15 funded PhD positions in technology governance and regulatory learning (REGULAIRE MSCA Doctoral Network) Technical University of Munich in Germany

REGULAIRE is a Europe-wide Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Network coordinated by the Technical University of Munich (TUM). It offers 15 connected PhD projects on technology governance and regulatory learning, with research spanning artificial intelligence, digital platforms, quantum technologies, cybersecurity, public procurement, AI literacy, regulatory enforcement, institutional capacity, and democratic legitimacy.

The network is designed for first-stage researchers who want to study how institutions recognize emerging problems, test regulatory responses, evaluate effects, and preserve evidence for future governance. Projects are hosted across ten universities, including TUM, University of St. Gallen, University of Amsterdam, BI Norwegian Business School, Maastricht University, Lund University, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, University of Copenhagen, and Politecnico di Milano.

Each doctoral project is connected to a broader research programme on adaptive governance. Topics include foresight and problem sensing, supervisory authority and power shifts, outsider innovation as a source of signals, research exemptions and feedback loops, procurement for foresight, prototyping regulation, AI literacy interventions, regulatory delinking and sunset clauses, design-driven institutional reframing, frugal regulation, street-level implementation of digital rules, multi-authority coordination, evidence stewardship and regulatory memory, enforcement of digital rules for systemic actors, and anti-capture mechanisms in adaptive regulation.

Doctoral researchers will join an international training environment with shared summer schools, methods workshops, seminars, transferable-skills training, and planned secondments with regulators, public agencies, international organizations, and other practice partners. The network aims to connect academic research with real-world governance settings and to produce comparative evidence, practical methods, and guidance for better regulation.

Applicants should have a relevant Master’s degree or equivalent qualification granting access to doctoral study, along with strong analytical and writing skills and a clear interest in technology governance. English is the working language of the network. Candidates must also meet the MSCA doctoral-status and mobility rules and the specific admission and project requirements of the recruiting university. Applicants must not already hold a doctoral degree or have successfully defended a PhD thesis.

This is a network-wide overview, not the final application portal. Individual positions will be advertised separately by the host universities, each with its own deadline, salary, contract terms, start date, and application procedure. Recruitment is planned for autumn 2026, while the overall network page lists a deadline of 2027-04-30; in practice, applicants should follow the deadline stated in the specific university vacancy when it opens.

REGULAIRE is funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, grant agreement No. 101312218. Interested candidates should monitor the REGULAIRE website and EURAXESS for the host-university advertisements and apply directly through the relevant university notice.