Take-off Erasmus Sectorplan SSH-Breed ‘The Influence of Digitalization on Work, Prosperity and Entrepreneurship’

The interdisciplinary Erasmus Sectorplan SSH-Breed is one of the three plans in the SSH sector that received funding. The other two SSH plans are dedicated to Humanities (GW), and the Social Sciences (SW). At EUR the first one involves Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication (ESSHCC) and Erasmus School of Philosophy (ESPhil), the second one ESHCC and Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences (ESSB). The third, Sectorplan SSH-Breed is completely dedicated to the societal effects of digitalisation, looking at it from five different perspectives. At EUR this plan involves Erasmus School of Economics (ESE), ESHCC, Erasmus School of Law (ESL), ESPhil, ESSB, and Rotterdam School of Management (RSM).

Effects of digitalisation on work, prosperity and entrepreneurship

Erasmus SSH-Breed focuses on the impact of digitalisation on work, prosperity and entrepreneurship. The funding gives EUR the unique opportunity to create international visibility as a centre of expertise for the social effects of digitalisation of work. There is a strong demand for such centres, also internationally, e.g. as reliable partners in large collaborative projects on ICT that are funded by the EU. Those projects often focus on digital work advancement in certain sectors, from fishery to banking and journalism to policing. While it is becoming more widely recognised that the social impact of digitalisation is very significant and disruptive, an engineering perspective still dominates the discourse in research and deployment of digital technologies. A credible provider of comprehensive knowledge from the social sciences to complement the current focus on technology readiness could, therefore, become a preferred partner for many, both in academia and elsewhere.

A task force of senior representatives from the six participating schools put together a blueprint for collaboration in the context of the Erasmus Sectorplan SSH-Breed. After the Executive Board embraced this blueprint, the task force organised the 36 recruits into five teams that address different topics in the digitalisation of work. The task force has also found coordinators for the various teams and a programme manager and is very happy with the appointment of Prof. Koen Swinnen (ESL, Professor of Private Law and Public and Private Interests), who already gained relevant experience in the National Sectorplan for Law, as the overall scientific lead and Marianne Breijer (ESL) as programme manager.