Universität St. Gallen
St. Gallen
Yesterday
PhD Candidate / Research Associate in the field of Enterprise Software, Cloud Transformation, and Digital Sovereignty (m/f/d)
- Publication date:24 October 2025
- Workload:100%
- Place of work:St. Gallen
About the job
The Institute of Information Systems and Digital Business ( IWI-HSG ) has been conducting application- and design-oriented research at the interface between business and IT for more than 30 years. Within the institute, the team of Prof. Dr. Andreas Hein investigates how enterprise software, AI, and digital platforms can be strategically designed, governed, and transformed to strengthen organizational value creation and digital sovereignty.
Your tasks
Are you looking for an exciting PhD opportunity at the intersection of Enterprise Software, Cloud Transformation, and Digital Sovereignty? Do you want to investigate how organizations, technology providers, and startups can design resilient, trustworthy, and sovereign digital infrastructures for Europe? If yes, then you would be a perfect fit for our team. In our research projects, we focus on developing and evaluating theories, methods, and solutions that strengthen digital sovereignty in cloud and enterprise IT ecosystems.
- Systematic development of theories, models, and solutions to support sovereign cloud infrastructures and enterprise IT transformation
- Publishing papers at leading international conferences and journals
- Development of your PhD thesis in one of the project's research streams (provider, business, or innovation ecosystem perspective)
- Independent project work in a research area of high theoretical and practical relevance
- A high degree of freedom and intensive collaboration in the development of your research topic
- Integration into a young, dynamic, and interdisciplinary research group at the University of St.Gallen
- Collaboration with renowned research institutions, startups, and corporations
- Supporting innovative teaching formats in the context of enterprise software, AI, and cloud governance
- Timely planned doctoral studies (approx. 3.5–4 years) with intensive supervision and a competitive salary
Your profile
- Master's degree with a grade point average of at least 5.0 in Business Administration, (Business) Informatics, (Business) Engineering, Information Systems, or a similar field (equivalent to 2.0 in Germany and Austria)
- Strong knowledge in one or more of the following areas: enterprise software, cloud computing, AI, or digital platforms
- Strong knowledge in qualitative or quantitative empirical research methods (e.g., case studies, surveys, or experiments)
- Willingness to do research within and across organizations
- A motivated and responsible personality with dedication, integrity, and intellectual curiosity
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills in both German and English
- Initial practical professional experiences
"A place where knowledge is created" - As one of Europe's leading universities of economics and business administration, the University of St.Gallen (HSG), Switzerland, is committed to the education of over 10'000 students. The HSG is one of the largest employers in the region and provides an attractive and innovative environment for more than 3'500 researchers, educators and professional staff.
