Applications for PhD students positions are invited by the Amsterdam Business School, Faculty of Economics and Business. Regarding this positions the School is seeking an individual who is excited about engaging in multidisciplinary approaches to studying information and information technologies in a social context.
The salary will be in accordance with the University regulations for academic personnel, and will range from €2000 (first year) up to a maximum of €2558 (final year) gross per month. The collective employment agreement of the Dutch universities will be applicable. The PhD thesis should be finalized within four years. In this period, the candidate will also be expected to do some teaching (20% of the time).
The candidate is expected to conduct research on IT-enabled innovation leading to international journal publications and a PhD thesis. The research will combine multiple methods of investigation, qualitative as well as quantitative.
IT-enabled innovation refers to the catalytic roles of information environments and information technologies in the ability of individuals and organizations to produce something ingenious or at least new in a particular context. The objective of this project is to explore and provide solid evidence regarding the drivers, processes, recurring patterns, prevailing work practices and related socio-technical phenomena that are conducive to IT-enabled innovation.
As opposed to the detection of error and the control of chronic problems, the study should be focused on positive change that involves the encouragement of human strengths and emphasizes a positive stance toward our capacity to construct better organizations and technologies. The resulting contribution is expected to provide further knowledge that can be used to enhance creative work, unstructured syntheses, serendipitous discoveries and any other form of computer-aided tasks that involve unexplored outcomes or aim to enhance our ability to go boldly where no one has gone before. The particular research questions will be framed in line with the interests of the candidate.
General Requirements
- Master’s degree in any discipline, but preferably with a social, organizational or technical orientation
- Interest (and preferably experience) in field research, including studies focusing on organizations
- Demonstrated mastery of both written and spoken English
- Conviction to complete the requirements toward a PhD degree within four years
The candidate will be supervised by Prof. Rik Maes and Dr Michel Avital, who have extensive experience in guiding doctorate students’ research, and can provide guidance in a wide range of research methods as well as access to a large set of local and multinational organizations.
For further information about the vacancy, please contact Dr Avital (email: im-phd@uva.nl phone: +31-20-525-5059). Preliminary inquiries indicating interest, motivation and qualification are highly encouraged.
Applicants should submit a cover letter of intent that details their research interest and related experience, a curriculum vitae that includes relevant coursework, the contact information of three reference persons and, if possible, a web link to manuscripts that demonstrate their writing skills in English (e.g. Master’s thesis, conference papers.).
The application package should be sent via email to applications-feb@uva.nl. Please include the job reference number (08-5005) and your name in the subject line, and submit all documents as attachments.
Although we prefer applications via email, they may be also mailed to:
University of Amsterdam, Personnel Department, Attn Bernadette Clemens, Roetersstraat 11, 1018 WB Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Early application is recommended. The deadline for applications is 30 May 2008.
The appointment will initially be for 1 year, to be extended to a total of 4 years upon excellent performance (an evaluation will be held after 8 months). The collective employment agreement of the Dutch universities will be applicable.
