[liberationtech] H2020 VIRT-EU projec - 1 position for Research Fellow (full time, 3 years)

[Alessandro Mantelero]

VIRT-EU: Values and ethics in Innovation for Responsible 
Technology in Europe - Horizon 2020 Selection procedure to 
cover 1 position for Research Fellow (full time job, 3 
years)
Valid till:
Monday, 12 December, 2016


The Polytechnic University of Turin (POLITO) invites 
candidates to apply for a Research Fellow position 
(Post-Doctoral Researcher, three years contract, 
full-time) starting from February/March 2016.
POLITO has recently been awarded EU Horizon 2020 funding, 
for the project VIRT-EU “Values and Ethics in Innovation 
for Responsible Technology in Europe” (Principal 
Investigator: Alessandro Mantelero), and has a 
requirementmakes available a for a Post-Doctoral 
Researcher position, to fulfil such commitmentconduct the 
planned work.

About VIRT-EU
The networked future promises new relationships between 
people and artifacts, the private and the public, the 
individual and the collective. The increased networking 
capabilities of pervasive technologies mean implies that 
large amounts of of personal data are being produced, 
analyzed, monetized and connected to other data streams in 
ways that hold both enormous potential and pose profound 
challenges for European society.
Recent policy, such as the EU General Data Protection 
Regulation, reflects mounting public concerns around 
emerging data practices, Reponsible Research and 
Innovation (RRI)I, data ethics and privacy. VIRT-EU 
addresses these concerns at the point of design through 
researching and intervening upon the development cultures 
and ethics of the next generation of IoT innovators. The 
project investigates how do European IoT innovators and 
developers make ethically consequential decisions – about 
code, hardware and data – when designing and programming 
for new connected devices. Moreover, the project would 
shed light on the assumptions about human behavior, 
privacy and freedom that underpin European cultures of IoT 
innovation.
VIRT-EU will analyze and map the ethical practices of 
European hardware and software entrepreneurs, maker and 
hacker spaces, and community innovators. The main goals of 
this project are to (1) understand how IoT innovators 
enact ethics as they design future devices and (2) 
generate a new framework for Privacy, Ethical and Social 
Impact Assessment (PESIA), which will proactively position 
ethical self-assessments in the development process of IoT 
technologies.
These tools, informed by legal approaches, data mining, 
quantitative and qualitative social science and design 
research serve to secure a place for societal concerns in 
the generation of new technologies, engaging societal 
stakeholders in ensuring a digital future which is 
populated by innovative devices and services that are 
explicitly aligned with, and conscious of, the ethical and 
social values held by EU citizens.

The VIRT-EU project includes five European research 
partners besides POLITO:
Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design (DK)
IT University of Copenhagen (DK)
London School of Economics (UK)
Open Rights Group (UK)
Uppsala University (SE)

You can find out more about the project here: 
https://virt-eu.nexacenter.org/about

Job description
The successful candidate will be expected to collaborate 
with the project partners in conducting studies concerning 
the core legal topics of the VIRT-EU project and primarily 
with regard to the PESIA framework (work package 4 and 2).
The candidate will be primarily concerned with the limits 
of the existing data protection regulatory framework, in 
terms of effective user’s empowerment and prevention of 
potential negative individual and social effects of data 
processing. Specifically, the Research Fellow is expected 
to collaborate with the POLITO Principal Investigator in 
defining a new and broader methodology of assessment 
(Privacy, Ethical and Social Impact Assessment-PESIA), 
which goes beyond the traditional privacy impact 
assessment and takes into account the ethical and social 
effects of data processing. On the basis of this new 
methodology of assessment, a questionnaire for conducting 
the PESIA and specific guidelines for developers and 
consultants will be drafted.
The candidate will be also responsible for the measure of 
the potential misalignment between data protection laws 
and their concrete applications in the field of IoT 
development, and she/he will identify best practices among 
developers. This task is carried out on the basis of the 
results of the empirical studies conducted by the other 
partners of the VIRT-EU project and takes into account the 
diverse concepts of ethics and data protection that exist 
across Europe.

Candidate profile and duties
The ideal candidate will have training in data protection 
law and a strong interest in law and technology.
Qualification Requirements:
PhD in Law
Knowledge of EU data protection issues and relevant 
regulations
Knowledge of Big Data and Internet of Things
High level of oral and written proficiency in English
Ability to work independently and as part of a large 
multi-national, multi-disciplinary team
Desirable
Relevant international publications and conferences 
presentations

This position involves teaching. The Research Fellow will 
not be responsible for a course, rather an assistant to a 
course. This is also a way to be involved in the research 
life of the university to ensure she/he is integrated into 
POLITO life and context. The total amount of teaching 
hours per year is 60 and the courses are taught in 
English.

Subject Area
Law

Location
Turin (Italy)

Period
Three years

Expected starting date
February/March 2017

Gross salary
€ 34.898,06 per year
Cost of living in Turin: 
http://international.polito.it/practical_information/cost_of_living
Hours: Full Time (Full-time 3 years, fixed-term)

Contract Type
Contract / Temporary

Placed on: 11 November 2016
Closes: 12 December 2016

Application forms
http://www.swas.polito.it/services/concorsi/240.asp?id_documento_padre=1...
To apply use the following link: 
https://concorsi.polito.it/intra/home.aspx . After the 
registration, you should select "Open Calls for researcher 
and professor position" and the procedure no. 532.

Email to: alessandro.mantelero at polito.it
URL:
http://www.swas.polito.it/services/concorsi/240.asp?id_documento_padre=133089