PhD Position 100% – AI Governance & Regulatory Foresight (m/w/d)

About the job

The Institute of Law and Economics (ILE-HSG) conducts research at the interface of law (tax law and public law) and business (corporate governance, reporting and tax & trade). www.ile.unisg.ch.

We offer

• A doctoral position within the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Network REGULAIRE, with an international cohort of 15 doctoral candidates across ten European universities.
• Cross-institutional supervision, network-wide methods training, three residential summer schools, monthly paper development seminars and practitioner engagement.
• A stimulating interdisciplinary research environment at the University of St.Gallen with opportunities to contribute to national and international research and policy networks.
• A planned three-month intersectoral secondment as part of the doctoral project.
• The opportunity to complete a doctoral thesis and develop an independent research profile in AI governance, law and technology, and regulatory learning.

Documents
Motivation letter; CV; academic credentials/transcripts; at least two reference letters; a short research proposal engaging with the doctoral project.

Apply
Apply on the portal of the University of St. Gallen

Application deadline
30.10.2026

• Analyse national AI regulatory portfolios as combinations of policy measures, focusing on instrument mixes, predictability of regulatory environments, and conditions under which regulatory adaptation creates early warnings of policy misfit.
• Work with the available datasets and develop an openly available dataset, codebook and LLM-assisted methodology for analysing EU and national regulation.
• Develop a methodology and framework for regulatory problem sensing and translate findings into guidance for building regulatory learning capacities.
• Refine the research questions and design with the supervision team; prepare ethics, data-management and open-science materials; complete a doctoral thesis and related publications.
• Participate in MSC-DN REGULAIRE training, network reviews, dissemination, practitioner engagement, summer schools and monthly paper development seminars.

• Master's degree (or equivalent qualification giving access to doctoral studies at the Unviersity of St. Gallen) in law, economics, data science, or a related social science/interdisciplinary field, completed by the start date.
• Skills or demonstrable interest in comparative policy analysis, computational or LLM-assisted text analysis, and qualitative assessment.
• Strong interest in AI governance, law and technology, and interdisciplinary research.
• Excellent written and spoken English; reliable, independent and analytical working style.
• Willingness to engage in international mobility and network-wide activities, including the planned secondment.
• Fulfillment of the doctoral admission requirements of the University of St.Gallen and the MSCA eligibility conditions.

• Applicants may be of any nationality and must not hold a doctoral degree at the start of MSCA employment.
• Applicants must comply with the MSCA mobility rule: they must not have resided or carried out their main activity in Switzerland for more than 12 months during the 36 months immediately preceding the start date (subject to the standard MSCA exclusions).
• Applicants must be eligible for timely enrolment in the relevant doctoral programme at the University of St.Gallen.

"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 3'800 researchers, educators and professional staff.