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.

PhD position in Computer Science/HCI at MediaFutures: Research Centre for Responsible Media Technology & Innovation

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PhD position in Computer Science/HCI at MediaFutures:Research Centre for Responsible Media Technology & Innovation

There is a vacancy for a PhD position in Computer Science/Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), researching multi-device hyper personalization, at MediaFutures: Research Centre for Responsible Media Technology & Innovation. The position is for a fixed-term period of 3 years.

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, analytical 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 www.mediafutures.no.

About the project/work tasks:

The position will be part of Work Package 4 “Media Content Interaction & Accessibility”, more specifically in tasks 4,2 “Methods and tools for higher levels of interactivity and accessibility” and 4.3 “HCI for advanced interactivity with linear media” or 4.5 “Accessibility for linear media experiences”. The PhD project will focus either (focus a) on interaction with rich content, customized for users, e.g. young or elderly, experts or novices etc., or (focus b) on personalized accessibility using personal devices for personalized presentations. Focus b is not only about providing content to disabled viewers, but also adapt to context and personal preferences, possibly interacting with AI-based tools from Work Package 3.

The main objectives of the PhD position include:

- Conceptualizing and develop innovative user interfaces for rich-content interaction

- Engineering innovative and testable prototypes for single-user and multi-user scenarios

- Innovative design of mobile applications (including use of smartwatch/smartphone/AR)

- Innovative and futuristic uses of mobile device embedded sensors and displays

- Software development towards a platform serving a wider HCI research community

- Evaluate user interfaces taking into account important competing factors

- Conduct controlled user studies, collect, and analyze experimental data

- Publish at top-level conferences such as ACM CHI, ACM UIST, ACM CSCW, and ACM ISS

Qualifications and personal qualities:

• The applicant must hold a master's degree or the equivalent in Computer Science or Information Science;knowledge of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)
• The degree has to be completed by the start of employment
• The requirements are generally a grade B or better on the Master thesis and for the Master degree in total
• As an applicant you should be able to work independently, have a considerable work capacity as well as an enthusiasm for research
• You should have good coding skills and be able to design, develop and evaluate innovative user interfaces
• Fluent in English, willingness to learn some Norwegian

Shortlisted candidates will be invited for an interview.

About the PhD position:

The duration of the PhD position is 3 years. The employment period for the successful candidate may be reduced if he or she previously has been employed in a PhD position. The successful research fellow will bring a skillset enabling him/her to meet the main objectives. As a PhD research fellow, you will take part in the PhD programme at the Department of Information Science and Media Studies, UiB. The programme corresponds to a period of three years and leads to the PhD degree in Computer Science. To be eligible for admission you must normally have an educational background corresponding to a master’s degree with a scope of 120 ECTS credits, which builds on a bachelor’s degree with a scope of 180 ECTS credits (normally 2 + 3 years), or an integrated master’s degree with a scope of 300 ECTS credits (5 years). Master’s degrees must normally include an independent work of a minimum of 30 ECTS credits. It is expected that the topic of the master’s degree is connected to the academic field to which you are seeking admission.

We can offer:

• Exciting development opportunities as part of your role in a strong professional environment
• Salary at pay grade 54 (Code 1017) in the state salary scale. This currently amounts to an annual salary of NOK 479.600 per year before taxes.Further promotions are made according to qualifications and length of service in the position.
• Enrolment in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• Good welfare benefits

For more information about moving to Bergen and Norway, please visit this link, and this link.

Your application must include:

• A cover letter (1-2 pages) including a brief account of your research interests and motivation for applying for the position
• Specify which focus, a or b, you are most interested in, and why
• 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, including a 1-page portfolio presenting your three most relevant projects
• 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

Incomplete applications 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 can be obtained by contacting work package leaders Njål Borch, njbo@norceresearch.no, Morten Fjeld, morten.fjeld@uib.no or Centre Director Christoph Trattner.

Practical questions regarding the application procedures should be directed to Senior Officer– HR, Jannicke Lervik, jannicke.lervik@uib.no.

Appointed research fellows will be admitted to the PhD programme at the Department of Information Science and Media Studies.

Questions about the programme may be directed to Adviser-PhD: Hanne.Gravermoen@uib.no.

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 position