PhD position Rathenau Instituut

About
We invite you to apply for a PhD position supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Network ‘HARNESS - Harnessing AI and Data-Intensive Technologies’, funded by the European Commission’s Horizon Europe programme. Read more: https://harness-network.eu/jobs.html. As a student, you would be enrolled in the program Working Democratically Toward Sustainability at the Rathenau Instituut and the Technology, Innovation and Society-group at the Technical University of Eindhoven (Netherlands) with an employment contract for 4 years and a gross salary departing from € 2.901,-- per month up to € 3.707,- per month for a fulltime appointment (=38 hours, scale P of the Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities /KNAW).

Basic Information
PhD Topic: Multi-level governance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the electricity sector

Supervisors: Rinie van Est, Frank Veraart and Romy Dekker

Introduction:

Are you passionate about the twin – digital and green – transition? Are you eager to contribute to the responsible use and governance of AI in the European electricity sector? We are offering a fully funded four-year PhD position on the multi-level governance of AI in the electricity sector as part of the HARNESS program.

Modernizing the electricity grid to integrate renewable energy sources and manage decentralized energy production and consumption is essential to achieving Europe’s goal of climate neutrality by 2050. AI can help optimize renewable energy integration and improve grid management. However, its use also presents challenges, such as the need for specialized yet scarce expertise, as well as risks related to autonomy, energy consumption, and cybersecurity.

This PhD project will assess the effectiveness of governance arrangements to address related social and ethical issues and explore ways to strengthen the multi-level governance of AI in the European electricity sector, with a particular focus on AI’s role in decentralized energy systems.

Research objectives:

The Doctoral Candidate will investigate how the multi-level governance of the ethical, ecological, legal, and social issues related to the use of AI in the European electricity sector takes place, by looking at how European regulations in the field of AI, data governance and electricity are implemented at national level. This multi-level governance process will be studied in at least two European countries, including the Netherlands.

Expected Results:

The Doctoral Candidate will deliver i) an overview of relevant EU regulations in the field of AI, data governance and electricity and which social and ethical issues they do and do not address, ii) provide insight of how these European regulations are implemented on the national level, by looking at two or three European countries, iii) come up with suggestions to improve the multi-level governance of AI in the European electricity sector.

Planned secondment(s):

University of Twente (3 months in Enschede, to use anticipatory methodologies for ethical analysis), Trinity College Dublin (3 months in Dublin, AI Certification and Risk Management).

What is HARNESS?
HARNESS is an international, interdisciplinary and cross academic-industry training network hosted across Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Italy and Belgium (MSCA Doctoral Network) formed to train a new generation of 13 Doctoral Candidates (DCs) as PhD graduates in the disciplines of law, ethics or computer science with the common goal of researching methods and tools to make Integrated Assessments of risks and impacts for current Data intensive and AI technologies.

HARNESS Doctoral Candidates will receive training to enable them to integrate and apply arguments, analyses and tools from across the fields of artificial intelligence, law and ethics, so that they can excel in research and data science careers within digital services industry and public policy sectors.

The HARNESS Training Network
The DCs will receive a strongly multidisciplinary training programme, bringing together world-class researchers in Artificial Intelligence, Law and Ethics to offer an excellent structured research programme operating at the critical boundaries between these three fields. The research supervision and training for DCs is delivered by a network composed of the following world-class research groups and industry practitioners:

• the Ontology Engineering Group at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (Madrid, Spain).
• the School of Law and the Knowledge and Data Engineering Group at Trinity College Dublin (Dublin, Ireland);
• the Institute of Ethics at Dublin City University (Dublin, Ireland)
• the Dept of Philosophy and the 4TU Centre for Ethics and Technology in University of Twente (Enschede, Netherlands);
• the Law, Science, Technology & Society at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Brussels, Belgium);
• the Rathenau Instituut (The Hague, Netherlands), which is part of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), specialized in parliamentary technology assessment.
• the Legaltech Center at Mykolo Romerio Universitetas (Vilnius, Lithuania)
• the Department of Legal Studies at Università di Bologna (Bolonia, Italiy)
• the Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre (IMEC) at Gent Universiteit (Ghent, Belgium)

A further set of industry partners will offer DCs a rich range of relevant industry experience through training secondments.

Skills and Qualifications:

• Masters degree in Science, Technology and Society studies (STS), Public Administration, Political Sciences, Innovation Studies, or equivalent.
• Knowledge of and strong interest in the social dynamics and governance of science, technology and innovation. But please mind: this is NOT an engineering project.
• Excellent analytical and empirical skills
• Research-oriented attitude and scientific mindset.
• Good social and communication skills in academic and non-academic contexts
• Enthusiasm, self-reliance, strong organizational skills.
• Ability to work independently and willingness to collaborate in multidisciplinary settings

Specific Requirements:
In addition HARNESS PhD students must demonstrate:

• An ability to collaborate with international research teams in the English language.
• An enthusiasm for working on multidisciplinary research problems, including research collaboration and publication across disciplinary boundaries.
• Applicants should comply with the mobility rules: in general, 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 in the 36 months immediately before their recruitment date. Compulsory national service, short stays such as holidays, and time spent as part of a procedure for obtaining refugee status under the Geneva Convention are not taken into account.
• Certificate of Conduct

Required Languages:

• English language skills, both in writing and speaking
• (Basic) Dutch language skills, preferably both in writing and speaking; or the competence and willingness to learn Dutch

Website for additional job details: can use https://harness-network.eu/jobs.html

Benefits:

The objective of Doctoral Networks is to implement doctoral programmes by partnerships of organisations from different sectors across Europe and beyond to train highly skilled doctoral candidates, stimulate their creativity, enhance their innovation capacities and boost their employability in the long-term.

