the areas of regulatory governance and IT governance, as well as two postdoc positions in the areas of regulatory governance and inter-organizational governance. The two PhDs will focus specifically on digitalisation in the SoS context.

More specifically, the department of Management at TiSEM is looking for an IT governance PhD who will focus on effective ITG models and associated governance frameworks for information and communication under a SoS approach across various sectors, adopting a socio-technical angle and a multi-method approach. The project will be supervised by Prof.dr. Carol Ou and Prof.dr. Henk Akkermans.

Successful candidates are generally expected to: 

• Be highly motivated to make an impact with your research; have the ambition to perform top-level research with the ability to work autonomously and within a team, and have an interest in interacting and delivering within a group in a multidisciplinary, international environment.
• Have strong analytical skills and knowledge of empirical research methods, e.g., demonstrated in a master or bachelor thesis. Experience with empirical research methods (e.g., empirical research and dataset design in a master thesis or a project) would be an asset; otherwise, willingness to acquire such knowledge rapidly.
• Regularly present intermediate research results at the VIA AUGUSTA partners, brown bag seminars at the hosting schools, as well as international workshops and conferences.
• Be an active member of VIA AUGUSTA and TiSEM, especially by organizing and participating in high-level academic events and activities, and by presenting and discussing research output regularly with the research group.
• Contribute to the educational programs and organization of high-level academic events in which the school is involved.
• Excellent command of English and Dutch, both written and spoken.
• Excellent academic record (top 10% of their class).
• Candidates with a MSc or MPhil degree from a university outside the European Union: please provide a recent GRE or GMAT test score.
• Candidates with a MSc or MPhil degree from a Research University in the European Union need to have at least 24 ECTS credits in quantitative and research methods courses during their BSc and/or MSc or MPhil programs. If this is not the case, but you would still like to be considered for admission, you are welcome to hand in a GRE or GMAT test score to show your quantitative competences.

More specifically, the successful candidate is expected to:

• Have a master’s degree in information management, supply chain management, data science or industrial engineering. A Research Master will be a plus.
• Perform empirical research leading to a doctoral dissertation on cross-sectoral IT governance of infrastructural assets in the digital age.
• Assist in implementing the VIA AUGUSTA research program in terms of data discovery, dataset design and maintenance and theory building. 
• Be in charge of the design and execution of VIA AUGUSTA’s research methods, including case studies, system dynamics simulation, action research, and design science approaches, required to examine the strategic value and risk of the intended SoS, and how the associated ITG models (who decides and coordinates the systems), governance aspects (the content), governance mechanics (content flow), and boundary conditions can enable and orchestrate the SoS approach across various sectors.
• Undertake empirical research, including interviews and surveys, alone or with supervisors and the infrastructure partners.
• Contribute to IT governance discussions and the implementation of related recommendations into the practices of infrastructure managers.

Fixed-term contract: 4 Years.

PhD candidates will be employed by Tilburg University, the Netherlands, which is one of the best non-profit employers in the Netherlands and has an excellent policy concerning terms of employment. The appointment is intended to lead to the completion of a PhD dissertation. 

During the first year, you will receive extensive training in theory and methods by taking several PhD-level courses, with no teaching responsibilities.  For the remaining three years, 80% of the position’s time will be dedicated to the completion of your PhD research, and 20% to the acquisition of academic skills through teaching courses and supervising master/bachelor theses within the department.

Appointed PhD candidates are employees of Tilburg University.  The salary for the PhD position amounts € 2,443 per month gross in the first year, rising to € 3,122 per month in the fourth year.  You are entitled to a holiday allowance amounting to 8% and a year-end bonus of 8.3% of your gross yearly income.  Employees recruited from abroad may be eligible for the 30% tax facility, which means that 30% of your salary will be paid as a tax-free reimbursement.  The university will apply for such tax facility on their behalf.  All university employees are covered by the so-called civil servants pension fund (ABP).  The university offers very good fringe benefits, such as an options model for terms and conditions of employment and reimbursement of moving expenses.