ELSA4TI – PhD position, legal challenges for AI use in technical industry (1.0 FTE) (V25.0444)

We are looking for a keen and bright candidate for a PhD position that is available for a four-year term as part of the recently awarded ELSA Lab for Technical Industry (ELSA4TI) (funded within the NGF-Call AiNed ELSA Labs). The ELSA4TI Lab is led by Prof Ming Cao, Director of the Jantina Tammes School of Digital Society, Technology and AI. ELSA4TI focuses on the ethical, legal, social and economic implications of AI adoption in the technical industry.

This PhD position focuses on the legal challenges technical industry is encountering when adopting AI in its processes. The successful candidate will carry out an analysis of how the European legal framework (including the AI Act, GDPR, worker rights frameworks) supports and/or restricts AI adoption in the uptake of AI in the process of select technical industries. The analysis will focus on case studies from industries partnering with the project. This position is embedded in the Security, Technology and e-Privacy Research Group (STeP) at the Faculty of Law and the Jantina Tammes School of Digital Society, Technology and AI research community. The supervision of the researcher will be jointly carried out between profs Jeanne Mifsud Bonnici (Faculty of Law), Christos Emmanouilidis (Faculty of Economics and Business) and Ming Cao (Faculty of Science and Engineering). You will represent the University of Groningen team in project regular meetings, will contribute to project activities, and will engage with project partners and external stakeholders, demonstrating own initiative, producing quality research outputs from a multidisciplinary perspective.

Organisation
Founded in 1614, the University of Groningen enjoys an international reputation as a dynamic and innovative institution of higher education offering high-quality teaching and research. Flexible study programs and academic career opportunities in a wide variety of disciplines encourage the 34,000 students and researchers alike to develop their own individual talents. As one of the best research universities in Europe, the University of Groningen has joined forces with other top universities and networks worldwide to become a truly global centre of knowledge.

The Faculty of Law of the University of Groningen is a modern institution with a longstanding tradition of more than four centuries. It offers several (inter)national bachelor and master programmes and with 5000 students and almost 500 staff members. The faculty forms a vibrant community and has a strong AI and law research programme. The position is hosted at the Department of Transboundary Legal Studies as part of the STeP Group. The group is responsible for the teaching in the track on Technology Law in the LLB in International and European Law and the LLM in Technology Law and Innovation and LLM in Health and Technology Law.

The Faculty of Economics and Business offers an inspiring study and working environment for students and employees. International accreditation enables the Faculty to assess performance against the highest international standards. It also creates an exciting environment of continuous improvement. FEB's programmes, academic staff and research do well on various excellence ranking lists.

Your profile includes

• A Bachelor and Masters degree in law preferably with a strong technology law profile
• Proven research skills and a deep understanding of the Law and Technology research field
• Excellent organisational and communication skills
• The ability to work both independently and as part of a team
• Strong academic writing skills, previous publications are a plus
• Excellent command of English language (both written and spoken)
• Excellent command of (spoken) Dutch language or willingness to learn Dutch

We offer you following the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities

• A salary of € 3,059 gross per month in the first year, up to a maximum of € 3,881 gross per month in the fourth and final year for a full-time working week.
• A holiday allowance of 8% gross annual income and an 8.3% year-end bonus.
• A full-time position (1.0 FTE) for four years. The successful candidate will first be offered a temporary position of 18 months with the option of renewal for another 30 months. Prolongation of the contract is contingent on sufficient progress in the first year to indicate that a successful completion of the PhD thesis within the next three years is to be expected. A PhD training programme is part of the agreement and the successful candidate will be enrolled in the Graduate School of Law.

Do you meet the qualification criteria? If yes, your application should include:

• A letter of motivation (max. 2 pages), clearly linking your interest and background/experience to the project.
• A curriculum vitae.
• Academic transcripts.
• Proof of English proficiency.
• Any other relevant documents (e.g. proof of English proficiency, relevant research papers).

You may apply for this position until 14 September 11:59pm / before 15 September 2025 Dutch local time (CEST) by means of the application form (click on "Apply" below on the advertisement on the university website).

Position start date: 1 December 2025

The University of Groningen strives to be a university in which students and staff are respected and feel at home, regardless of differences in background, experiences, perspectives, and identities. We believe that working on our core values of inclusion and equality are a joint responsibility and we are constructively working on creating a socially safe environment. Diversity among students and staff members enriches academic debate and contributes to the quality of our teaching and research. We therefore invite applicants from underrepresented groups in particular to apply. For more information, see also our diversity policy webpage: https://www.rug.nl/(...)rsity-and-inclusion/

Our selection procedure follows the guidelines of the Recruitment code (NVP): https://www.nvp-hrnetwerk.nl/sollicitatiecode/ and European Commission's European Code of Conduct for recruitment of researchers: https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/charter/code

Unsolicited marketing is not appreciated.