Phd student in the ERC project DATAROUTES

Organisation/Company Université Paris 8 Research Field Geography » Geopolitics Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Positions PhD Positions Country France Application Deadline 30 Jun 2025 - 00:00 (Europe/Paris) Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Hours Per Week 35,5 Offer Starting Date 1 Sep 2025 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Horizon Europe - ERC Reference Number 101098032 Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

Name of the project: DATAROUTES (ERC Advanced Grant 2022)

Research activities / Content of the research project:

DATAROUTES aims to carry out a cartography of Internet data routes in order to understand how the routing strategies of state and non-state actors shape cyberspace and to analyze, as a domain of application, the important security and policy issues it raises for the European Union. The goals of this project are to measure and map Internet routes using open-source data, thanks to DATAROUTES’ Border Gateway Protocol observatory. DATAROUTES will provide a platform for open access to its data and methodologies in order to encourage a new stream of research on the geopolitics of data routing.

Tasks to be performed :

• Research in social sciences (geopolitics, international relations, geography, political science, sociology, information and communication)
• Collection and analysis of open source data
• Publication of scientific articles, including in peer-reviewed journals, and for science popularization
• Participation in scientific events such as conferences, colloquiums, roundtables and workshops.
• Organization of conferences to disseminate results of the research

Expected results :

• Publication of scientific papers in journals in Geography, Geopolitics, Political Geography, Science and Technology Studies, and other relevant disciplines
• Participation in scientific conferences and colloquiums abroad and in France
• Support to the activities of DATAROUTES and their organization (conferences, workshops, seminars…)
• Support to the training activities of DATAROUTES

Where to apply

E-mail fdouzet@gmail.com

Requirements

Research Field Geography » Geopolitics Education Level Master Degree or equivalent

Skills/Qualifications

EXPECTED TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE :

• Master’s degree in social sciences and Humanities (Geopolitics, Geography, Political Science, Sociology, Information and Communication).
• Strong understanding of Internet architecture, the Internet interconnection ecosystem, routing principles and Internet protocols, as well as the structures and functioning of Internet governance.
• Solid knowledge of Internet governance issues.
• In-depth expertise in a specific geographic region. Proficiency in a language such as Arabic or Spanish would be an asset.
• Interest in cartography.

EXPECTED SKILLS :

• Ability to work as part of a multidisciplinary team
• Ability to conduct short and medium-term research projects
• Aptitude to work in a multi-skills and multi-domain environment to develop cooperation and mutual understanding
• Good command of Geographic Information Systems software, graph visualization software, or be willing to learn them quickly
• Good knowledge of tools and methodologies in open-source intelligence investigations.
• Self-motivation
• Excellent command of English, knowledge of another language is an asset

Professional mobility in some of the countries studied according to research calendar and fieldwork accessibility, starting year 3 of the project.

Expected duration of the assignments: 3 years (36 months)

Gross Salary ( salaire brut ): 2370 € / month

Selection process

To apply, please send a CV and a motivation letter to :

Description of the employer and of the affiliation structure :

The University Paris 8 is an institution of higher education with 22,500 students, 1,200 research professors and approximately 650 administrative staff. The university carries out training and research missions. Its activities are mainly focused on human and social sciences, arts and digital technology. As far as research is concerned, it has 26 research units and 7 mixed research units.

IFG Lab is the research laboratory of the French Institute of Geopolitics of the University Paris 8, founded in 2022 by Béatrice Giblin. It was previously called the Centre de recherches et d’analyses géopolitiques -CRAG (Centre for Research and Analysis in Geopolitics), a host research team (EA 353) founded in 1989 at the University Paris 8 along with the first doctoral program and Diplôme d’Etudes Approfondies (Diploma of Higher Education) in geopolitics in France.

The researchers and doctoral students of IFG Lab study territorial and digital power rivalries. Their research work applies geopolitical methodologies (spatial analysis and stakeholder strategy, cartography and computer graphs) to a wide variety of conflict situations. These can be international (war, diplomacy, environmental conflicts, citizen involvement, etc.), intra-state (redevelopment and infrastructure projects, environmental conflicts, regionalist or nationalist movements, urban geopolitics, electoral rivalries, etc.), or digital conflicts (cyber conflicts, disinformation, geopolitics of digital technologies, international regulation of cyberspace, etc.).

The GEODE project (Geopolitics of the Datasphere), led by IFG Lab, specializes in the strategic challenges of the digital revolution. In 2020, it was awarded the title of Centre of Excellence for International Relations and Strategy by the French Ministry of the Armed Forces (geode.science).

Frederick Douzet, director of IFG Lab and GEODE, has won an ERC Advanced Grant (2022) for her project DATAROUTES. The doctoral student will be working full time for the ERC project DATAROUTES.