PhD position in Social Science Genetics – VU Amsterdam & Amsterdam UMC

The Doctoral Network

ESSGN brings together eight Universities with a shared interest in social science genetics, i.e., in incorporating genetic information to improve our understanding of age-old questions in the social sciences, such as the origins of inequality, the ‘nature versus nurture’ debate, and the extent to which the interplay between environments and genes is important in shaping life chances. The consortium consists of an interdisciplinary group of academics, spanning demography, economics, epidemiology, genetics, political science, psychology, sociology, and statistics, as well as seven non-academic partners experienced in and committed to using data science to better understand inequalities in life chances. The partners include government bodies (GO Science UK), policy research institutes (RAND Europe, Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute [NIDI]), charities (the Health Foundation), data infrastructure networks (CentERdata-ODISSEI) as well as economics consulting (Prometeia).

ESSGN creates, nurtures, and maintains a stimulating and world-class training environment in the interdisciplinary study of social-science genetics and geno-economics. Training will be provided through: i) courses in the biological foundations of genetic inheritance; ii) practical training in cutting-edge, multidisciplinary methods in social science genetics, including in state-of-the-art computational and bioinformatics methods for analysing big data and in statistical techniques for empirical research; and iii) cutting-edge academic research, to prepare the doctoral student to be a successful research scientist, but also for the professional job market in industry, technology and policy. We will coordinate and support skill development as well as monitor well-being and progress towards the PhD.

The PhD projects will jointly contribute to answering a key research question that has occupied social scientists for decades:

To what extent do inequalities in life chances arise from genetic variation, environmental factors, and their interplay, and what can we do about it?
The PhD project will go beyond the state-of-the-art by (i) using Europe’s largest and most comprehensive multi-generation databases to separate direct genetic effects from parental genetic and socio-economic factors that shape the rearing environment; and (ii) by exploiting the large toolbox of causal inference methods used in econometrics and statistics to estimate how environmental contexts causally protect individuals with genetic risk.

We will incorporate genetic information into the social sciences to explore how genetic and environmental characteristics jointly shape inequalities in life chances by (1) analysing to what extent genetic (‘nature’) and environmental (‘nurture’) factors contribute to inequality of opportunity and intergenerational mobility, and (2) establishing how nature and nurture jointly shape inequalities in life chances.

Three fully funded PhD positions in Competition Law and AI

Every EU competition agency, and most agencies worldwide, now relies on AI and other computational tools to enforce competition law. The legal framework has not kept pace. ATLANTIS, a five-year project funded by an ERC Consolidator Grant (grant agreement 101228709), builds that framework.

I am Thibault Schrepel, Associate Professor of Law at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and I am hiring three PhD candidates to join the ATLANTIS team. Two positions are legal-track. One is a cross-project computational position. The positions begin on 1 December 2026, last four years, and are based at the VU Amsterdam Faculty of Law. All three candidates will obtain a doctorate.

The three PhD positions
Together, we will build the legal regime for computational antitrust.

The team has one legal-track PhD candidate dedicated to Project A, one legal-track PhD candidate dedicated to Project B, and one (more) computational-track PhD candidate working across both projects. The computational-track candidate will provide the empirical and technical scaffolding needed by the two legal-track candidates. The legal-track candidates will provide the competition law expertise that keeps the technical work tied to live antitrust problems. All three candidates will obtain a doctorate.

A postdoctoral researcher with expertise in institutional economics will join the team about a year after the PhDs start.

Project A: making computational antitrust accurate (one PhD position)
This legal-track PhD will work on the legal framework for data access by competition agencies. The core question is whether Regulation 1/2003 and Directive (EU) 2019/1 need to be updated so that the European Commission and national competition agencies can collect the data their computational tools require while preserving fundamental rights. The project will address data protection, business secrecy, the right to remain silent, and proportionality.

Project B: making computational antitrust fair (one PhD position)
This legal-track PhD will work on the legal regime governing the use of AI by competition agencies. The core question is how to mitigate bias and ensure procedural fairness when agencies rely on AI tools. The project will address transparency, explainability, AI-generated evidence, and standards of proof.

Cross-project computational position (one PhD position)
This PhD will work across Projects A and B and provide the technical backbone of the team. On Project A, the focus will be on data: documenting what data agencies collect, through which channels, in which formats, and where computational bottlenecks arise. On Project B, the focus will be on AI methods: auditing bias in publicly documented agency AI systems and prototyping explainability techniques on representative cases. Although more computational in nature, this position will lead to publications in law venues.

