Objectives:
The PROTECT network will investigate methods to protect rights and interests of individuals (e.g. public values) impacted by the continuous large-scale collecting and analyzing of personal data, while still enabling society to benefit from rapid digital innovation. The PhD candidate will contribute to building tools that can assess legal and ethical risks, connected to complex personal data flows emerging from heterogeneous data sources. In particular, she/he will study social and ethical innovation assessment methods for use in entrepreneurial start-up and accelerator environments, where agile software and data-driven development are the norm. She/he will also develop public policy advice thereon.

Expected Results:
The research will result in ethical assessment support tools and guidelines suited to lightweight implementation by fast-moving and resource limited technology innovation teams. Guidelines and tools will be prepared for use by innovation practitioners and will be trialed with innovation teams in the ADAPT Centre, where next generation digital technologies are developed, and in the Dublin start-up community. They will be designed to be an input into responsible, value-driven innovation policies at the national and/or European level.

The position includes three secondments:

• At University of Twente, Enschede, (Prof. P. Brey), to study the role of public values in the EU innovation ethics guidelines (3 months);
• At Dublin City University (Prof. B. Gordijn), to study the role of public values in
• connection to digital selfs and personalized data tools (2 months);
• At the Impacter Development Centre, Dublin, (Szilvia Szabó), to work on promotion of value-driven innovation in the Dublin start-up community (1 month.

You have an MA in philosophy, social sciences or science and technology studies with a clear interest in social and ethical aspects of technology. In addition you (have)

• excellent analytical and empirical skills
• an interest in practical applications of social and ethical analysis of the computer and information sciences
• English language skills, both in writing and speaking
• (Basic) Dutch language skills, preferably both in writing and speaking; or the competence and the willingness to learn Dutch
• good social and communication skills in academic as well as non-academic contexts
• the ability to work independently and the willingness to collaborate in multidisciplinary setting with project participants and partners from different countries and diverse backgrounds
• fulfil the definition of an Early-Stage Researcher (ESR) set by the European Commission: At the time of recruitment by the host you are in the first 4 years (full-time equivalent research experience) of your research career and have not yet been awarded a doctoral degree. This is measured from the date when you obtain the degree that formally entitles you to embark on a doctorate (either in the country in which the degree was obtained or in the country in which you are recruited, even if a doctorate was never started or envisaged). So again, you should not have a PhD at the time you apply, and you should not have had more than 4 years of full-time research appointments after the year in which you became eligible to become a PhD student in your home country.

The initial appointment will be for a period of one year. After a positive evaluation, the appointment will be extended for another two years. The gross monthly salary will be between € 2,325 (year 1) and € 2,835 (year 3) at a fulltime appointment (scale P of CAO Dutch Universities). Benefits include pension contribution, annual holiday premium of 8% and an end-of-year premium of 8.3%. Non-Dutch nationals may be eligible for a substantial tax break (30% ruling).

Applicants should have the right to work in the Netherlands for the duration of the contract. As part of an equal opportunity scheme, women and LGBTI people are encouraged to apply.

Rathenau Institute

The Rathenau Instituut supports public debate and political decision making on socially relevant aspects of science and technology. It conducts research on this subject and organises debates on science, innovation, and new technology.
The instituut is located in The Hague, The Netherlands.

The PROTECT consortium and project

PROTECT is an international, interdisciplinary and cross academic-industry training network hosted across Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain and Belgium. It is recruiting 14 Early Stage Researchers (ESR) to undertake research towards PhDs in the disciplines of law, ethics or computer science, with the common goal of Protecting Personal Data Amidst Big Data Innovation. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action (MSCA) grant agreement No. 813497