Postdoc position on The Origins of Breakthrough Inventions (1.0 FTE)

Functieomschrijving

This postdoc position is part of the NWO-VICI project “The Genealogy of Novelty: An evolutionary explanation of breakthrough inventions in science, technology, and the arts” and aims to analyze the personal, institutional and geographical conditions supportive of breakthrough inventions. The project will investigate breakthroughs in science, technology and the arts. Currently, four PhD students are employed on the grant.

One of the key questions in the project is whether people with a variety of knowledge and experiences, are also the most creative and successful. A second question is what geographical and personal conditions favor breakthrough innovation and the institutional change processes prompted by it. These questions will be addressed using databases (on documents, inventors, artefacts), agent-based modelling and/or detailed case studies. The candidate is also encouraged to support the PhD students currently working on sub-projects and collaborate with them.

Functie-eisen

We seek highly motivated candidates with a PhD degree in Innovation Studies, Economics, Management, Geography, History, Sociology, Political Science, Science & Technologies studies or a related discipline. We are looking for candidates who:

• have knowledge about theories of innovation;
• have affinity with, or willingness to learn about theories from evolutionary economics, complexity theory and/or institutional sociology;
• have a strong background in quantitative and/or qualitative methodologies;
• are proficient in English;
• have excellent scientific writing and planning skills.

The postdoc can spend the vast majority of their time on the research project, only 10% of their time will be spent on teaching and supervision of (under)graduate research projects.

Arbeidsvoorwaarden

The successful candidate will be offered a temporary position (1.0 FTE) for the duration of two years. The preferred starting date is between 1 September 2018 and 1 January 2019. The gross monthly salary - depending on previous qualifications and experience - ranges between € 2,588 and € 4,084 (scale 10 Collective Labour Agreement Dutch Universities) for a full-time employment. Salaries are supplemented with a holiday bonus of 8 % and a year-end bonus of 8.3 % per year. We offer a pension scheme, (partly paid) parental leave, collective insurance schemes and flexible employment conditions (multiple choice model). More information is available at: working at Utrecht University.

Additionele informatie

Additional information about the project can be obtained by contacting Prof. Dr. Koen Frenken via k.frenken@uu.nl.