What you will be doing
ATLANTIS will be run as a tight team, not as three PhDs working in parallel silos. We will work together daily (being on campus several days a week will be expected). Drafts circulate inside the team before they go to the international advisory board. Papers are co-authored. You will publish from year one.

Your time will be divided between writing peer-reviewed articles, conducting empirical work with competition agencies, co-organizing ATLANTIS events, and presenting your work to the international advisory board and conferences. Each PhD co-authors several articles with me over four years. At the end of the project, the team co-edits a volume that consolidates the research. You will end up with publications, a book chapter or more, policy briefs, and a body of empirical work you helped build.

You will have direct access to the network of the Stanford Computational Antitrust project, which gathers over 80 antitrust agencies and 50 academics worldwide. It means real interviews, real data-sharing arrangements, real introductions, and the option of visiting agencies that have committed to the project. The agencies involved span multiple jurisdictions including Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Singapore, South Africa, the UK, and the United States.

You will spend research stays at the institutions of the co-supervisors and the international advisory board. These include leading scholars from Oxford, MIT, Stanford, Harvard, and other top institutions.

You will help organize three annual workshops and an international conference at the end of the project. You will not be a passive attendee. You will shape the programs, invite speakers, present your own work.

You will also teach a small share of your time, capped at 20% over four years under the CAO of Dutch universities. Teaching is supervised and matched to your interests. It will focus on competition law or law & tech issues.

Software Engineer Wetenschappelijke Instrumentatie

Kom bij ons werken!
Het Technologiecentrum (TC) van de Faculteit der Natuurwetenschappen, Wiskunde en Informatica (FNWI) van de Universiteit van Amsterdam ontwikkelt en vervaardigt unieke wetenschappelijke instrumenten ten behoeve van onderzoek en onderwijs in de natuurkunde, scheikunde, sterrenkunde, informatica en biologie. Het TC bestaat uit ongeveer 20 experts die gespecialiseerd zijn op de gebieden elektronica, software, mechatronica, mechanica en constructie.

Dit ga je doen
Je krijgt een zelfstandige functie binnen een team van 8 elektronica en softwarespecialisten, die elkaar steunen en uitdagen. Ons team houdt zich bezig met analoge en digitale elektronica, met bijbehorende (embedded) software, FPGA-ontwikkeling, mechatronica en Prototyping. Kortom software en elektronica in de breedste zin van het woord. We zoeken iemand die binnen ons team past en ons aanvult!

De belangrijkste taken zijn:

• Ontwikkelen van software t.b.v. acquisitie en verwerken van meetdata.
• Denk aan python, C#, C++, machine learning, image-processing, etc voor Windows maar ook Linux.
• Ontwikkelen van embedded software in samenwerking met de electronici. Denk aan C++, arduino, ESP32, Raspberry Pi en robotica.
• Meedenken met wetenschappers vanaf het begin van een project tot realisatie.
• Ondersteuning van wetenschappers in het gebruik van eerder ontwikkelde software en electronica.

In deze creatieve en afwisselende functie ben je nauw betrokken bij het natuurwetenschappelijk onderzoek.

Dit vragen we van jou
Je bent een engineer met een bachelor- of een masterdiploma (HBO/WO) in bijvoorbeeld Informatica, Software engineering of Technische Informatica. Je beschikt daarnaast over de volgende eigenschappen en kwalificaties:

• Je hebt interesse in de natuurwetenschappen;
• Je hebt ervaring in het ontwikkelen van (embedded) software voor uiteenlopende (elektronica) systemen;
• Je hebt ervaring met het ontwikkelen van software en met versie beheer (GIT), design patterns, embedded/windows/linux systemen;
• Affiniteit met elektronica, sensortechniek en meet- en regelsystemen;
• Brede interesse in informatica. Denk hierbij aan Machine learning, beeldherkenning, data-analyse en User Interface Design. Met jouw nieuwsgierigheid kunnen we de nieuwste technieken in onze projecten inzetten;
• Je bent in staat om een netwerk op te bouwen waar je expertise kunt vinden op het gebied van informatica.
• Je bent zelfstandig en je kunt goed samenwerken. Ook ben je communicatief, meedenkend en flexibel.

