The Department of Strategy and Innovation (SI) invites applications for two PhD stipends in relation to an initiative from the CBS Dean of Research, Innovation, and Societal Impact to form a cohort of researchers working at the intersection of research, innovation, and societal engagement. The initiative will contribute to activities at Copenhagen School of Entrepreneurship (CSE) that connect research, entrepreneurship, and business building in practice.
SI prioritizes projects that can be grounded in ongoing SI research streams on entrepreneurship and business building and scaling, including topics such as corporate venturing and impact investing by venture capitalists. Projects may examine innovation, managerial professionalization, and the building of organization in startups, fast-growing scaleups, established firms, or entrepreneurial ecosystems, and should combine academic excellence with relevance for practice — including through innovative formats of dissemination and co-creation with industry.
Proposals must address the project’s prospective interactions with CSE activities, for instance in terms of dissemination of project results to CSE stakeholders and/or CSE as a research context or a source of data/interviews.
The expected start date is February 1, 2027, or earlier. Application deadline: September 28, 2026.
About Department of Strategy and InnovationThe Department of Strategy and Innovation’s (SI) research is focused on strategy, innovation, entrepreneurship and international business. The department aims to host a high-quality environment for research and teaching within the broad area of strategy. The department’s research is generally cross-disciplinary. Faculty members have backgrounds in management, economics, sociology and economic geography. The theoretical foundation for research in these areas is eclectic, combining strategy, innovation, and/or internationalization theory with insights from economics, sociology, psychology, and economic geography. The department has 45 faculty members (professors, associate professors, tenure track assistant professors), 7 administrative staff, and 30 members of staff who are hired on temporary contracts as research assistants, post docs or PhD students.
The department puts substantial emphasis on the solid application of scientific research method. The department has a pluralistic approach to research methods that includes, for example, formal theoretical models, quantitative empirical methods such as (lab and field) experiments, econometric applications to register data or survey data, as well as qualitative research methods. PhD project proposals should be based on coherent theoretical arguments and contain well-informed methodological considerations. To find out more about the department please go to
[xxxxx] A particular quality of the department is in the use of empirical methods on large-scale microdata sets, in particular the comprehensive Danish micro-data, but other sources like lab and field experiments or other types of primary data like own surveys and secondary data collected by third parties can also be used.
About the PhD programThe three-year PhD program at CBS allows you to conduct research under the supervision of CBS professors, supported by research training courses. The program is highly international, and you are expected to participate in international research conferences and to spend time abroad as a visiting PhD student.
The PhD student will be enrolled in the CBS PhD School. The selected candidates will participate in the SI PhD cohort, which is a formal research-training program. This includes a package of foundational courses within the main SI research areas and methods courses (econometrics, experiments and qualitative methods).
CBS PhD graduates are held in high esteem not only in academia and research institutions but also in government and business where their research qualifications are increasingly demanded. Recent graduates from the SI PhD program have found opportunities at institutions including Pompeu Fabra, SKEMA, KTH, Tilburg University, Leeds University Business School, the University of Utah, Stockholm School of Economics, and NOVA School of Business and Economics, Lisbon.
QualificationsThe Department will give priority to applicants with the following qualifications: high grades from their universities, an educational background in the social sciences, and fluency in English.
To be considered for the 3 years program, the candidate should have a basic training at the Master’s level (similar to the 3 + 2 Bologna process and a total of 180+120 ECTS). However, applicants who hold a one- year Master’s degree may also be considered for evaluation. PhD students who enter the PhD program with a one-year Master’s degree (60 ECTS) will be offered a 4 years program and will be considered a Master’s student for the first 2 years of the program.
General informationThe PhD scholarship includes teaching obligations.
The 3-year scholarships are fully salaried positions, according to the national Danish collective agreement. The scholarship includes the tuition fees, office space, travel grants plus a salary, currently starting with per month app. DKK 31,000 (app. 4,200 euro) up to DKK 37,000 (app. 5000 euro), depending on seniority, plus a pension contribution totalling 18.07% of the base salary.
The salary level and appointment is determined by the Ministry of Taxation’s collective agreement with the Central Academic Organization.
The application[xxxxx] must receive all application material, including all appendices by the application deadline. Application must be sent via the electronic recruitment system, using the link below.
The application material must include:
- Copy of diplomas and grade transcripts from Bachelor’s and Master’s level education,
- Curriculum vitae (CV),
- If relevant, a list of papers and publications,
- Sample of a written work (e.g. Master’s thesis),
- A 5-page PhD project description. This research proposal should contain a presentation of an original research question pertaining to the topics outlined above, a description of the initial theoretical framework and methodology, a presentation of the suggested empirical material as well as a work-plan. Moreover, the proposal must address the project’s prospective interactions with CSE activities.
Please find guidelines and further information on the website of the PhD School:
[xxxxx]Recruitment procedureThe Recruitment Committee will shortlist a number of applicants to be assessed by the Assessment Committee. All applicants will be notified of their status in the recruitment process shortly after the application deadline.
Applicants selected for assessment will be notified about the composition of the Assessment Committee and later in the process about the result of the assessment.
Once the recruitment process is completed each applicant will be notified of the outcome of their application.
To find out more about working and living in Denmark, please go to
[xxxxx]For further information please contact: PhD coordinator, Professor H.C. Kongsted, e-mail:
[xxxxx]Application due date: September 28, 2026.
Apply for position
WE TRANSFORM SOCIETY WITH BUSINESS
CBS is a globally recognised business school with deep roots in the Nordic socio-economic model. Our faculty has a broad focus on societal challenges, and we have earned a reputation for high-quality disciplinary and interdisciplinary research and education.
We are located at Frederiksberg and have approximately 20,000 full and part-time students, 800 full-time faculty members, 200 PhD students and 700 administrative staff, and a full portfolio of bachelor, master, MBA/EMBA, PhD and executive programmes taught in English and Danish.
Our global profile carries the obligation to address critical challenges in our research and to develop the transformational capabilities of students, graduates and business leaders via our educational activities and opportunities for lifelong learning. Complex challenges call for joint action, and therefore our strategy focuses on strengthening current and starting new partnerships with other sciences, the business community, authorities and civil society.
CBS is working continuously on becoming a diverse and inclusive organisation, and we encourage all regardless of gender identity and expression, ethnicity, religious beliefs, LGBT+ identity, cultural background etc. to apply.Reach out to us if you need assistance in the application or recruitment process, if there is something we should know, or if as a person with disability you wish to make use of your preferential access.
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