PhD scholarship in Regulatory Delearning in EU Technology Governance

BI Norwegian Business School’s Department of Law and Governance and Department of Communication and Culture invite applications for a four-year doctoral scholarship focusing on regulatory delearning and the governance of 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

Regulation accumulates over time, but institutions’ capacity to revise or retire rules that no longer serve their purpose does not always keep pace. This doctoral project examines “regulatory delearning”: how institutions identify, revise or retire outdated obligations in response to technological change.

Focusing on the EU and EEA, you will investigate how different forms of regulation, from legislation to standards and soft law, influence delearning. You will examine the conditions and procedures for reviewing, amending and repealing rules, including review and sunset clauses, drawing on the EU’s Better Regulation framework and recent simplification initiatives. A central question is how institutions can adapt rules while preserving safeguards, accountability and legal certainty.

Possible approaches include legal analysis, comparative case studies, evidence from regulatory sandboxes and comparisons across technology sectors. The successful candidate will develop an independent PhD project within this theme and contribute to REGULAIRE’s research agenda. The project offers a focused route into law and regulation, governance research and the study of adaptive regulation.

Research environment and supervision

You will be affiliated with BI’s Department of Law and Governance and Department of Communication and Culture. Research in Law and Governance spans national and European regulation of markets and technology, digital and corporate governance, and the relationship between law, economics and public policy. Communication and Culture contributes expertise in communication technologies, online communities, digital transformation and the social legitimacy of technological change.

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 Sebastian Schwemer (BI), with Professor Christian Fieseler as co-supervisor at BI and Stefan Larsson at Lund University 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 study how technology-governance bodies identify, update and retire outdated regulatory mandates. 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 law, socio-legal studies, political science, public administration, science and technology studies, economics, or related social science and interdisciplinary fields.

Knowledge of technology regulation, EU or administrative law, or digital governance would be an advantage, as would an interest in regulatory reform and how institutions evaluate, revise and retire rules. Experience with legal analysis, case studies, interviews, or qualitative and quantitative analysis is welcome. 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 DC08.
• 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 REGULAIRE or this doctoral project, contact Professor Sebastian Schwemer at sebastian.f.schwemer@bi.no.

For questions about the PhD specialisation in Communication, contact Associate Dean Professor Christian Fieseler at christian.fieseler@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.