Het snel eigen maken en inzetten van de nieuwste technieken is één van je sterke kanten. Er is veel vrijheid om jezelf te ontplooien en te ontwikkelen.

Dit bieden we jou
Wij bieden een tijdelijke arbeidsovereenkomst voor 30,4-38 uren per week voor de periode van een jaar met een proeftijd van twee maanden. Bij gebleken geschiktheid is een verlenging of vast dienstverband mogelijk. De gewenste startdatum is zo spoedig mogelijk.

Het bruto maandsalaris, gebaseerd op 38 uur per week en afhankelijk van relevante ervaring, ligt tussen de € 3.708 en € 5.057 (schaal 9). Hierbij is 8% vakantietoeslag en 8,3% eindejaarsuitkering niet inbegrepen. Het UFO-profiel Technicus onderw.- en onderz.gebonden O, niveau 3 is van toepassing. Voor deze functie kunnen wij geen visum sponsoren. De CAO | Universiteiten van Nederland is van toepassing.Nieuwsgierig naar ons uitgebreide pakket van secundaire arbeidsvoorwaarden? Hier kun je er meer over lezen.

Hier ga je werken
De Faculteit der Natuurwetenschappen, Wiskunde en Informatica - Universiteit van Amsterdam heeft een studentenpopulatie van ongeveer 8.000 studenten, evenals 1.800 medewerkers die werkzaam zijn in onderwijs, onderzoek of ondersteunende diensten. Onderzoekers en studenten van de Faculteit der Wiskunde en Natuurwetenschappen zijn gefascineerd door elk aspect van hoe de wereld werkt, of het nu gaat om elementaire deeltjes, de geboorte van het universum of de werking van de hersenen.

Het Technologiecentrum (TC) ondersteunt onderzoeksgroepen van de UvA met het oplossen van technische vraagstukken, ontwikkelt en vervaardigt wetenschappelijke instrumenten. In nauwe samenwerking met de onderzoekers ontwikkelt het Technologie Centrum innovatieve technische oplossingen die onderscheidend onderzoek mogelijk maken.

Wil je meer weten over onze organisatie? Lees meer over Werken bij de Universiteit van Amsterdam - Universiteit van Amsterdam

Temporary Lecturer in Literary and Cultural Analysis

Teaching students what cultural forms can do
Our teaching demonstrates how past and present cultural forms – from literature and contemporary art to urban spaces and social movements – can offer insight into the philosophical questions and social challenges of our time. We train students to become experts in engaging with different cultural forms in theoretically informed ways so that they can develop new ways of understanding and addressing, for example, the climate crisis, political polarization, and the afterlives of colonialism. You will contribute to this goal by teaching courses in our BA and MA programs. These courses have already been developed, but you will collaborate on improving and renewing them in terms of content, assignments and didactic forms. Your tasks will also include supervising BA and MA theses and taking on administrative roles such as sitting on Program Committees or Examination Boards.

This is what you will be doing
You will work closely with others (co-teachers and/or program coordinators) to develop and teach modules in the broad interdisciplinary field of literary and cultural analysis. You will actively reflect on your teaching and make adjustments when you notice that something is not working or students indicate this in their feedback. You are able and willing to teach on cultural objects/phenomena and theories beyond your own research focus and teaching experience. You are committed to fostering an inclusive classroom. You understand that courses (including electives) do not stand alone but are part of the larger curriculum of a programme and you take this into account when designing syllabi. You are also able and willing to think – with the rest of the Literary and Cultural Analysis team – about how programs need to evolve over time in response to changes in society (including AI), in government education policy, in university or faculty policies and in the needs and skills base of successive generations of students.

Your tasks will include:

• (co-)teaching courses in the BA Literary and Cultural Analysis, MA Comparative Cultural Analysis and research-MA Cultural Analysis (for more information, see: UvA Studiegids 2026-2027);
• supervising bachelor, master and research-master theses;
• contributing to the improvement of courses (in terms of their didactics, content and assessment);
• performing administrative duties.

