Full-Time Phd Researcher "Global Digital Technology Networks"

1 - Working at the VUB

For more than 50 years, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel has stood for freedom, equality and solidarity, and this is very much alive on our campuses among students and staff alike. 

At the VUB, you will find a diverse collection of personalities: innovators pur sang, but above all people who are 100% their authentic selves. With some 4,000 employees, we are the largest Dutch-speaking employer, in the private sector, in Brussels; an international city with which we are only too happy to connect and where (around) our 4 campuses are located. 

Add to this our principle of free research - in which self-reflection, a critical attitude and an open, creative mind around scientific and social issues are central - and you have a university that is fundamentally groundbreaking and pioneering in education and research. In short: the VUB all over again. 

Moreover, the VUB is a member of EUTOPIA, an alliance of like-minded European universities, all ready to reinvent themselves.

2 - Position description

The Faculty of Sciences and Bioengineering Sciences, Department Geography, is looking for a PhD-student with a doctoral grant. 

More concretely your work package, for the preparation of a doctorate, contains: 

Cosmopolis: Centre for Urban Research (Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium) is seeking to attract a full-time junior researcher in the context of the project “Global Digital Technology Networks: Charting the Intersections of Finance and Big Tech” funded by the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) and coordinated by Prof. David Bassens.  

You will develop an article-based PhD within the framework of the project and collaborate with the PI and a postdoctoral researcher to achieve collective research goals. Touwill be involved in tracing regulatory developments regarding cloud banking in the US, EU, and China and study how banks in each of these regions use the cloud in day-to-day-practice. 

For this function, our Brussels Humanities, Sciences & Engineering Campus (Elsene) will serve as your home base. 

3 - Profile

What do we expect from you?

• A master’s degree in Geography (or a related relevant discipline) 

• You have a clear interest in financial geography, and has received adequate training in analysing both qualitative and quantitative data sources. Knowledge of the research theme and financial geography debates more generally is a clear asset. 

  Familiarity with one of the non-European research contexts (i.e. China or the United States) is also considered a strong plus and will be reviewed in terms of complementarity with the postdoctoral researcher. 

• You have not performed any works in the execution of a mandate as an assistant, paid from operating resources, over a total (cumulated) period of more than 12 months.

The VUB wants to be a reflection of the society where everyone's talent is valued, regardless of gender, age, religion, skin color, migration background, disability and neurodiversity.

4 - Offer

Are you going to be our new colleague?

You’ll be offered a full-time PhD-scholarship, for 12 months (extendable up to max. 48 months, on condition of the positive evaluation of the PhD activities), with planned starting date 01/05/2024. 

You’ll receive a grant linked to one of the scales set by the government.

IMPORTANT: The effective result of the doctorate scholarship is subject to the condition precedent of your enrolment as a doctorate student at the university.

At the VUB, you’re guaranteed an open, involved and diverse workplace where you are offered opportunities to (further) build on your career.

As well as this, you will also enjoy various other benefits:

• Extensive homeworking options, a telework allowance of 50 euros per month OR an internet fee of 20 euros per month;
• An open and informal working environment where attention is paid to work-life balance, and exceptional holiday arrangements with 35 days of leave (based on a fulltime contract), closure between Christmas and New Year and 3 extra leave days;
• Cost-free hospitalisation insurance;
• Full reimbursement of your home-to-work commute with public transport according to VUB-policy, and/or compensation if you come by bike; 
• A wide selection of meals in our campus restaurants at attractive prices;
• Excellent and affordable facilities for sport and exercise, a range of discounts via Benefits@Work (in  all kinds of shops, on flights, in petrol stations, amusement parks...) and Ecocheques; 
• Nursery near campus, discount on holiday camps; 
• The space to form your job content and to continuously learn through our VUB learning platforms and training courses;
• And finally: great colleagues with a healthy drive.

5 - Interested?

Is this the job you’ve been dreaming of?

Then apply, at the latest on 01/03/2024, via jobs.vub.be, and upload the following documents:

• your CV;
• your motivation letter;
• a writing sample of maximum 2 pages;
• the contact details of 2 academic references;
• your bachelor's and master's diploma with transcript op records (not applicable for VUB alumni).

Do you have questions about the job content? Contact Prof. David Bassens at david.bassens@vub.be or on 02/629 33 87.

Would you like to know what it’s like to work at the VUB? Go to jobs.vub.be, and find all there is to know about our campuses, benefits, strategic goals and your future colleagues.

Would you like more information about EUTOPIA? Go to eutopia-university.eu, and read more about the role of the VUB in the development of the EUTOPIA alliance.