PhD Scholarship 'Reaching the unreachable'

1 - Working at the VUB

For more than 50 years, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel has stood for freedom, equality and solidarity, and this is very much alive on our campuses among students and staff alike. 

At the VUB, you will find a diverse collection of personalities: innovators pur sang, but above all people who are 100% their authentic selves. With some 4,000 employees, we are the largest Dutch-speaking employer, in the private sector, in Brussels; an international city with which we are only too happy to connect and where (around) our 4 campuses are located. 

Add to this our principle of free research - in which self-reflection, a critical attitude and an open, creative mind around scientific and social issues are central - and you have a university that is fundamentally groundbreaking and pioneering in education and research. In short: the VUB all over again. 

Moreover, the VUB is a member of EUTOPIA, an alliance of like-minded European universities, all ready to reinvent themselves.

2 - Position description

The Faculty Social Sciences & Solvay Business School, Department Communicatiewetenschappen, Research Group Studies in Media, Innovation and Technology is looking for a PhD-student with a doctoral grant. 

More concretely your work package, for the preparation of a doctorate, contains: 

The PhD project is titled: Reaching the unreachable.

Public Interest Media — and specifically Public Service Media — are mandated to provide universal and equitable access to information, yet substantial groups remain rarely or never reached. Vulnerable and underserved audiences — including individuals with low literacy, low-skilled workers, people in precarious socio-economic situations, refugees, and diverse younger audiences — are often overlooked in both academic research and industry practice. This gap persists partly because these groups are difficult to identify, reach, and engage through conventional research approaches.

Recent studies underscore the pivotal role of intermediary actors — such as youth workers, social organisations, and media literacy networks — in facilitating contact with vulnerable and diverse communities. Existing findings also point to higher rates of news avoidance, media disconnection, and trust deficits among these populations.

For Public Interest Media, understanding and engaging vulnerable and underserved groups is essential to upholding their societal mission and reinterpreting ‘universality’ in a platformised media environment.

This research project aims to:

• Identify the media needs, habits, expectations, and barriers experienced by vulnerable and underserved groups;
• Develop a nuanced categorisation of media use across diverse user profiles;
• Generate evidence-based recommendations to help Public Interest Media reach, inform, and interact more effectively with these audiences;
• Contribute to the conceptual rethinking of universality, inclusivity, and equity in Public Interest Media.

The PhD researcher will contribute to the following core activities:

• Conduct a contemporary conceptualisation of universality, inclusivity, and the notion of underserved audiences in Public Service Media;
• Analyse existing Public Service Media audience data to identify unreachable, overlooked, and underserved groups, i.e., who is being left behind?;
• Map and consult intermediary stakeholders (e.g., NGOs, youth workers, community organisations) to support ethical and effective user engagement;
• Develop an ethical, accessible, and context-sensitive framework for engaging vulnerable and underserved groups in research, including diverse young audiences;
• Investigate current media behaviours, needs, motivations, and barriers to Public Interest Media access among diverse communities, in particular youth;
• Construct a typology of underserved audience profiles based on media practices, motivations, structural constraints, and socio-contextual conditions;
• Iteratively develop, test, and refine strategies and interventions designed to help Public Interest Media better reach and serve vulnerable and underserved audiences with public interest content.

The doctoral project will adopt a mixed-methods research design; methods may include:

• Desk research, structured literature review;
• Qualitative methods: focus groups, co-creation and participatory workshops, in-depth interviews, diary and longitudinal engagement methods;
• Quantitative methods: surveys, secondary data analysis (e.g., audience metrics, platform analytics);
• Scenario-building.

The position requires relocation to Belgium as the candidate will be enrolled in the Vrije Universiteit Brussel’s PhD programme in Communication Sciences. The project is conducted under the supervision of Wendy Van den Broeck, Associate Professor at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, and Petr Szczepanik, Associate Professor at Charles University, Prague. It will involve close collaboration with other Doctoral Candidates in the RePIM doctoral Network Project, and an academic secondment of approximately 2 months at Charles University. The candidate will also carry out 3-month internship at Mediawijs, the Flemish Knowledge Centre for Digital and Media Literacy, located in Brussels.

The PhD position is part of RePIM – Revisioning Public Interest Media, a four-year Marie Skłodowska-Curie (MSCA) Doctoral Network dedicated to reimagining the role and future of Public Interest Media in a data-driven, platform-dominated environment. RePIM brings together leading European universities, industry partners, and 12 Doctoral Candidates in an interdisciplinary, cross-sectoral training and research programme. The network investigates how Public Interest Media can remain relevant, sustainable, and impactful by transforming how content is produced, packaged, distributed, and supported organisationally and technologically. Through its focus on strategic innovation, organisational change, and media management, RePIM equips its doctoral researchers with advanced analytical and managerial skills to help reshape public interest media across diverse European contexts.