This is what we ask of you
Required:

• completed PhD in Literary Studies, Cultural Analysis or a related field in the Humanities or Social Sciences;
• experience teaching at BA and MA level;
• experience with thesis supervision;
• experience with administrative role(s);
• affinity with the content and didactics of the BA Literary and Cultural Analysis, MA Comparative Cultural Analysis and research-MA Cultural Analysis;
• demonstrable engagement with post/decolonial studies in teaching and/or research;
• a University Teaching Qualification (UTQ). If you have not attained a UTQ you are required to start the UTQ track upon commencement of your employment contract;
• excellent command of English.

Preferred:

• experience in delivering lectures, leading seminars, and supervising theses;
• (passive) command of Dutch;
• affinity with using ICT in academic education;
• ability to work with a high degree of independence;
• reliable team player.

This is what we offer you
We offer a temporary contract for a period of one year, with a probationary period of two months, preferably starting from 1 September 2026

Depending on relevant experience, the salary at the start of the employment is between €4,728 and €6,433 gross per month based on full-time employment for a 38-hour working week.

• In addition, you will receive an 8% holiday allowance and an 8.3% end-of-year allowance. The Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities is applicable;
• opportunity to attain the University Teaching Qualification (UTQ);
• excellent possibilities for further professional development and education;
• an enthusiastic, supportive and professional academic team;
• an inspiring academic and international work environment in the heart of Amsterdam.

This is where you will be working
You will join the Literary and Cultural Analysis (LCA) team: https://www.uva.nl/en/discipline/literary-studies/literary-studies.html. We are a team of around 25 people, dedicated to fostering a supportive environment for students and staff. In our teaching, we reflect on how works of literature, art, and (popular) culture can help to understand and address contemporary questions and developments. We draw from and develop theories rooted in experience (gender and queer studies, disability studies, affect and memory studies), environment (environmental humanities) and world (post- and decolonial studies, infrastructure studies, media archaeology). Our methods rely on interdisciplinary analysis (bringing together cultural studies, comparative literature and continental philosophy). We train students in hands-on critical engagement – through concept-driven close readings – with concrete cultural objects from Global Norths and Global Souths: visual art; films; poems; novels; fashion; television series; art installations; social media; and performances; but also culturally significant phenomena such as social movements and environmental or technological transformations. We are looking for someone who shares these commitments.

2 Student-assistenten UPvA

Word onderdeel van het UPvA team!
Als student assistent bij de Universitaire Pabo van Amsterdam (UPvA) ondersteun je de docenten van deze opleiding bij een divers pakket aan taken. Zo word je onderdeel van een gedreven team met passie voor onderwijs.

Dit ga je doen

• samen met docenten voorbereiden en begeleiden van bijeenkomsten onderzoeks-vaardigheden binnen de ULP lijn;
• samen met docenten voorbereiden en begeleiden van bijeenkomsten persoonlijke professionele ontwikkeling binnen de ULP lijn;
• ingeleverd werk van studenten voorzien van feedback;
• begeleiden van studenten bij het plannen en organiseren van de studie;
• evalueren van bijeenkomsten;
• uitvoeren van taken t.b.v. voorlichting (ook in de avond) en matching;
• notuleren bij de Onderwijscommissie UPvA vergadering;
• zelfstudietijd van met name eerstejaars studenten begeleiden;
• overige administratieve en organisatorische taken in overleg met de coördinatoren en docenten.

Dit vragen we van jou
Je bent een afgestudeerde student van de UPvA, met een goed resultaat op de bachelor scriptie en je beschikt over communicatieve, creatieve en ontwikkelingsgerichte eigenschappen. Daarnaast ben je als masterstudent (of schakelstudent) verbonden aan de UvA en bij voorkeur beschikbaar op donderdag.

Dit bieden we jou nog meer
Een uitdagende werkplek met afwisselende werkzaamheden en volop ruimte voor eigen initiatief en ontwikkeling bij een inspirerende organisatie. Werken bij de UvA betekent werken in een kritisch, onafhankelijk, innovatief en internationaal klimaat, met een open sfeer en een sterke betrokkenheid bij Amsterdam en de (internationale) samenleving.

Hier ga je werken
De afdeling Pedagogische en Onderwijswetenschappen (POW) is verantwoordelijk voor het onderwijs en onderzoek in de pedagogische en onderwijswetenschappen van de UvA. De Universitaire Pabo van Amsterdam is onderdeel van de afdeling POW. De UPvA is een samenwerking tussen de Hogeschool van Amsterdam en de UvA en leidt studenten op tot academisch geschoolde leraren basisonderwijs.