RU CiTiP – Legal researcher

RU CiTiP – Legal researcher (100%) - IP law & Trade Secrets in Health Data

KU Leuven is an autonomous university. It was founded in 1425. It was born of and has grown within the Catholic tradition.

The KU Leuven Centre for IT & IP Law (CiTiP) is a research unit of the Faculty of Law and Criminology with the mission to advance legal knowledge in the field of intellectual property and ICT law. The Centre is part of the Flemish Knowledge Centre for Data & Society, DigiSoc, Leuven Centre on ICT (LICT), Leuven.AI. and is affiliated with imec.

CiTiP has over 30 years of experience in conducting cutting‑edge research in intellectual property and information, communication and technology law including privacy, cybersecurity, biotechnology and the legal and ethical aspects of innovation, information and data.
CiTiP consists of a thriving research community of over 90 researchers and fellows, 8 professors, a research and a valorisation expert, 9 postdoctoral researchers, teaching assistants and administrative support.

CiTiP is involved in interdisciplinary projects financed through programs such as Horizon Europe/H2020, Digital Europe, Marie Curie Actions, FWO, ICON, Belgian and Flemish research foundations, as well as through commissioned research. For more information on the Centre, please consult the website.

CiTiP invites applications for a full‑time researcher position contributing to FORTIFY, a European project examining the intersection of IP, trade secrets, innovation protection, and health data governance in the context of the European Health Data Space (EHDS). FORTIFY brings together legal, governance, and technical expertise to develop practical solutions that enable the responsible reuse of health data for research and innovation, while safeguarding IP and trade secrets protection. For more information on FORTIFY, please consult the website: https://fortify-ehds.eu.

As a researcher in the project, you will contribute to the development of legal and governance frameworks that support the implementation of the EHDS and foster trusted health data sharing across Europe. Working closely with academic, clinical, industry, and policy partners, you will translate complex legal and regulatory requirements into practical guidance for diverse stakeholders.

You will:

• conduct fundamental and applied legal research on health data governance, IP, trade secrets, and the regulation of secondary health data use within the EHDS context;
• communicate complex legal and ethical concepts in a clear, accessible, and practice‑oriented manner;
• collaborate with technical, clinical, legal, and policy partners across Europe and act as a point of contact for CiTiP within the FORTIFY consortium;
• contribute to project deliverables, policy recommendations, scientific publications, conference papers, and other research outputs;
• present research findings at national and international conferences, seminars, workshops, and stakeholder events, which will allow you to engage in science communication activities aimed at policymakers, practitioners, and the broader public;
• develop and pursue original research ideas and contribute to future research proposals and funding applications;
• help strengthen national and international research collaborations;
• actively participate in the scientific and academic life of CiTiP and KU Leuven, including research, teaching, outreach, and administrative activities proportionate to your level of experience.

Profile

We are looking for candidates with the following qualifications:

• You have a master’s degree in law (or an equivalent legal qualification), preferably with a specialisation in intellectual property (IP) law in the European Union (EU);
• You are motivated, dynamic, eager to learn and fascinated by the interaction between IP, trade secrets and health data governance. Knowledge of one or more of the following areas is considered an additional asset: health law; AI regulation (AI Act); European Health Data Space (EHDS) Regulation; Medical Device Regulation (MDR); regulatory data protection; data protection law (GDPR); and research ethics.
• You can creatively analyse legal problems in these domains and propose clear and valuable solutions;
• You have the ability, or the potential, to share your knowledge with others through scientific publications and presentations at academic conferences and workshops;
• You have experience, or potential, in project work and applications. Experience with Horizon Europe or other EU‑funded research projects is considered an advantage;
• You have an excellent knowledge of English (both written and spoken, should be properly documented). Knowledge of Dutch (both written and spoken) is an asset, due to possible involvement in research and teaching tasks across various pro