Two PhD researcher positions (doctoral fellowships) on the banality of sports fraud

Thibault Fouquaert
6 jan
3 minuten om te lezen

Nieuwe vacatures: Twee PhD-onderzoekers voor project rond sportfraude

Wij zijn verheugd de opening van twee voltijdse doctoraatsposities aan te kondigen voor het onderzoeksproject "De banaliteit van sportfraude". Dit project wordt gefinancierd door het Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (FWO) en is een samenwerking tussen de Vakgroep Bewegings- en Sportwetenschappen en de Vakgroep Ontwikkelings-, Persoonlijkheids- en Sociale Psychologie aan de Universiteit Gent.

Om een zo breed mogelijk publiek van gekwalificeerde kandidaten te bereiken, is de volledige vacaturetekst hieronder in het Engels opgesteld.

Vacancy Announcement: Two PhD Fellowships on "The Banality of Sports Fraud"

The Ghent University Sport Management Research Group and the Social Psychology Research Lab are jointly recruiting two full-time doctoral fellows (PhD researchers). These positions are part of the FWO-funded project (2026–2029) titled "The banality of sports fraud".

Project Overview and Position Details

This interdisciplinary project investigates how variations in values at the individual, team (toxic leadership), and organizational (ethics culture) level, lead bystanders to facilitate, ignore, or exit a fraud-inducing context. The research considers the sports context as a fraud-inductive social context where fraud can be experienced as "banal".

Although the two researchers will work jointly on the project, the vacancies represent two distinct profiles embedded in different faculties:

Position 1: Based at the Department of Movement and Sports Sciences (Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences).
Position 2: Based at the Department of Developmental, Personality and Social Psychology (Faculty of Psychology).

Both candidates will respectively work under the supervision of Prof. Annick Willem and Prof. Alain Van Hiel. Successful completion of this project results in a joint doctoral degree: PhD in Health Sciences and PhD in Psychology.

Key Responsibilities

Selected candidates will execute research at the intersection of sport management and psychology. Core tasks include:

Conducting lab studies, managing a large-scale survey, and testing interventions (moral identity workshops).
Presenting results at international conferences and publishing in scientific journals.
Engaging in science communication with broader audiences.
Limited educational tasks, such as guest lectures or guiding master's students.

Profile and Requirements

We are looking for team players with excellent grades and a genuine interest in sports fraud, sport management, and/or social psychology.

Education: You hold (or will graduate in 2026 with) a master’s degree in a relevant domain such as (social) psychology, sociology, criminology, business, applied economics, communication sciences, sport (management) sciences, or others.
Language: Fluency in English (speaking and writing) is required. Fluency in Dutch is considered advantageous for field research activities.
Skills: Strong analytical skills and competence in methodological research (e.g. data collection, experimental research, surveys, interviews).

Offer and Contract

Contract Type: Full-time position (100%) for a limited duration of 1 year, extendable by 3 years upon positive evaluation (1 + 3 years).
Start Date: Flexible start date between March 1st, 2026, and October 1st, 2026.
Benefits: The grant is free of personal income tax and includes benefits such as holiday leave, bicycle allowance, and training.

Application Procedure

Interested candidates should apply by e-mail to Prof. Annick Willem (annick.willem@ugent.be) or Prof. Alain Van Hiel (alain.vanhiel@ugent.be). A separate application for each position is required.

Deadline: February 9, 2026.
Required Documents: Please bundle the following into one PDF document:
Personal motivation letter.
Curriculum Vitae.
Copy of diploma and course scores.
Contact details of up to three references (optional).

Selected candidates will be contacted for an on-site interview in February.

Attachments

For the full vacancy text and detailed project description, please download the PDF below: