Two PhD positions in STS and ageing

The PhD positions are part of the Marie Curie Doctoral Network Digi4Age that involves a six-country collaboration between leading research units, major intergovernmental organisations, international civil society actors and governmental and non-governmental organisations. Digi4Age offers fully funded PhD positions for 3 years, supervision by some of Europe’s leading researchers in technology and ageing, tailor-made career development plans, training in cutting edge techniques and methods, secondments, and collaborations with stakeholders. The network trains doctoral researchers as future leaders with scientific expertise in both digitalising and ageing societies, who can creatively steer academia, the public sector, private sector, and civil society towards solutions benefitting older individuals, European societies, and businesses. To do this, it explores changes in health and long-term care, in work and the economy, and in society and social structures. The network is funded by the prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action programme of the European Commission. It is organized by six research institutes and 13 stakeholders from across Europe.

PhD 1

This doctoral position at Open Universiteit critically explores the political economy of ageing as it is increasingly expressed through technology and innovation policy. It questions dominant policy approaches that position older people as “problems in need of repair” and instead asks how prevailing innovation narratives can be productively reconfigured in ageing societies. To this end, it brings theories from Science and Technology Studies to bear on the political economy of ageing and examines empirical cases in which older people complicate or unsettle common stereotypes of problematic technology users. The project relies on qualitative methods such as ethnographic research, document analysis, and expert interviews. The overall aim is to contribute to an agenda that foregrounds new understandings of older people as a basis for shaping more progressive and sustainable approaches to innovation policy.

Secondment(s): As part of the PhD project, the successful applicant will undertake two secondments of 2-4 months duration: Secondment 1 with Assist.Prof. Vera Gallistl at Karl Landsteiner University (Austria) and Secondment 2 with VICESSE (Austria).

PhD 2

This doctoral position at Open Universiteit explores pilot projects on digital health and well-being that use digital technologies, particularly AI, in urban and rural spaces; it maps the data collecting and algorithmic practices in these projects to understand how old age and health care policies increasingly come to rely on older people as smart data subjects and in particular how they enact these data subjects through notions of scalability. The project uses theories from cultural gerontology and Science and Technology Studies, and relies on qualitative methods such as ethnographies, document analyses, and expert interviews.

Secondment(s): As part of the PhD project, the successful applicant will undertake two secondments of 2-4 months duration:  Secondment 1 with Assist.Prof. Vera Gallistl at Karl Landsteiner University (Austria) and Secondment 2 with Prof. Henk Herman Nap at Vilans (www.vilans.nl) (The Netherlands).

All applicants must fulfil the following general eligibility criteria for the Digi4Age doctoral network:

• must have completed a Master's degree or equivalent at the time of start (Sept 2026);
• must not have a doctoral degree at the date of their recruitment;
• should comply with the mobility rules, where they must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the recruiting organisation for more than 12 months, at any point during the 36 months immediately before their recruitment date (short stays such as holidays or compulsory military service are not taken into account).

Specific requirements for these PhD positions: 

We encourage applications from individuals with varied backgrounds and experiences to join our research team.

In particular, we are looking for candidates who meet some or all of the following criteria:

• Holding a Master’s degree ideally in the areas of Science and Technology Studies, critical, cultural or social gerontology, social anthropology, health humanities, or a related field.
• Demonstrating a strong academic track record and a keen interest in conducting original, critical research at the intersection of Science and Technology Studies and ageing.
• Possessing expertise in qualitative, empirical research methods; experience with ethnographic fieldwork is desirable.
• Showing interest in co-creation and participatory research methods.
• Thriving in inter- and transdisciplinary environments, working collaboratively with societal partners, engineers/designers, caregivers (formal and informal), and older people.
• Communicating effectively with diverse stakeholders and demonstrating strong analytical skills.
• Having excellent written and oral communication skills in English; while Dutch is not required at the start, a willingness to acquire a good command of the Dutch language within one year is expected.

You will first be appointed for a period of 12 months. The appointment will be extended to 36 months after a successful assessment in the first year. The salary is € 3.059 gross per month in the first year and is expected to increase to € 3.708 in the third year, for a full time appointment, contingent on satisfactory performance. The OU offers good secondary and flexible employment conditions as well as an 8% holiday allowance and an end-of-year bonus of 8.3%.

At OU, you will become part of the OU Graduate School (OUGS) that is a vibrant community of PhD researcher from different faculties. The OUGS school provides a high-quality training program that offers abundant opportunities for personal and professional growth.

For 19 consecutive years, the OU has ranked among the top three universities in the Netherlands in student evaluations, and in 2026 it was designated the highest-rated university nationwide. We take pride in sustaining this standard.

Location

In good consultation, you are expected to be present in Heerlen (The Netherlands) on a regular basis (in the case of a full-time appointment at least 2 days a week).

The Faculty of Humanities focuses on the cultural dimension of major societal challenges of our time, including technological innovation and digitalisation, identity, diversity and inclusion, and (mental) health. The faculty is completing a re-profiling programme called Connected Humanities (Cultuurwetenschappen in verbinding), which supports new and non-traditional forms of humanities research that reach beyond its classic fields of history, art, philosophy, and culture. Connected Humanities encourages close collaboration with the Social Sciences and other disciplines. The announced position is part of the research group on ageing, care and technology, led by Prof. Alexander Peine, which studies how social, infrastructural, cultural and material factors influence the ways ageing, care, (mental) health and technology interact and develop together.

More information about the Open Universiteit and the Faculty of Humanities can be found on our website www.ou.nl.

Information

For more information about this position, please contact Professor Alexander Peine, email: alex.peine@ou.nl.

PLEASE NOTE: The above e-mail address is intended only for obtaining further information about this vacancy. Please apply using the link below.