16 May 2024
Job Information
- Organisation/Company
Uppsala universitet- Department
Uppsala University, Department of Information Technology- Research Field
Communication sciences
Computer science
Political sciences- Researcher Profile
First Stage Researcher (R1)- Country
Sweden- Application Deadline
5 Jun 2024 - 21:59 (UTC)- Type of Contract
Temporary- Job Status
Full-time- Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?
Not funded by an EU programme- Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?
No
Offer Description
Are you interested in developing methods for the detection of social information threats (such as online disinformation), with the support of competent and friendly colleagues in an international environment? Are you looking for an employer that invests in sustainable employeeship and offers safe, favourable working conditions? We welcome you to apply for a doctoral student position at the Department of Information Technology.
The Department of Information Technology holds a leading position in both research and education at all levels. We are currently Uppsala University's third largest department, have around 350 employees, including 120 teachers and 120 PhD students. Approximately 5,000 undergraduate students take one or more courses at the department each year. You can find more information about us on the Department of Information Technology’s website .
The candidate will join the Uppsala University Information Laboratory (InfoLab) , one of the research labs at the Division of Computing Science, Department of Information Technology. At the InfoLab we do basic and applied interdisciplinary research on knowledge extraction from social data. The candidate will also be part of the Graduate School in Cybersecurity at the Department of Information Technology. The Graduate School provides an environment where students and researchers in cybersecurity and related areas work together, through a core PhD-level curriculum of joint courses and research activities. Regular seminars are planned with presentations from the school’s participants and by invited speakers.
Project description
The project is in the emerging area of social cybersecurity. Research in social cybersecurity addresses how online communication technologies are used to influence public opinion and attitudes (for example spreading disinformation) and undermine social cohesion (for example polluting online conversations with hateful comments about out-groups). We collectively call these issues social information threats. Work in this field seeks to identify the actors that manipulate narratives (what is talked about and to what intent) and communities (who is talking to whom), and the methods they use. The field contributes to knowledge about how this form of societal manipulation can be identified, measured, but also how it can be countered. Acquiring this knowledge is key to supporting democratic resilience.
Duties
The purpose of this project is to develop methods for the detection of social information threats. In particular, a key focus of the project are the new social information threats enabled by recent advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based multimedia content generation. While phenomena such as disinformation and hate speech are not new, today there are new technologies that can be used to generate content (e.g. creating fake images or videos of public figures) and operate artificial online actors (e.g. bots) to manipulate narratives and communities.
The aims of this PhD project are to:
Active participation in the Graduate School activities is expected.
A Ph.D. student is expected to devote their time to graduate education mainly. The rest of the duties may involve teaching at the Department, including also some administration, to at most 20%.
Requirements
To meet the entry requirements for doctoral studies, you must:
- hold a Master’s (second-cycle) degree in data science or related areas relevant to the PhD topic, or
- have completed at least 240 credits in higher education, with at least 60 credits at Master’s level including an independent project worth at least 15 credits, or
- have acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way.
We are looking for candidates with:
- a strong interest in interdisciplinary research,
- an understanding and/or interest in methods for the analysis of online communication,
- good communication skills with sufficient proficiency in oral and written English,
- excellent study results,
- the ability to independently drive one's own research, but also to collaborate with others,
- a high level of creativity, thoroughness, and a structured approach to problem-solving.
Additional qualifications
Knowledge of network analysis and text analysis, and advanced knowledge of programming, data mining, and machine learning are valued.
Rules governing PhD students are set out in the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5, §§ 1-7 and in Uppsala University's rules and guidelines .
Application
The application must include:
Applicants who meet at least one of the entry requirements are strongly encouraged to apply. All applicants should state their earliest possible starting date.
About the employment
The employment is a temporary position according to the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5 § 7. Scope of employment 100 %.Starting date 1st of September 2024 or as agreed. Placement: Uppsala.
For further information about the position, please contact: Prof. Matteo Magnani, +46184714021, [email protected]
Please submit your application by 5th of June 2024 UFV-PA 2024/1686.
Are you considering moving to Sweden to work at Uppsala University? Find out more about what it´s like to work and live in Sweden .
Requirements
- Research Field
- Communication sciences
- Education Level
- PhD or equivalent
- Research Field
- Computer science
- Education Level
- PhD or equivalent
- Research Field
- Political sciences
- Education Level
- PhD or equivalent
- Research Field
- Communication sciences
- Years of Research Experience
- 1 - 4
- Research Field
- Computer science
- Years of Research Experience
- 1 - 4
- Research Field
- Political sciences
- Years of Research Experience
- 1 - 4
Additional Information
Work Location(s)
- Number of offers available
- 1
- Company/Institute
- Uppsala universitet
- Country
- Sweden
- City
- Uppsala
- Geofield
Where to apply
- Website
https://uu.varbi.com/en/what:job/jobID:727423/type:job/where:39/apply:1
Contact
- City
Uppsala- Website
http://www.uu.se/en/about-uu/join-us/jobs/
STATUS: EXPIRED
Similar Positions
-
Ph D Position In Condensed Matter Theory , Uppsala University, Sweden, about 14 hours ago
Published: 2024-05-13 Are you interested in working with materals physics, with the support of competent and friendly colleagues in an international environment? Are you looking for an employer t...
-
Ph D Student In Materials Chemistry At The Program For Inorganic Chemistry, Uppsala University, Sweden, about 14 hours ago
Published: 2024-05-29 The Department of Chemistry - Ångström conducts research and education in the chemistry field. The department has more than 270 employees and has a turnover of 290 million S...
-
Ph D In Photopharmacology, Uppsala University, Sweden, about 14 hours ago
Published: 2024-05-31 The Department of Chemistry - Ångström conducts research and education in the chemistry field. The department has more than 270 employees and has a turnover of 290 million S...
-
Ph D Student In Molecular Pharmaceutics, Uppsala University, Sweden, about 14 hours ago
Published: 2024-06-05 The Department of Pharmacy at Uppsala University has an interdisciplinary environment at the center of the pharmaceutical arena. With frontline research, first-rate educatio...
-
Ph D Student In Neuroscience, Uppsala University, Sweden, about 14 hours ago
Published: 2024-06-05 PhD student in neuroscience Are you interested in working with research around emotions and cognitive processes, with the support of competent and friendly colleagues in an ...
-
Ph D Student In Structure Based Drug Design With Focus On Machine Learning, Uppsala University, Sweden, about 14 hours ago
Published: 2024-05-13 The Department of Cell and Molecular Biology is one of the most international, broad and distinguished molecular bioscience departments in Europe. The department comprises s...