BI Norwegian Business School’s Department of Communication and Culture and Department of Law and Governance invite applications for a four-year doctoral scholarship focusing on outsider innovation, early-warning signals and regulatory foresight for transformative technologies. The expected start date is 1 January 2027, or upon agreement.

Position details

Location: BI Norwegian Business School, Oslo, Norway

Position: One PhD candidate position, full time, fixed-term contract of 48 months

Doctoral programme: PhD specialisation in Communication at BI Norwegian Business School

Application deadline: 15 November 2026 at 23:59 CET

Expected start: 1 January 2027, or upon agreement

About REGULAIRE

The scholarship is part of REGULAIRE (Regulatory Learning for the Governance of Transformative Technologies), a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Network funded by the European Union under Horizon Europe. Coordinated by Professor Urs Gasser at the Technical University of Munich, with Professor Sebastian Schwemer as principal investigator at BI, the network brings together 15 doctoral candidates at ten European universities.

REGULAIRE studies how regulation can learn to govern transformative technologies such as AI, quantum computing and neurotechnology. Its projects examine how regulators recognise emerging problems, test interventions, develop institutional capacities and share lessons across organisations and jurisdictions. You will join an international cohort with supervision across institutions, joint training and collaboration with regulators, standardisation bodies and international organisations.

The doctoral project

Open-source communities, civic technologists, small and medium-sized enterprises and marginalised user groups often notice the risks and possibilities of new technologies before regulators do. This doctoral project, “Outside-In Signals: Outsider Innovation as Foresight Infrastructure”, examines how these actors generate early insights, why institutions sometimes overlook them, and how their knowledge can inform regulatory foresight.

You will investigate where outsider innovators sit in networks and geographical settings, how signals emerge through sources such as issue trackers and incident reports, and how authorities assess their relevance. Possible approaches include case studies, interviews, document analysis and network analysis. The project also involves developing and testing routines through which authorities can receive, assess and escalate outsider inputs while preserving legality and proportionality.

The research is expected to produce a typology of outsider signals, a curated dataset and codebook, and tested procedures for translating signals into regulatory review. It will also develop guidance on maintaining channels through which outsider knowledge can inform ongoing foresight. The successful candidate will develop an independent PhD project within this theme and contribute to REGULAIRE’s interdisciplinary research agenda.

Research environment and supervision

You will be based in BI’s Department of Communication and Culture and also affiliated with the Department of Law and Governance. Communication and Culture is an international research environment working on communication technologies, online communities, digital transformation and the social legitimacy of technological change. Law and Governance contributes expertise in national and European regulation of markets and technology, digital governance and public policy.

You will also join BI’s Nordic Centre for Internet and Society (NCIS), an interdisciplinary research centre studying how emerging internet technologies affect working life and society.

Your main supervisor will be Professor Christian Fieseler (BI), with Professor Sebastian Schwemer as co-supervisor at BI and Sandra Cortesi at the Technical University of Munich as the international academic co-supervisor. A sectoral mentor will support the secondment.

You will meet your main supervisor at least monthly and the full supervisory team at least four times a year. Your progress and training will be recorded in a personal Career Development Plan.

Training and secondment

Network training includes three residential summer schools, covering regulatory learning and foresight at TUM, methods and analytics at BI, and academic writing and impact at the University of St. Gallen. You will also take part in methods workshops, monthly paper development seminars and annual network reviews. This training complements the coursework and other requirements of BI’s doctoral programme.

The project includes a planned three-month intersectoral secondment, providing opportunities to work with foresight practitioners on emerging technological signals and ways to bring outsider insights into regulatory decisions. The host, timing and detailed arrangements will be confirmed with the supervisory team.

Your work

• Refine the research questions and design with the supervisory team.
• Collect, manage and analyse research material using methods appropriate to the project.
• Complete a doctoral thesis and related research publications, and communicate findings to academic and practitioner audiences.
• Participate in local and network training, cohort activities, reviews and practitioner engagement, including the summer schools and planned secondment.
• Contribute to teaching or other career-promoting duties as part of the four-year appointment.

Your profile

Applicants must hold, or complete by the start date, a relevant two-year master’s degree or comparable qualification that meets BI’s PhD entry requirements. The qualifying degree must include thesis work, normally 15–30 ECTS, and applicants must have a grade point average of B or higher, equivalent to 4 on BI’s five-point scale. An MBA does not qualify for admission.

