PhD scholarship in AI Regulation and Risk Copenhagen Business School in Denmark

Copenhagen Business School (CBS) invites applications for a three-year PhD scholarship in AI Regulation and Risk at the Department of Business Humanities and Law. The position is based in Copenhagen, Denmark, with an expected start date of 1 February 2027. This is a fully salaried PhD scholarship and includes tuition fees, office space, and support for course and travel costs according to the current CBS agreement.

The project sits within the CBS LAW group, which works on business law from both societal and commercial perspectives, with particular attention to international law, EU law, and national law. The group has strong research and supervision capacity in digital regulation, IT law, internet law, telecommunications regulation, and platform regulation, and its recent work focuses on the regulation of artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and risk-based regulation.

The PhD project should address the risk-based nature of AI regulation and digital regulation more broadly. Research can focus on the policy side, such as when risk-based regulation is appropriate and why it is chosen, or on the strategy and operational side, such as how firms assess and mitigate risk in an intensive compliance environment. Suggested topics include the regulatory stack of the AI Act, GDPR, and sectoral law; translating the EU AI Act into corporate governance; AI, cybersecurity, and value-chain accountability; and the political economy of EU digital lawmaking.

The programme is highly international. PhD students are expected to participate in international research conferences and spend time at another research institution as a visiting PhD student. The department offers teaching in business law, digital regulation, IT law, AI regulation, and cybersecurity, and the scholarship includes teaching obligations corresponding to 416 hours over three years.

Applicants are expected to have a master’s degree or equivalent, a strong academic background in law, regulation, or related disciplines, excellent academic English, and a high level of performance in prior studies. Priority is given to applicants with strong grades. The application must include a five-page PhD project description with an original research question, theoretical framework and method, proposed empirical material, and a three-year work plan, along with a motivation letter, diplomas and transcripts, CV, publication list if applicable, one selected written work, and top-40% documentation if required.

The application deadline is 27 September 2026. Candidates must apply through the CBS electronic recruitment system.