Technical University of Munich
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PhD Position in Accountability in Adaptive Governance for MSCA Doctoral Network REGULAIRE Technical University of Munich in Germany
Degree Level
PhD
Field of study
Sociology
Funding
Paid three-year full-time employment contract under MSCA Doctoral Network funding, with social security, health insurance, and pension contributions. Gross monthly salary is approximately €3,800 before taxes and social security, including MSCA mobility allowance and possible family allowance. This is not a scholarship.
Deadline
Oct 31, 2026
Country
Germany
University
Technical University of Munich
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About this position
Technical University of Munich (TUM) is recruiting a doctoral candidate for the MSCA Doctoral Network REGULAIRE (Regulatory Learning for the Governance of Transformative Technologies).
The project focuses on accountability in adaptive governance, with a strong emphasis on how regulation can remain transparent, legitimate, and resistant to capture while learning and adapting over time. The doctoral project sits within a broader network studying regulatory learning in the governance of emerging technologies such as AI, quantum computing, and neurotechnology.
This is a paid, three-year full-time employment contract rather than a scholarship. The position includes social security, health insurance, pension contributions, and an MSCA salary package of approximately €3,800 gross per month, plus mobility allowance and possible family allowance.
The work is based on site in Munich, Germany, and teleworking is not permitted. The successful candidate must enrol in the doctoral programme at the TUM School of Social Sciences and Technology and meet MSCA mobility and doctoral eligibility rules.
Research themes include technology governance, democratic accountability, public policy, political science, public administration, science and technology studies, and law. The project may use institutional ethnography, document analysis, interviews, comparative cases, or co-design approaches with civil society and oversight actors. It will examine transparency, participation, independent scrutiny, public reporting, feedback routines, and conditions under which institutions can learn without losing public trust.
Supervision is led by Prof. Urs Gasser and Prof. Sandra Cortesi at TUM. The network offers international training, three residential summer schools, monthly paper development seminars, and a three-month secondment with a non-academic partner.
Applicants must hold a Master’s degree or equivalent by the start date, have strong English proficiency, be willing to travel, and satisfy MSCA mobility rules. Helpful experience includes institutional ethnography, interviews, document analysis, participatory methods, transparency/accountability research, or work in civil society, oversight bodies, or public administration.
Deadline: 31 October 2026, 00:00 CET. Apply via the online form and include a CV, degree certificates and transcripts, a short research proposal (max 2 pages), and referee contact details.
Funding details
Paid three-year full-time employment contract under MSCA Doctoral Network funding, with social security, health insurance, and pension contributions. Gross monthly salary is approximately €3,800 before taxes and social security, including MSCA mobility allowance and possible family allowance. This is not a scholarship.
What's required
A Master's degree or equivalent qualification that grants access to doctoral studies by the start date; relevant backgrounds include law, public policy, political science, public administration, organisational theory, science and technology studies, and related interdisciplinary social science fields. Applicants should have a genuine interest in adaptive regulation, transparency, accountability, and resistance to capture; skills or strong interest in institutional ethnography, document analysis, and co-design with civil society and oversight actors; professional working proficiency in English; willingness to travel for secondment and network activities; eligibility under MSCA mobility rules; and willingness to enrol in the TUM doctoral programme. Helpful but not required: experience with interviews, participatory/co-design methods, transparency/accountability research, or work in civil society, oversight bodies, or public administration.
How to apply
Submit the application through the online form by the deadline. Include a CV, degree certificates and transcripts, a short research proposal of up to 2 pages, and contact details for two referees. Letters are only requested from shortlisted candidates.
More information can be found here
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