VU University Amsterdam is one of the leading institutions for higher education in Europe and aims to be inspiring, innovative, and committed to societal welfare. It comprises twelve faculties and has teaching facilities for 25.000 students.
Faculty of Economics and Business Administration
The Faculty of Economics and Business Administration (FEWEB) aims to combine high quality education with excellent research. The Faculty offers three Dutch taught Bachelors programs (Economics and Business Economics, Econometrics and Operations Research and Business Administration), one English taught Bachelors program (International Business Administration), 8 English taught Masters programs and 13 postgraduate programs. The faculty has several research groups with an outstanding international reputation. FEWEB accommodates approximately 5000 students and 1500 postgraduate students. Over 500 staff members are employed at the Faculty.
Amsterdam Business Research Institute
Amsterdam Business Research Institute (ABRI) was established in 2009 and builds on a long history of research and teaching at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration of VU University Amsterdam. ABRI consists of six research tracks and involves renowned Dutch and international research fellows who publish in and are part of editorial board of journals including Academy of Management Review, Academy of Management Journal, Organization Science, Organization Studies, Journal of Management, Journal of Management Studies. ABRI offers a full time PhD program in Business and Management where the focus is not only on excellent research but also on academic career development.
The Knowledge, Information and Innovation (KIN) research group (www.kinresearch.nl) is part of FEWEBs
Department of Information, Logistics and Innovation. The KIN group is a multi-disciplinary group of PhD and senior researchers, with academic backgrounds in business administration, design, sociology, communication science, anthropology, philosophy, engineering and computer science. The group researches the development, use and business value of innovative organizational processes and technologies and contributes to an international field that is relatively new and multidisciplinary. The group has a strong collaborative ethos and work closely together with faculty and researchers from other (international) universities and with a variety of business partners. The KIN research group is also responsible for a number of courses in the Business Administration curriculum at the VU University Amsterdam, and facilitates the Masters specialization Information & Knowledge Management.
The PhD position
The KIN group received an NWO grant to conduct research on organizing crossover collaborations for digital innovation, in collaboration with Delft University of Technology and RMIT Melbourne. The premise of this project is that innovation nowadays requires collaborations between heterogeneous partners from different disciplines and sectors. Digital innovations (i.e. combinations between physical products, digital technologies, and information-based services) in particular require the input of such diverse actors. The PhD student will conduct qualitative research on coordination practices for crossover collaborations for the development of crossover digital innovations. This project will generate in-depth knowledge on coordinating crossover digital innovation projects through embedded, qualitative research in industry. By tracing the developments in crossover digital innovation projects in industry, this project will identify best practices for other organizations to learn from.
The PhD student can rely on the intensive supervision and training offered by the KIN Research Groups leading researchers and will follow the 4-year PhD program of the Amsterdam Business Research Institute (ABRI). The Faculty offers opportunities to attend conferences, to meet other international researchers and to participate in high-quality discussion groups in support of writing papers for publication. Many of KINs PhD students spend some time abroad during their trajectory. The prospects for the Faculty's doctoral graduates on the labor market are excellent, both inside and outside the academic world.
Requirements
Candidates who would like to apply should meet the following requirements:
motivated to do high quality scientific research;
ability to combine creative and analytical thinking;
ability to collaborate in groups as well as carry out work individually;
demonstrable flexibility and strong communication skills required to collaborate with industrial partner(s) and perform research as an embedded researcher in a field setting;
affinity with innovation and technology management;
proficient in written and spoken English;
academic writing skills;
proficient in spoken Dutch (or willing to learn Dutch to aid qualitative data collection)
MPhil / Research master or an equivalent program (e.g., Junior Researcher Programme) in Economics, Business Administration, Innovation Management, Technology & Management, Operations Research, Sociology, Industrial Design, or a related discipline; or a regular master in one of these disciplines with excellent research skills
excellent grades;
expertise in and affinity with qualitative research methods.
Further particulars
The appointment will start no later than September 2015 and will initially be for 1 year. After satisfactory evaluation of the initial appointment, the contract can be extended for a total duration of 4 years. You can find information about our excellent fringe benefits of employment at www.workingatvu.nl such as:
remuneration of 8,3% end-of-year bonus and 8% holiday allowance;
solid pension scheme (ABP);
a minimum of 29 holidays in case of full-time employment.
Salary
The salary will be in accordance with university regulations for academic personnel, and amounts € 2,125 gross per month during the first year and increases to € 2,717 gross per month during the third year, based on a full-time employment.
Application
If you are interested in a PhD position you are requested to send a motivation letter, two recommendation letters, a CV with your publications and your academic transcripts before 12 March 2015 to Faculteit der Economische Wetenschappen en Bedrijfskunde; t.a.v. M. Maletic, directeur bedrijfsvoering, email: vacature.feweb@vu.nl. Please do not forget to mention the vacancy number in the email header.
Additional information
For additional information please contact the Department Head of the KIN group Prof. Dr. Marleen Huysman (m.huysman@vu.nl), Prof, Dr. Gerda Gemser (RMIT, gerda.gemser@rmit.edu.au), Dr. ir. Hans Berends (j.j.berends@vu.nl) or Dr. ir. Fleur Deken (f.deken@vu.nl), www.kinresearch.nl
Scholarships are not only for the smart students. Anyone can get scholarships
Have a Question about this Scholarship?