José Luis Gallegos Quezada will research the use of AI in healthcare as an MIT postdoctoral associate.
After finishing his PhD at Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM), Dr José Luis Gallegos Quezada is taking up a position as a postdoctoral associate at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan School of Management. In his new role, he will continue researching how new technologies are deployed in workplaces and how workers and their representatives respond to them. However, instead of studying automation in ports such as Rotterdam, he will study artificial intelligence in healthcare.
Originally from Mexico, Dr Gallegos Quezada completed a Master of Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School and worked in the Mexican Congress. So what brought him to RSM's Department of People and Organisations for his PhD?
He explains, “Having already studied in the United States, I wanted my PhD to give me a different academic experience. I was looking for an institution with excellent research, but I was also very conscious that a PhD is a four- or five-year commitment. I wanted an environment in which that experience could be sustainable, where work–life balance mattered, institutional support was strong, expectations around teaching were clear, and the rules of the programme were transparent.
“I also wanted to be somewhere with a broader social mission. RSM seemed to combine those things with academic excellence. What has been particularly meaningful is discovering that many of the values that attracted me to RSM were not simply things written in a brochure. I encountered them in the everyday practices of the people around me.”
Building an international academic network
Throughout their time at RSM, PhD candidates are supported by Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM). Dr Gallegos Quezada says, “RSM and ERIM supported me in several important ways. I had opportunities to take courses outside Erasmus University and to spend time at other institutions, including a summer course at École des hautes études commerciales de Paris (HEC) and a research visit at Cornell University. Those experiences allowed me to learn from scholars elsewhere and build an international academic network around my research.
“Just as importantly, I benefited enormously from the research community at RSM. Throughout the PhD, there were colleagues who were generous with their time, willing to read my work, provide feedback, and include me in seminars and academic conversations. That combination of institutional support and an intellectually generous community gave me opportunities to develop my work and my profile as a researcher.”
Leaving Rotterdam is emotional because it has been his home for five years. But, he says, “Wherever I go, I think I will carry an imprint of Dutch academia and of the Rotterdam mentality: roll up your sleeves, get your hands dirty, stay down-to-earth and humble, and work hard. Those values have become part of my own ethos as a researcher.”
Full-time PhD vacancies for cohort 2027 are now open. Find more information about the programme here
Read Dr Gallegos Quezada's tips for PhD candidates in his Q&A.
