PhD scho­lars­hip in AI Re­gu­la­tion and Risk

PhD scholarship in AI Regulation and Risk at CBS

Copenhagen Business School invites applications for a vacant PhD scholarship within the fields of AI Regulation and Risk at the Department of Business Humanities and Law. Expected starting date is 1 February 2027.

About Department of Business Humanities and Law (BHL) at CBS
Department of Business Humanities and Law explores how people, organisations, institutions, and societies shape business. Its core research themes include entrepreneurship, business ethics, leadership, governance, culture, learning, business history, and business law from commercial and societal perspectives. The department comprises three academic units and nine reseach groups.

CBS LAW group at the Department of Business Humanities and Law at Copenhagen Business School, conducts research on business law from both a societal and a commercial perspective, with particular attention to the substance of, and the interplay between, international law, EU law and national law. Among its principal focus areas is digital regulation, including its influence on business practice and on digital policymaking. The department accordingly offers substantial research and supervision capacity in IT law, internet law, telecommunications regulation and platform regulation. Its key research areas in recent years have been the regulation of artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and risk-based regulation.

These competences are represented at three principal domains: EU digital policy, comprising the manner in which EU legislation is made, the factors that shape regulatory choice, and the comparative dimension of digital lawmaking; risk-based regulation in the digital sector, including the compliance challenges that organisations encounter in implementing instruments such as the AI Act, the GDPR and EU cybersecurity legislation; and strategic compliance management, an approach that treats compliance as a source of competitive advantage rather than a cost of doing business, by embedding legal obligations in strategy and operations.

Teaching responsibilities of the Department include undergraduate and graduate teaching in business law including digital regulation, IT law, AI regulation, cybersecurity, etc.

PhD project
The project should concentrate on risk-based nature of AI regulation and digital regulation in general. In that sense, it should be looking at either the policy side – when is risk-based appropriate and why is it chosen – or the strategy/operational side – how companies work with assessing and mitigating risk in an intensive compliance environment.

Examples of research areas a scholarship might cover: 

• Risk-based regulation as a regulatory technique
• The regulatory stack: AI Act, GDPR and sectoral law in interaction
• Translating the EU AI Act into corporate governance
• AI, cybersecurity and value-chain accountability
• The political economy of EU digital lawmaking

The three-year PhD programme at CBS gives you the opportunity to conduct research under the supervision of CBS’s associate professors and professors, supported by research related PhD courses. The programme is highly international, and you are expected to participate in international research conferences and to spend time at another research institution as a visiting PhD student. See the CBS homepage for more information about the PhD programme, https://www.cbs.dk/en/research/phd-programme.  

CBS PhD graduates are held in high esteem not only in academia and research institutions but also in government and business where their research qualifications are in high demand.

CBS is committed to ensuring excellence, transformative and relevant teaching and research. Candidates who wish to join us must be interested in working in an organisation of this type and it is expected that the applicant shows an interest in joining the department's research environment. You can read more about the department's research here: www.cbs.dk/bhl.

Application and admission requirements

The department will give priority to applicants with high grades from their universities.
To be considered the applicant must

• have a basic education at master's level (corresponding to the 3 + 2 Bologna process)
• have received the grade of 10 (or equivalent) for the master's thesis according to the Danish 7-point grading scale(https://ufsn.dk/english/education/the-danish-education-system/grading-system/)  
• have a weighted grade point average of at least 8.2 on the Danish 7-point grading scale for the bachelor's and master's degree combined or alternatively a weighted grade point average must be at least 9.5 for the master's degree alone. If the grade point average is not met, documentation for being in the top 40% of the class is also accepted.
• have an educational background in law, regulation and/or related disciplines
• have completed the master's programme before starting the PhD programme at CBS
• master academic English at a high level in writing and speaking

The application (see link below) must include a five-page PhD project description. The project description must include:

• a presentation of an original research question
• a description of the initial theoretical framework and method
• a presentation of the proposed empirical material
• a work plan for the three years

More information can be found here: https://www.cbs.dk/en/research/phd-programmes/admission

In addition to the project description, copies of the following must be included:

• motivation cover letter
• diploma for bachelor's and master's degree or other certificates at an equivalent level as well as the grade transcripts
• documentation for being in the top 40% of the class (if grade requirements are not met). In rare cases, the grade requirement can be waived.
• a concise curriculum vitae (CV)
• a list of articles and publications (if applicable)
• one example of a selected written work (e.g. master's thesis)
• documentation of English language skills is not required for the application but may be requested if the applicant is shortlisted for interviews.

The PhD student is enrolled in the CBS PhD School. Further information about PhD scholarships and the PhD programme can be found at https://www.cbs.dk/en/research/phd-programme.

For further information please contact Professor Andrej Savin, email asa.bhl@cbs.dk or Head of Department Pia Bramming, email pib.bhl@cbs.dk. Information about the department can be found at www.cbs.dk/bhl

Employment and salary
A PhD scholarship runs for a period of three years and includes teaching obligations corresponding to 416 work hours. The scholarships are fully salaried positions, according to the national Danish collective agreement. The monthly salary is currently approximately DKK 30,264 up to DKK 36,877 depending on seniority and a pension contribution totalling 18,07 %. The scholarship includes tuition fees, office space, course and travel costs (according to the current CBS agreement). 

Salary level and employment take place in accordance with the Ministry of Finance's agreement with the Academics' Central Organization.

Recruitment procedure 

The Recruitment Committee comprised of tenured faculty shortlists at least two-five applicants to be assessed by the Assessment Committee. All applicants will be notified of their status in the recruitment process shortly after the application deadline.

Applicants shortlisted for assessment will be notified about the composition of the Assessment Committee and will receive the result of their personal assessment later. When the assessment committee has finished their work selected applicants will be invited for an interview. Please note that a positive assessment does not automatically result in an interview. Once the recruitment process is completed each applicant will be notified of the outcome of their application. 

The application must be sent via the electronic recruitment system. 

Copenhagen Business School must receive all application material, including all appendices (see above), by the application deadline.

Details about Copenhagen Business School are available at www.cbs.dk/en.