Graduate Assistant​/PhD Student

Expected start date:
August 1, 2026, or by agreement
Contract length: 1 year, renewable up to a maximum of 5 years
Activity rate:
Full-time, or part-time by agreement
Workplace:
Lausanne-Dorigny
Supervisor:
Prof. Christian Peukert
Salary:
According to the UNIL salary scale for graduate assistants

• At least 50% of the position will be dedicated to doctoral studies, and up to 50% to teaching and research support
• Contribute to an SNSF-funded project on how digitization has changed the consumption of media and cultural goods
• Work with very large individual-level consumption datasets in music, video games, books, and related media and cultural industries
• Collaborate closely with a research team at the University of Warsaw

We are looking for one candidate with the following qualifications:

• Master's degree in Economics, Marketing, Information Systems, Management, Computer Science, Business Analytics, or a related field
• Strong interest in media markets such as music, video games, movies, books, comics, and related cultural industries
• Strong background in statistics, econometrics, machine learning, or related quantitative methods
• A quantitative marketing background is particularly welcome
• Strong interest in digitization, platforms, consumer behavior, and the economics of media and cultural goods
• Very good skills in English
• The candidate must be serious, precise, independent, and diligent
• Strong ambition to pursue a career in academia

Please submit your application through the UNIL applications platform by July 17, 2026
. It should include:

• Proposal of a potential thesis topic
• All grade reports of BA and MA studies
• A PDF copy of the MA thesis or another research-oriented output (for example a BA thesis or seminar paper). This document should be single-authored.

You will work on exciting and rewarding research projects on how digitization has reshaped the consumption of media and cultural goods. The position is financed by an SNSF project and carried out in close collaboration with a team at the University of Warsaw. You will join the Digital Markets Lab, work with very large individual-level datasets in music, video games, books, and related sectors, and be part of a stimulating, multicultural, and international academic environment with strong opportunities for research training and professional development.

Christian Peukert is an Associate Professor for Digitization, Innovation and Intellectual Property at the University of Lausanne, Faculty of Business and Economics (HEC Lausanne), Switzerland. He studies how digital technologies and their regulation affect firms, consumers, and markets, with a focus on the economics of data and artificial intelligence, and intellectual property. His work has been published in Management Science, Marketing Science, Information Systems Research, Strategic Management Journal, Research Policy, and other journals.

The successful candidate will join the Digital Markets Lab and work in an international research environment. The SNSF-funded project is carried out in close collaboration with a team at the University of Warsaw and focuses on how digitization has changed the consumption of media and cultural goods using large-scale individual-level data.

Located on Lake Geneva and surrounded by the Jura Mountains and the French Alps, Lausanne is a beautiful and cosmopolitan place to live and work. The University of Lausanne (UNIL) promotes learning, research and living and hosts 14'100 students and nearly 3'800 collaborators, professors, and researchers. Ideally situated along Lake Geneva, near Lausanne's city center, its campus brings together over 120 nationalities.

Seeking to promote an equitable representation of men and women among its staff, the University encourages applications from women. The Department of Strategy, Globalization and Society of the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Lausanne provides a stimulating, interdisciplinary research environment. We value the diversity of the expertise of the members of the department as well as the diversity of the departments at the Faculty of Business and Economics.

HEC Lausanne offers a competitive set of PhD programs. Members of the Department have published in leading international outlets such as Management Science, Strategic Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Annals, and Information Systems Research.