PhD Candidate: AI-Driven Welfare State Research

NZZone; Schweiz; Remote; CHF 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Zug Institute for Blockchain Research at the University of Lucerne is seeking a PhD candidate to join the ERC Starting Grant REPAIR project on Welfare State Transformation in the AI era. The position is fully funded for four years and starts 1 January 2027 or by mutual agreement.

You will conduct independent doctoral research, help develop cross-national indicators, publish in international journals, and collaborate with an international team; English proficiency and strong quantitative skills

Qualifications

• Master's degree in relevant disciplines (or equivalent) required.
• Interest in welfare state institutions, labour market regulation, social policy, technology governance, and/or the political economy.
• Strong knowledge of quantitative methods; experience with programming languages (R, Stata, or Python) or willingness to acquire these skills.
• Excellent command of English, both spoken and written.

Responsibilities

• Conduct independent doctoral research on welfare state transformation and/or labour market regulation in the context of AI-driven automation, within the framework of the ERC REPAIR project.
• Contribute to the development of comparative indicators, surveys, and cross-national analyses related to the project objectives.
• Publish research findings in peer-reviewed international journals (cumulative dissertation).
• Support the principal investigator in research activities, grant management, and the organisation of workshops and conferences.
• Present research at international conferences and participate in the project's international research network.

Skills

Quantitative methods

English proficiency

Independent work

Team collaboration

Communication

Education

Master's degree (or equivalent) in Political Science, Public Administration, Sociology, Economics, or closely related discipline

Tools

R

Stata

Python

Job description

Zug Institute for Blockchain Research at the University of Lucerne is seeking a PhD candidate to join the ERC Starting Grant REPAIR project on Welfare State Transformation in the AI era. The position is fully funded for four years and starts 1 January 2027 or by mutual agreement.

You will conduct independent doctoral research, help develop cross-national indicators, publish in international journals, and collaborate with an international team; English proficiency and strong quantitative skills