"PhD Candidate: Lifelong Development for People with a Migration Background (MILLION)"

Would you like to contribute to knowledge about educational uptake among adults with a migrant background and how this can be encouraged? Research the role of discrimination, credential evaluation, and diversity within migrant groups, among other things.

This PhD project at the intersection of inequality and inclusion is the backbone of the larger project  MILLION: Facilitating people with a migration background in a lifelong development. MILLION

is a scientific study funded by the Gak Institute in which a bridge is actively built to the target group and social partners.

As a PhD candidate, you will work on your own project within the joint MILLION program. The goal of MILLION is to gain insight into what helps people with a migrant background continue learning throughout their careers; lifelong learning (LLD). This includes taking courses, training programs, and training programs. We pay particular attention to the diversity within migrant groups (intersectionality and migrant background) and the socio-political context (such as discrimination and credential evaluation).

The PhD project is methodologically diverse with a strong quantitative component. It generates insights into the awareness, use, and need for LLO among people with a migration background (including labor migrants, refugees, and adult children of both groups). The project has three phases:

1. Exploratory phase: this includes (1) a literature review that provides insight into the empirical and theoretical state of the art, (2) an intersectional, descriptive analysis based on CBS microdata that maps differences in LLO within the target group, and (3) in-depth interviews* and focus groups* among the target group and employees to generate new ideas about the role of context.
2. Explanatory phase: Here you will focus on the role of exclusion mechanisms among migrant workers using existing KCA data. You will also support the collection of new survey data.*
3. Translation phase: this is where you translate new insights into action perspectives and test communication methods, for example, through survey experiments.*

There's room for you to specify the extent to which you're involved in various questions and data analyses. This space is indicated with an *.

Your findings will contribute to fact sheets and action perspectives that we share with social partners. You will also share your findings with academic colleagues through (inter)national publications and conference presentations. In addition to your PhD research, you will also have a teaching role and will have the opportunity to work on components of your teaching portfolio for the Basic Education Qualification (BKO).

Read more about this promotional projecthere

and in the attachment added at the bottom of the vacancy.

Curious about what it's like to pursue a PhD at Radboud University? Read more on the page about working as a PhD candidate . 

What are you bringing?

• You have a completed master's degree in sociology, economics, psychology or a related field.
• You have a demonstrable interest in issues surrounding inclusion and/or inequality. Preferably, you also have some experience conducting research with people from a migration background.
• You have an interest in and experience analyzing quantitative survey and/or microdata, at least at the regression analysis level, for example with SPSS, Stata, or R. Preferably, you are comfortable working with syntax/code.
• You are interested in conducting in-depth interviews and focus group research. Experience with such qualitative methods is a plus.
• You have a good command of Dutch (for collecting research data) and strong academic writing skills in English. Fluency in other languages ​​relevant to the research is a plus.
• You have an affinity for socially oriented research and enjoy sharing your research with others outside of academia.
• You have good organizational skills. 

This is what we offer you

• You will initially receive a temporary employment contract (1.0 FTE) for a period of one and a half years. After a positive assessment, this will be extended for two and a half years (a four-year contract).
• Your salary starts at €3,059 gross per month based on a 38-hour working week and increases to €3,881 in the 4th year ( salary scale P ).
• You will receive 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus. 
• You'll receive extra vacation days with us. With a full-time contract, you can choose between 30 or 41 vacation days instead of the legally mandated 20.

Additional employment conditions

Work and research require good employers. This is reflected in Radboud University's primary and secondary employment conditions . For example, you can make agreements for a good work-life balance with flexible working hours, various leave arrangements, and working from home. You can also customize some of your employment conditions, for example, exchange income for extra vacation days and receive reimbursement for your gym membership. In addition, as an employee, you receive a 34% discount on Radboud University's sports and cultural offerings. And of course, we offer a good pension plan. You'll have plenty of room and responsibility to develop your talents and realize your ambitions. We also offer various training and study programs.