Research assistant with a background in Computational Social Science

The Department of Communication, Faculty of Humanities, University of Copenhagen (UCPH), Denmark, invites applications for a research assistant position in computational social science to be filled 1 August 2023 or as soon as possible thereafter.

The position is for six months.

Job content
The main obligation of the position is to use computational methods to design and establish a novel database of news coverage on political protests and technology worldwide. The job contents include to harvest news coverage via news APIs, to combine human- and automatic coding (machine learning methods) to filter and label news coverages and their syntax, semantics, sentiments, and vocabulary features, and to visualize the database. The position is part of the research project “To Use or Not to Use? A Relational Approach to ICTs as Repertoire of Contention” which runs 2022-2025 and is funded by the DFF-Sapere Aude.

Read more about the project here: tech-in-movement.ku.dk

Qualification requirements
We expect that you have a master's degree on, but not limited to, the basis of computational social science, such as data science, computer science, social data science and machine learning, with the capacity and relevant experience of using APIs to collect data, analyzing structured and unstructured datasets with machine learning methods like Natural Language Processing, and conducting data and information visualization.

Further details about the qualification requirements for research assistants can be found in The Ministerial Order on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities from 2019 here: employment.ku.dk/faculty/criteria-for-recognising-merit/dokumenter/Ministerial_Order_no._1443_of_11_December_2019_on_Job_Structure_for_Academic_Staff_at_Universities.pdf

For further information about the position, please contact
Jun Liu, [email protected]

Application
Submit the application online in Adobe PDF or Word format.

Please click on the “Apply now” icon at the bottom of this page.

The application must be written in English and include the following documents:

• Application letter/cover letter (max 1 page).
• Curriculum vitae (with applicant’s e-mail address & telephone number).
• Documentation of qualifications (examination certificates/PhD diploma, etc.).
• Other relevant material: work experience related to computational social science, if any.

Only material in Danish, Norwegian, Swedish and English can be expected to be assessed.

Appointment procedure
After the application deadline, the Head of Department selects applicants for assessment on the advice of the appointment committee.  All applicants are then immediately notified whether their application has been accepted for assessment. The Head of Department subsequently appoints an expert assessment committee tasked with carrying out an assessment of the selected applicants for the specific post. Selected applicants are notified of the composition of the committee. Applicants are ultimately offered the opportunity of commenting on the part of the assessment relating to themselves before the appointment is finalized.

Applicants will be continuously informed about the appointment procedure by e-mail.

Further information about the application procedure is available from HR, [email protected], please refer to ID number 211-0222/22-2O.

Salary and conditions of employment
Terms of appointment and salary will be in accordance with an agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC). The salary range starts at DKK 30,500 EUR 4,009 per month + a 17,1 % contribution to the pension scheme. It is possible to negotiate salary supplements on an annual basis.

The Danish Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC) have further agreed on a protocol that makes it possible for international researchers employed by the university to achieve a pension exemption, whereby the pension contribution will be paid out as salary. For more information about the different pension schemes, please see: ism.ku.dk/onarrival/pension/

A special tax scheme is offered to researchers recruited abroad, read more here:ism.ku.dk/onarrival/

If you consider applying from abroad, you may find useful information about working in Denmark and at UCPH here:ism.ku.dk , www.nyidanmark.dk/en-us/frontpage.htm and www.workindenmark.dk/

UCPH wishes to encourage everyone interested in applying, regardless of personal background.

The closing date for applications is 15 February 2023CET

Applications or supplementary material received after the deadline will not be considered.

Part of the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU), and among Europe’s top-ranking universities, the University of Copenhagen promotes research and teaching of the highest international standard. Rich in tradition and modern in outlook, the University gives students and staff the opportunity to cultivate their talent in an ambitious and informal environment. An effective organisation – with good working conditions and a collaborative work culture – creates the ideal framework for a successful academic career.