University of Bergen

The University of Bergen is a renowned educational and research institution, organised into seven faculties and approximately 54 institutes and academic centres. Campus is located in the centre of Bergen with university areas at Nygårdshøyden, Haukeland, Marineholmen, Møllendalsveien and Årstad.

There are seven departments and three centres at Faculty of Social Sciences. Read more about the faculty and departments.

UiB - Knowledge that shapes society

Through robust and close interaction with the world around us – globally, nationally and locally – we shall be instrumental in building a society based on knowledge, skills and attitudes.

Do you want to take part in shaping the future?

PhD position in Computational Social Science at MediaFutures: Research Centre for Responsible Media Technology and Innovation

There is a vacancy for a PhD position at MediaFutures: Research Centre for Responsible Media Technology & Innovation at the Department for information science and media studies, University of Bergen. The position is for 4 years and 25 % of the time is compulsory duties at the department.

MediaFutures is a new centre for research-based innovation at the Department for information science and media studies, University of Bergen, and will be located at Media City Bergen. The centre is a part of the Norwegian Research Council’s Research-based Innovation scheme. MediaFutures will in cooperation with industry partners from news media and media technology research topics like media experiences, recommender technology, content production and analysis, content interaction and availability, and Norwegian language technology. The goal is to develop responsible technological solutions to societal challenges like AI, fake news, echo chambers and political polarization. The results will be new digital tools, analysis methods and content types for the future of media. The center will also perform research training within media technology and innovation. This will create outputs such as new patents, prototypes, research articles and software, as well and innovative start-up companies.

Read more about the centre at this link.

About the project/work tasks:

We are looking for a candidate who wants to work on the research frontiers in computational social science with a focus on responsible media technologies. The PhD candidate work at MediaFutures and will be affiliated with the DARS research group at the Department of Information Science and Media Studies at the University of Bergen. The candidate will be supervised by Prof. Dr. Christoph Trattner and will report to the centre director at MediaFutures.

Computational Social Science project proposals in the context in technology with an application to responsible media communication are prioritized. A particular interest lies in applicants willing to research on technologies communicating health related topics such as, for example, the COVID-19 pandemic.

Qualifications and personal qualities:

• The applicant must hold a master's degree in Information Science, Computer Science, Informatics, or equivalent, and the degree has to be completed by the application deadline
• Programming skills (e.g., in Python) and knowledge in statistics are a must.
• Experience from scientific work (e.g., previous conference and journal publications) is an advantage.
• We value candidates that can work structured and in a team.
• Proficiency in both written and oral English (this is the working language of the project).
• A background within data science is an advantage.
• Personal qualities will be emphasized.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to an interview.

About the PhD position:

About the PhD position:

The duration of the PhD position is 4 years, of which 25 per cent of the time comprises obligatory duties associated with research, teaching and dissemination of results. The employment period for the successful candidate may be reduced if he or she previously has been employed in a PhD position.

About the research training:

As a PhD research fellow, you will take part in the doctoral educational programme at the Faculty of Social Sciences, UiB. The programme corresponds to a period of three years and leads to the submission of the PhD dissertation. To be eligible for admission you must have completed a Master degree. The educational background must be equivalent to a five-year Master education, including a two-year Master degree and a Master thesis at least 30 ECTS. It is expected that the topic of the Master degree is connected to the academic field to which you are seeking admission.

We can offer:

• Salary at pay grade 54 upon appointment (Code 1017) on the government salary scale (equivalent to NOK 491 200,- per year). Further promotions are made according to length of service in the position.
• A good and professionally challenging working environment
• Enrolment in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• A position in an inclusive workplace (IA enterprise)
• Good welfare benefits

Your application must include:

• A cover letter and including a brief account of your research interests, motivation and proposal for research and for applying for the position max 2 pages
• The names and contact information for two reference persons. One of them must be the main advisor for the master's thesis or equivalent thesis
• CV
• Transcripts and diplomas showing completion of the bachelor's and master's degrees.
• Relevant certificates/references
• A list of academic publications
• Academic publications that you want to submit for assessment (including your master’s thesis or equivalent)
• If you have a master's degree from an institution outside of the Nordic countries, or a 2-year discipline- based master's degree (or the equivalent) in a subject area other than the one associated with the application, you may later in the application process be asked to submit an overview of the syllabus for the degree you have completed

The application and appendices with certified translations into English or a Scandinavian language must be uploaded at Jobbnorge following the link on this page marked “Apply for this job”.

The application has to be marked: 21/7408

Closing date: August 15, 2021

Applications submitted without a cover letter or applications sent as e-mails will not be considered. Only submitted documents will be subjected to an expert assessment.

General information:

Additional information about the position is obtainable by contacting:

• Centre Director, Professor Christoph Trattner, e-mail Christoph.Trattner@uib.no, phone (+47) 45 39 61 80

Practical questions regarding the application procedures should be directed to senior officer Bodil Hægland, e-mail: bodil.hagland@uib.no.

Appointed research fellows will be admitted to the doctoral education program at the Faculty of Social Sciences. Further information about the program is available on the webpage.

Questions about the program may be directed to senior officer Hanne Gravermoen, e-mail: hanne.gravermoen@uib.no, phone: +47 55 58 90 68.

The state labour force shall reflect the diversity of Norwegian society to the greatest extent possible. Age and gender balance among employees is therefore a goal. It is also a goal to recruit people with immigrant backgrounds. People with immigrant backgrounds and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply for the position.

The University of Bergen applies the principle of public access to information when recruiting staff for academic positions.

Information about applicants may be made public even if the applicant has asked not to be named on the list of persons who have applied. The applicant must be notified if the request to be omitted is not met.

The successful applicant must comply with the guidelines that apply to the position at all times.

For further information about the recruitment process, click here.

Apply for this job