Relevant backgrounds include communication and media studies, innovation studies, science and technology studies, information systems, sociology, political science, law, public administration, or related interdisciplinary fields.

An interest in outsider innovation, open-source communities, civic technology, or how regulators identify and assess emerging technological risks would be an advantage. Relevant experience may include foresight, digital governance, risk communication, interviews, case studies, document analysis, network analysis, or other qualitative and quantitative methods. You are not expected to have experience in all these areas.

We are looking for strong analytical and academic writing skills, the ability to work independently and systematically, and a willingness to collaborate across disciplines. Excellent written and spoken English and fulfilment of the MSCA eligibility conditions below are required.

Employment and support

The appointment is a full-time, four-year position based in Oslo. The annual salary is currently NOK 623,200 gross and will be adjusted in accordance with applicable regulations. The position normally offers membership in BI’s collective pension scheme. Twenty-five per cent of working time is allocated to teaching or other career-promoting duties; 36 research months are funded through REGULAIRE.

MSCA funding also provides support for mobility and, where applicable, family allowances under the grant rules. BI will confirm the applicable arrangements as part of the employment terms. You will have access to the network’s research, training and networking activities.

MSCA eligibility

Applicants may be of any nationality. On the first day of MSCA employment, the selected candidate must meet the following conditions:

• Not hold a doctoral degree. Applicants who have successfully defended a doctoral thesis are ineligible even if the degree has not yet been formally awarded.
• Not have resided or carried out their main activity, such as work or study, in Norway for more than 12 months during the preceding 36 months. Compulsory national service, short stays such as holidays, and time spent in a procedure for obtaining refugee status under the Geneva Convention are excluded.
• Be enrolled in, or meet the conditions for timely enrolment in, BI’s doctoral programme.

Appointment is conditional on documentary verification of these conditions and fulfilment of BI’s admission requirements. See the official MSCA Doctoral Networks guidance for further information.

How to apply

Submit your application through the “Send application” button on this vacancy’s page in BI’s electronic recruitment system. Please consult BI’s PhD application guidance and upload the following:

• A cover letter explaining your motivation and relevant qualifications, identifying REGULAIRE DC03.
• A CV, including publications and other relevant research activities, where applicable.
• An original five-page project proposal addressing this doctoral project, including the research topic, proposed methods, schedule and relevant literature. Any use of generative AI to produce text must be clearly stated and cited.
• Bachelor’s and master’s degree certificates and transcripts, with a Diploma Supplement or equivalent explanation of the study and grading system and eligibility for further study. Include other relevant certificates and transcripts.
• At least two recommendation letters from relevant employers, professors or supervisors providing evidence of your research potential.
• BI’s signed verification document.
• Documentation of English proficiency, or an English test waiver application with supporting evidence, where required.
• Certificates and the course approval form for previously completed doctoral courses, if you wish to request recognition of these courses.

Applicants still completing their master’s degree should upload their latest transcript and state their expected completion date. The qualifying degree must be completed before the appointment begins.

All application documents must be submitted through the electronic system, not by email. Documents received after the deadline will not be considered, except for the final master’s certificate where the degree is being completed shortly before the agreed start date. Applications cannot be revised after submission. Candidates may be asked for further information or invited to an interview.

English language requirements

BI normally accepts native English speakers, applicants with a qualifying master’s degree from a Nordic institution, and applicants whose qualifying master’s degree was taught in English as meeting its English-language requirement. Other applicants must normally provide TOEFL or IELTS results, or apply for a waiver.

BI’s published minimum is IELTS 6.5 or TOEFL iBT 90 on the 0–120 scale, with results from the preceding two years. Consult BI’s PhD entry requirements for current score requirements, accepted documentation and reporting instructions. TOEFL results should be sent directly to BI using institution code 0529; IELTS copies are accepted when the TRF number is visible. GMAT or GRE may be requested in particular cases; BI will inform applicants if required.

Contact

For questions about this doctoral project or the PhD specialisation in Communication, contact Professor Christian Fieseler at christian.fieseler@bi.no.

For questions about REGULAIRE at BI, contact Professor Sebastian Schwemer at sebastian.f.schwemer@bi.no.

For questions about admission requirements and the application process, contact BI’s PhD Administration at phd@bi.no. Further information about the network is available at REGULAIRE.

REGULAIRE is funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, Grant Agreement No. 101312218.