PhD Designing Digital Trust for Socio-Technical Innovation

Designing digital trust for socio-technical innovation.

PhD: Designing Digital Trust for Socio-Technical Innovation

Job description

What do multi-actor digital innovation challenges in sectors like public services, healthcare and financial services have in common? Scaling digital innovations demands shared digital trust. Digital trust is an growing interdisciplinary field looking to scale innovations in a highly insecure digital world. While the digital world expands, the mechanisms to verify who we are and what we are allowed to do remain fragmented.

As part of the NWO-funded project ‘Sum Volo Satis Facio’, TU Delft is seeking a PhD candidate to work at the frontiers of digital trust. As part of a team, you will help bridge the gap between high-level regulations (like eIDAS) and the practical, technical architectures required to make digital interactions secure and scalable.

You will be part of a multi-helix innovation coalition of 14 public, private and academic partners, including Digicampus. Together, these partners provide the socio-technical components (data registries, wallets, cryptographic infrastructure) and interdisciplinary knowledge (socio-technical and innovation methods) needed to deliver breakthroughs in the adoption of digital wallets and attestations. Your research project will focus on closing the verification blind spot: how should relying parties verify digital attestations?

Job requirements

We are looking for a candidate who thrives at the intersection of technology, society and innovation.

• Education: a master’s degree in Information Systems, Systems Engineering, Computer Science, Data Science, Cybersecurity, Management of Technology or a related field.
• Interest: a strong passion for digital trust and digital infrastructures.
• Skills: ability to look beyond scientific boundaries, engage with diverse stakeholders, and translate complex legal/societal needs into technical requirements.
• Mindset: proactive, collaborative, and driven by the desire to create real-world societal impact.
• Language: proficiency in Dutch and English.

Given that the PhD wil operate in a Dutch speaking team on topic that requires knowledge of Dutch policies, proficiancy in Dutch is a requirement for this position.

Faculty Technology, Policy & Management

The Faculty of TPM provides an important contribution to solving complex technical-social issues, such as energy transition, mobility, digitalisation, water management and (cyber) security. TPM does this with its excellent education and research at the intersection of technology, society and policy. We combine insights from both engineering and social sciences as well as the humanities. TPM develops robust models and designs, is internationally oriented and has an extensive network of knowledge institutions, companies, social organisations and governments.

Conditions of employment

Doctoral candidates will be offered a 4-year period of employment in principle, but in the form of 2 employment contracts. An initial 1,5 year contract with an official go/no go progress assessment within 15 months. Followed by an additional contract for the remaining 2,5 years assuming everything goes well and performance requirements are met.

As a PhD candidate you will be enrolled in the TU Delft Graduate School. The TU Delft Graduate School provides an inspiring research environment with an excellent team of supervisors, academic staff and a mentor. The Doctoral Education Programme is aimed at developing your transferable, discipline-related and research skills.

The TU Delft offers a customisable compensation package, discounts on health insurance, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged.