PhD in accelerating mission-oriented innovation

Introduction

Are you fascinated by the potential emerging technologies have to solve societal challenges? Are you frustrated by how long it takes for those promising technologies to be successfully commercialized, or how little societal impact they have at the end? Are you passionate about creating more time-efficient, and effective, innovation processes? If so, join us in our quest to support the achievement of societal missions. We offer a fully-funded, four-year PhD position focused on accelerating mission-oriented innovation while balancing innovation speed and societal outcomes.

Job Description

You will study how governments can accelerate the time-to-market of innovations while ensuring they are implemented responsibly to address urgent societal challenges, such as climate change.  In the past decade, innovation policy has witnessed a shift toward large-scale ‘mission-oriented’ innovation policies, which imply the large mobilization of resources by governments to tackle these challenges.  However, from a temporal perspective, mission-oriented policy is paradoxical. On the one hand, society needs solutions to be deployed urgently. On the other hand, mission-oriented innovation is highly complex, and rushing solutions may lead to counterproductive results and negative societal outcomes. The key problem is how to achieve the sweet spot between going too slow and too fast.

Your research will be driven by two research questions:

1. How is time currently spent in mission-oriented innovation activities?
2. How does public policy affect the time spent on mission-oriented innovation, and the societal outcomes?

To answer these questions, you will conduct a multiple case study, where you will study several R&D consortia over two years, which you will help optimize their innovation processes. You will use qualitative research techniques such as interviews, content analysis, and process modeling to map how R&D consortia spend their time, and why they cannot go faster. You will study how they interact with societal stakeholders, and how such interaction affects the outputs of their research. You will analyze a wide diversity of policies, including, but not limited to, funding schemes, and Dutch and European regulations in the areas of data privacy, health and safety, or employment. You will focus on the effect of those policies on innovation speed. In addition, you will organize several multistakeholder meetings, with public and private organizations, to discuss the results of your research, and possible alternatives to optimize existing policies. The output of your research will be used by a teammate to create a simulation model to optimize future innovation policy mixes.

As the selected PhD candidate, you will benefit from our outstanding academic development and collaborative work environment, as well as our strong ties to actors in industry and policymaking in the Netherlands and Europe. You will also receive support in the form of courses and on-the-job training to develop yourself into an independent academic researcher. In this way, you will be able to conduct high-quality research while ensuring the practical relevance of your work. You will also have the opportunity to interact closely with researchers in our department specializing in various aspects of innovation policy, design science, and open innovation.

The Industrial Engineering & Innovation Sciences (IE&IS) department combines disciplinary knowledge from the humanities, social sciences and technical sciences to solve the complex problems of industries and society. We collaboratively focus on and create responsible and effective innovations for the research themes: Humans and Technology, Supply Chain Management, Sustainability and Circularity, and Value of Data-Driven Intelligence.

Job Requirements

• A master’s degree (or an equivalent university degree) in Engineering Management, Innovation Management, Public Policy, Business Administration, or related disciplines. Candidates who are still in their master studies, and expect to obtain their degree by summer 2026 are also encouraged to apply.
• Proactivity and collaborative spirit are essential traits
• A research-oriented attitude and an inquisitive mind
• Ability to work in an interdisciplinary team and interested in collaborating with partners from industry and the public sector.
• Motivation to develop your teaching skills and coach students.
• Willingness to travel (nationally) to collect data at several locations
• Fluent in spoken and written English (C1 level).
• Fluency in spoken Dutch (B2 level) is desirable.
• Experience with qualitative research methods is desirable.

The starting date is by agreement, not earlier than March 1st, 2026, and ideally not later than July 1st, 2026.

Conditions of Employment

A meaningful job in a dynamic and ambitious university, in an interdisciplinary setting and within an international network. You will work on a beautiful, green campus within walking distance of the central train station. In addition, we offer you: 

• Full-time employment for four years, with an intermediate assessment after nine months. You will spend a minimum of 10% of your four-year employment on teaching tasks, with a maximum of 15% per year of your employment. 
• Salary and benefits (such as a pension scheme, paid pregnancy and maternity leave, partially paid parental leave) in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, scale P (min. € 3,059 - max. € 3,881).  
• A year-end bonus of 8.3% and annual vacation pay of 8%. 
• High-quality training programs and other support to grow into a self-aware, autonomous scientific researcher. At TU/e we challenge you to take charge of your own learning process. 
• An excellent technical infrastructure, on-campus children's day care and sports facilities.  
• An allowance for commuting, working from home and internet costs. 
• A Staff Immigration Team and a tax compensation scheme (the 30% facility) for international candidates. 

About us

Eindhoven University of Technology is a leading international university within the Brainport region where scientific curiosity meets a hands-on mindset. We work in an open and collaborative way with high-tech industries to tackle complex societal challenges. Our responsible and respectful approach ensures impact — today and in the future. TU/e is home to over 13,000 students and more than 7,000 staff, forming a diverse and vibrant academic community.

Information

Do you recognize yourself in this profile and would you like to know more? Please contact the hiring manager Jaime Bonnín Roca (j.bonnin.roca@tue.nl).

Visit our website for more information about the application process or the conditions of employment. You can also contact HRServices.ieis@tue.nl.

Curious to hear more about what it’s like as a PhD candidate at TU/e? Please view the video.

Are you inspired and would like to know more about working at TU/e? Please visit our career page.

Application

We invite you to submit a complete application by using the apply button. The application should include a:

• Cover letter in which you describe your motivation and qualifications for the position.
• Curriculum vitae, including a list of your publications and the contact information of three references.

We look forward to receiving your application and will screen it as soon as possible. The vacancy will remain open until the position is filled.

Please note

• You can apply online. We will not process applications sent by email and/or post. 
• A pre-employment screening (e.g. knowledge security check) can be part of the selection procedure. For more information on the knowledge security check, please consult the National Knowledge Security Guidelines.
• Please do not contact us for unsolicited services.