All of the PhD positions are paid. A highly competitive salary is foreseen for a DC, according to the Marie-Curie programme regulations. It is composed of the following allowances:

• Living allowance: (multiplied by a country coefficient) – corresponds to the Monthly Gross salary
• Mobility allowance (private mobility related costs)
• Other allowances – only if applicable at the beginning or during the action – concern Family allowance, Long term leave allowance, and Special needs allowance

The net salary calculation depends on the employment rules and conditions in each country. The total allowances received for DC’s salary are subject to tax and social contributions (employer’s and employee’s).

Eligibility Criteria:
All researchers recruited must be Doctoral Candidates.

• must not have a doctoral degree at the date of their recruitment
• can be of any nationality
• should be enrolled in a doctoral programme during the project
• should comply with the mobility rules: in general, 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 in the 36 months immediately before their recruitment date. Compulsory national service, short stays such as holidays, and time spent as part of a procedure for obtaining refugee status under the Geneva Convention are not taken into account.

Researchers are required to undertake physical, transnational mobility (i.e. move from one country to another) when taking up their appointment.

About Rathenau Instituut.
The Rathenau Instituut is situated in The Hague, international city of peace and justice and the administrative capital of the Netherlands. This parliamentary technology assessment organization was founded in 1986 to stimulate public and political debate on developments in science and technology. It is a member of the European Parliamentary Technology Assessment Network. The institute employs about 60 people and is legally part of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, KNAW), which is dedicated to advancing the arts and sciences in the Netherlands.

Whether addressing industrial sustainability, digitalization across society, or changes in healthcare, scientific knowledge, technology, and innovation play a crucial role in major societal transformations. The Rathenau Instituut provides insights and organizes dialogues into how these fields can contribute to societal challenges, with a strong emphasis on public values.

The Doctoral Candidate will be part of the program Working Democratically Toward Sustainability, which considers tensions between democracy, sustainability and science, technology and innovation. Developments in the world, such as shifting geopolitical power dynamics and Europe's pursuit of strategic autonomy, will also be taken into account in the research and dialogue activities.

About Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e).

TU/e is a leading international university of technology, where people are the heart and soul. With excellent research and education programs, the TU/e is an important hub in a world-class high-tech ecosystem. The university contributes to progress in the technical sciences, to the development of socio-technical innovations, and as a result, to the sustainability and welfare in the region and beyond.

The university participates in collaborations with industry and civil society organizations, and is at the academic heart of the top technology region Brainport. Given the pressing societal challenges such as climate change, three objectives are fundamental to TU/e's vision for 2030: a sustainable world, the technological revolution, and the impact of technology on society. Taking this major responsibility of contributing to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals implies the need to develop new knowledge, skills, and competencies and to rethink the ways we educate our future engineers. See also: TU/e Strategy 2030.

The Doctoral Candidate will be embedded in the Technology, Innovation & Society (TIS) group, part of the Department of Industrial Engineering & Innovation Sciences (IE&IS). Research at TIS concerns how humans and societies bring about technological change, and how technological innovations change society. Researchers in the TIS group study these processes in a systemic, transdisciplinary, and transnational perspective.

The research focus of TIS covers both short-term processes (innovations) and long-term, fundamental processes (transitions), and addresses multiple aspects of the innovation journey - invention, innovation, diffusion, appropriation, governance, policy intervention along with local and global impacts on society. Many of the TIS research projects are strongly embedded in practical environments and involve co-creation and an action research approach.

Research Profile: R1

Research Field: Science, Technology and Society studies (STS), in particular Technology assessment and governance

Type of contract: Temporary

Job Status: Fulltime

Hours per week:38

Is job funded through EU framework? : Horizon Europe/Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions

Reference Number:HARNESS-DC7

Marie Sklodowska-Curie Agreement Number: 101169409

Science4refugree: N/a.

How to apply: through the link, stating the job title, addressed to Romy Dekker.

Internal Application Form:

1. 1. Hiring Info and Work Location

Hiring Organisation & Offer Posting Contact Details:

Rathenau Instituut

Anna van Saksenlaan 51
2593 HW The Hague

Postbus 95366
2509 CJ The Hague

Work Location:

The Hague, Rathenau Instituut

Eindhoven, Technical University of Eindhoven

Selection Process:

Apply via the provided link, including the following:

• A completed HARNESS eligibility form: https://harness-network.eu/files/eligibilityform.docx.
• A covering letter explaining why the candidate wants the position and what qualifies them for it.
• A CV
• A 1500-word research proposal that outlines how you would approach this topic and ideas for conducting the research.
• Attached document or links to documents providing a max of 3 examples of work demonstrating prior achievement in research, enquiry or debate, e.g. master thesis or published academic paper.
• Results of a recent English language test, or other evidence of your English language capabilities.

A panel at Rathenau Instituut and Technical University of Eindhoven will check eligibility, assess all applications and shortlist applicants for interview to determine final appointments.

HARNESS pursues a policy of equal opportunities on matters of gender and disability and will seek to recruit an equal proportion of male and female applicants and will provide employment opportunities for candidates with disabilities. Employment procedures and contracts will conform to the European Charter for Researchers / Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers.

Data Protection
By applying for this position, you consent to the processing of your personal data for recruitment purposes, in accordance with the data protection policy as described in the recruitment code (the code of conduct for recruitment & selection). Your data will be stored securely and retained for 12 months after the recruitment process. You have the right to access, rectify, or request deletion of your data as detailed in the recruitment code. For more information on how we handle personal data, please follow this link to the recruitment code: https://bit.ly/42dMX3c.