Full professor: Chair in Law, Data & Innovation

Your position
The Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society (TILT) establishes a chair in Law, Data & Innovation to solidify its national and international position in the rapidly growing field of data regulation within European and Dutch economic law. The disruptive rise of data-driven services and data-driven innovation is one of the most significant sociotechnical developments and constitutes one of the core themes in TILT’s research program.

The regulation of data markets is high on the European and Dutch policy agendas. Data are the essential ‘raw material’ for numerous technological innovations—from personalized medical diagnostics and a range of AI models and applications to efficient supply chains—the success of which depends entirely on the responsible collection,trading, and use of data. Therefore, the EU has introduced new legal acts and governance mechanisms to stimulate data-driven innovation, such as the Data Governance Act, the Data Act, and the so-called European data spaces.

At the same time, in the current geopolitical context, we see a clear need for greater control and autonomy regarding European data. Dependencies on factors such as foreign cloud storage, digital infrastructure, and software applications not only put certain fundamental rights under pressure but also threaten Europe’s innovative capacity.

Data technologies typically fall within the scope of multiple legal fields—ranging from data protection and intellectual property law to competition law, cybersecurity, and network security law. To create and regulate new data markets in a sustainable and responsible manner, all of these legal frameworks and ensuing standards must be taken into account. Each of the current rules governing data pursues different objectives and is enforced by different regulatory authorities. This inevitably raises questions about the coherence of the current regulatory framework for data trading. For example, the question arises as to how sharing data for economic reasons (such as improving a product or training an AI model) can be promoted without compromising cybersecurity or the privacy rights of data subjects and how this relates to a multi-layered concept such as data sovereignty.

This tension is further exacerbated by the way in which member states implement EU law at the national level, which often leads to risks of fragmentation, causing each member state to apply EU rules in slightly different ways. Moreover, due to the ever-increasing role of data in society, current assumptions about how markets function are being called into question, which also influences the interpretation of legal concepts underlying regulation: for example, not only in the context of platform regulation, where market power and competition are no longer understood solely in terms of price and market share, but also in terms of data access, network effects, and control over digital ecosystems.

With a focus on the regulation of data and data-driven innovation, the chairholder will explore key issues regarding how the functioning of data markets can be promoted through existing or new forms of intervention. In addition to its specific, innovative focus on data-driven innovation, this research mandate will strengthen the connection between the various fields in which TILT is already active - ranging from competition law to data protection and more fundamental issues regarding data governance.

Job Profile
Education
The full professor to be appointed will offer courses in the hybrid Master’s program in Law and Technology, in the School’s degree programs, and in postgraduate education and will be closely involved in shaping the content and educational methodology of these programs. In the Master’s program in Law and Technology, the full professor will also supervise theses. In addition, the full professor will supervise PhD researchers. Tilburg University’s policy is that this supervision always takes place in teams consisting of at least one supervisor and a second (co-)supervisor.

Research
The full professor plays a key role in the Department’s research and makes a leading contribution to it, including the implementation of the research program Regulating Socio-Technical Change and encouraging colleagues to contribute to it. In addition, the full professor is expected to make a substantial contribution to further reinforcing research in the field of technology and innovation, particularly in the area of data market regulation, with a focus on the social and economic changes brought about by data-driven innovation and on the role, opportunities and limits of legal intervention or other forms of ordering. The full professor bears significant responsibility for acquiring, coordinating, and executing projects funded by research and contract funding sources, both at the national level (NWO, ministries, postgraduate education) and internationally (particularly EU funding).

Impact
Tilburg University aims not only to understand and critically examine societal issues, but also to be actively and consciously engaged with society. Faculty members serve on a variety of standing and ad hoc (government) committees and, as part of the University’s societal mission, advise policymakers and implementers at various levels, including nongovernmental organizations, both within the Netherlands and internationally. In addition, they contribute to thepublic debate. We expect the future full professor to further establish themselves as a leading international scholar in the field of data-driven innovation and regulation.

Management and Organizational Responsibilities
The full professor is expected to contribute to administrative duties within the Department and the School. This may include leadership roles such as Head of Department, academic director, research program leader, member of the exam commission, member of the ethics review board, vice dean, etc. Connective leadership and team science are central to these responsibilities.