1 - Working at the VUB
For more than 50 years, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel has stood for freedom, equality and solidarity, and this is very much alive on our campuses among students and staff alike.
At the VUB, you will find a diverse collection of personalities: innovators pur sang, but above all people who are 100% their authentic selves. With some 4,000 employees, we are the largest Dutch-speaking employer, in the private sector, in Brussels; an international city with which we are only too happy to connect and where (around) our 4 campuses are located.
Add to this our principle of free research - in which self-reflection, a critical attitude and an open, creative mind around scientific and social issues are central - and you have a university that is fundamentally groundbreaking and pioneering in education and research. In short: the VUB all over again.
Moreover, the VUB is a member of EUTOPIA, an alliance of like-minded European universities, all ready to reinvent themselves.
2 - Position description
The Brussels School of Governance, Department Instituut voor Europese Studies, is looking for a PhD-student with a doctoral grant.
More concretely your work package, for the preparation of a doctorate, contains:
You will form part of the School’s Centre for Environment, Economy and Energy (C3E) and your PhD in law will contribute to the governance of the environment-economy nexus in the EU.
More concretely, the preparation of the doctorate is contextualised in the developments that are unfolding in European and international law and policy. The new von der Leyen II Commission is recalibrating the European Green Deal. Although policies to address the triple planetary crisis remain important for the EU, the Commission’s recent ‘Clean Industrial Deal’ and ‘Competitiveness Compass’ are turning the EU’s bearings towards economic competitiveness and geopolitical resilience as outlined in the Letta and Draghi reports. Yet, integrating economic competitiveness with environmental sustainability presents many tensions and controversies, and de-carbonization continues to dominate the environmental agenda. The PhD will examine the challenges and opportunities of more competitiveness-focused EU policies, analyzing the environment-economy interrelationship in a selected area of environmental and economic law. Moreover, the United States has pursued a different path to govern the economy-environment nexus, already before president Trump’s planned administrative overhaul. These developments add a comparative perspective to the thesis.
The PhD will thus investigate, compare and explain the tensions and opportunities in EU law to reconcile competitiveness and environmental sustainability. The reconciliation is analysed in the context of ‘clean products’ and/or ‘circularity’, two of the key themes of the Clean Industrial Deal. The proposal should combine one area of environmental law and one area of economic law, as well as the interactions between them. The area of economic law into focus on is either free movement law (i.e. ‘inter-state trade law’ in the U.S.) international trade law, competition law or procurement law. The area of EU and U.S. environmental law that the research should focus on is either waste law, climate law or biodiversity law. Do policies on sustainability increase or hamper competitiveness, and how so? Do policies that focus on competitiveness promote environmental sustainability, or work against them? The thesis should be rooted in the discipline of law, but also have an economics-related perspective (e.g., efficiency, game-theory). The integration of further disciplinary viewpoints, such as political science or environmental studies, is also possible. A case study approach, where the research is embedded in a concrete empirical context (such as a specific sector or product group) is preferred. The output of the research will be theoretical and practical legal and law-and-economics insights in several academic articles that guide academics as well practitioners about the governance of the environment-economy nexus.
For this function, our Brussels Humanities, Sciences & Engineering Campus (Elsene) will serve as your home base.
3 - Profile
What do we expect from you?
- You have obtained a master's degree in law or social sciences (development studies, economics, law & economics, ecological economics, business administration, political science etc.), or another relevant discipline, with an important legal component.
- You have proven research interest in areas related to the topic of the call. Knowledge of or experience with at least some of the areas of law and policy covered in the call are considered a particular asset;
- You are open-minded and creative, and keen on pursuing interdisciplinary research approaches. In particular, you have familiarity with, or have eagerness and a plan to develop your knowledge in, economic theory relevant to your research plan;
- You can operate in a multicultural and multidisciplinary research team. You have the mindset of a team player, and look forward to collaborating with your peers at 3E research centre:
- You are fluent in English. Knowledge of other (European) languages is considered an asset;
- You are willing to work with empirical (qualitative and/or quantitative) legal research methods and to further deepen your methodological skills.
- You have not performed any works in the execution of a mandate as an assistant, paid from operating resources, over a total (cumulated) period of more than 12 months.
The VUB wants to be a reflection of the society where everyone's talent is valued, regardless of gender, age, religion, skin color, migration background, disability and neurodiversity.
4 - Offer
Are you going to be our new colleague?
You’ll be offered a full-time PhD-scholarship, for 12 months (extendable up to max. 48 months, on condition of the positive evaluation of the PhD activities), with planned starting date 01/10/2025.
You’ll receive a grant linked to one of the scales set by the government.
IMPORTANT: The effective result of the doctorate scholarship is subject to the condition precedent of your enrolment as a doctorate student at the university.
At the VUB, you’re guaranteed an open, involved and diverse workplace where you are offered opportunities to (further) build on your career.
As well as this, you will also enjoy various other benefits:
- Extensive homeworking options, a telework allowance of 50 euros per month OR an internet fee of 20 euros per month;
- An open and informal working environment where attention is paid to work-life balance, and exceptional holiday arrangements with 35 days of leave (based on a fulltime contract), closure between Christmas and New Year and 3 extra leave days;
- Cost-free hospitalisation insurance;
- Full reimbursement of your home-to-work commute with public transport according to VUB-policy, and/or compensation if you come by bike;
- A wide selection of meals in our campus restaurants at attractive prices;
- Excellent and affordable facilities for sport and exercise, a range of discounts via Benefits@Work (in all kinds of shops, on flights, in petrol stations, amusement parks...) and Ecocheques;
- Nursery near campus, discount on holiday camps;
- The space to form your job content and to continuously learn through our VUB learning platforms and training courses;
- And finally: great colleagues with a healthy drive.
5 - Interested?
Is this the job you’ve been dreaming of?
Then apply, at the latest on 25/05/2025, via jobs.vub.be, and upload the following documents:
- your CV;
- your motivation letter;
- a research proposal of a maximum of 5 pages;
- your diploma (not applicable for VUB alumni).
Do you have questions about the job content? Contact Laura De Decker at [email protected] or on +32 2 614 80 01.
Would you like to know what it’s like to work at the VUB? Go to jobs.vub.be, and find all there is to know about our campuses, benefits, strategic goals and your future colleagues.
Would you like more information about EUTOPIA? Go to eutopia-university.eu, and read more about the role of the VUB in the development of the EUTOPIA alliance.