For this function, our Brussels Humanities, Sciences & Engineering Campus (Elsene) will serve as your home base. 

3 - Profile

What do we expect from you?

• Master’s degree in media and communication studies or a related social sciences discipline (political sciences, international studies, economics, management, sociology, urban studies);
• Excellent knowledge of social sciences research methods (qualitative analysis, interviews, document analysis, quantitative analysis); experience with fieldwork and/or digital research methods is an asset;
• Strong academic track record, with particular emphasis on research, analytical, and writing skills;
• Affinity with inclusivity, vulnerable groups is a plus;
• Strong team orientation, a reliable work ethic, excellent time-management skills, and the ability to take initiative and work independently;
• Proficiency in written and spoken English; knowledge of Dutch is a notable advantage;
• Willingness to engage in international mobility in line with the MSCA-DN framework (meetings, training sessions, research stays, industry stays, etc.).

• MSCA eligibility requirements:

  • At the time of recruitment, candidates must not already hold a doctoral degree;
  • Applicants of any nationality are welcome to apply. However, researchers must not have lived or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the host country (in this case: Belgium) for more than 12 months within the 36 months immediately preceding their recruitment date. Candidates must be willing to move to Belgium for the duration of the PhD research.

• You have not performed any works in the execution of a mandate as an assistant, paid from operating resources, over a total (cumulated) period of more than 12 months.

• As a (non-)EEA national, meet the conditions for obtaining a valid permit for VUB and comply with the VUB residence requirements. More info here.

The VUB wants to be a reflection of the society where everyone's talent is valued, regardless of gender, age, religion, skin color, migration background, disability and neurodiversity.

4 - Offer

Are you going to be our new colleague?

You’ll be offered a full-time PhD-scholarship, for 12 months (extendable up to max. 48 months, on condition of the positive evaluation of the PhD activities), with planned starting date 01/05/2026. 

You’ll receive a grant linked to one of the scales set by the government.

IMPORTANT: The effective result of the doctorate scholarship is subject to the condition precedent of your enrolment as a doctorate student at the university.

At the VUB, you’re guaranteed an open, involved and diverse workplace where you are offered opportunities to (further) build on your career.

As well as this, you will also enjoy various other benefits:

• Extensive homeworking options, a telework allowance of 50 euros per month OR an internet fee of 20 euros per month;
• An open and informal working environment where attention is paid to work-life balance, and exceptional holiday arrangements with 35 days of leave (based on a fulltime contract), closure between Christmas and New Year and 3 extra leave days;
• Cost-free hospitalisation insurance;
• Full reimbursement of your home-to-work commute with public transport according to VUB-policy, and/or compensation if you come by bike; 
• A wide selection of meals in our campus restaurants at attractive prices;
• Excellent and affordable facilities for sport and exercise, a range of discounts via Benefits@Work (in  all kinds of shops, on flights, in petrol stations, amusement parks...) and Ecocheques; 
• Nursery near campus, discount on holiday camps; 
• The space to form your job content and to continuously learn through our VUB learning platforms and training courses;
• And finally: great colleagues with a healthy drive.

5 - Interested?

Is this the job you’ve been dreaming of?

Then apply, at the latest on 08/02/2026, via jobs.vub.be, and upload the following documents:

• Certificate of your master’s degree or equivalent (not applicable for VUB alumni);
• Transcripts of records for your Master’s degree;
• A one-page motivation letter indicating why you are applying for this position. If you are interested in other RePIM positions, please clearly indicate them as your second and third choices, adding a half-page motivation for each;
• Curriculum vitae (CV). If applicable, this should also include a list of all publications and/or other documented research activities;
• Proof of English proficiency (for non-native speakers). This can include a language certificate, a higher education diploma stating English was the language of instruction, proof of educational or professional activity in English;
• A one-page reflection on how you would approach this research in terms of
  • questions and methods;
  • the use of your own background and skills;
  • the societal and scientific relevance of the topic.

Additional documentation you are encouraged to send with your application, if available:

If the diploma(s) or transcript of records are not in English, French, or Dutch, you can add a translation by a sworn translator;

• Other relevant certificates or transcripts (e.g., courses completed at the PhD level);
• If the issuing authority of grades and degrees does not use the ECTS grading scale, include an official description of the grading scale used;
• A test score to support your language proficiency, which can include TOEFL iBT, IELTS Academic, Cambridge English, or ITACE.

Our application process is as follows (subject to change):

• step 1: an initial selection based on your application file; 
• step 2: a job interview.

Do you have questions about the job content? Contact repim@vub.be at smit.jobs@vub.be or on 026148540.

Would you like to know what it’s like to work at the VUB? Go to jobs.vub.be, and find all there is to know about our campuses, benefits, strategic goals and your future colleagues.

Would you like more information about EUTOPIA? Go to eutopia-university.eu, and read more about the role of the VUB in the development of the EUTOPIA alliance.