Doctoral student in Computer Science with a focus on Human-Swarm Interaction and Adaptive Swarm Teamwork

Organisation/Company

Örebro University

Research Field

Computer science » Other
Engineering » Other

Researcher Profile

First Stage Researcher (R1)

Application Deadline

30 Jun 2026 - 21:59 (UTC)

Country

Sweden

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Full-time

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

Not funded by a EU programme

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Reference number ORU 2.1.1-03942/2026

Örebro University and the School of Science and Technology are looking for a doctoral student (PhD student) for the doctoral programme in Computer Science, concluding with a doctoral degree. 
Start date: September 1st 2026

Project description 

The Center for Heterogeneous Adaptive Swarm Systems (CHASS) is a national research initiative funded by the Swedish Strategic Research Foundation (SSF). CHASS brings together leading Swedish research environments and industrial partners to develop adaptive, trustworthy, and heterogeneous drone swarms that can be designed, deployed, and operated as unified intelligent systems. The centre will develop the CHASS Swarm OS as an open software foundation for heterogeneous, self-governing swarms, and will validate research outcomes through integrated demonstrations in realistic use cases.

The project will investigate how humans and autonomous swarms can operate as joint socio-technical teams. The research will go beyond the conventional monitoring-and-intervention paradigm by enabling operators to interact with a swarm at the level of collective intent, roles, priorities, and operational constraints rather than through direct control of individual drones. A central question is how swarm coordination structures can remain legible, adjustable, and accountable while the swarm dynamically adapts roles, formations, and task allocation in response to uncertainty, failures, and changing mission conditions.

The doctoral student will develop models, interaction concepts, and computational mechanisms for adaptive human-swarm teamwork within the CHASS Swarm OS. The work may include methods for representing shared goals and roles, adaptive authority between human operators and autonomous swarms, transparent delegation, and mechanisms for supporting trust, oversight, and meaningful human control. The project is expected to connect closely to other CHASS themes on sensing, communication, autonomy, self-governance, and socio-technical governance, and to contribute to integrated demonstrations with academic and industrial partners.

The expected outcome of the thesis is a set of concepts, methods, and evaluated prototypes that support effective and accountable coordination between human operators and adaptive drone swarms. The research will be carried out in a multidisciplinary environment spanning artificial intelligence, multi-agent systems, robotics, human-AI teaming, interaction design, and autonomous systems.

Supervision: The doctoral student will be supervised by Professor Amy Loutfi (primary) and Professor Franziska Klügl (secondary) and engage other supervisors within the Department of Computer Science at Örebro University.

The programme and the doctoral studentship 

The doctoral programme consists of courses and an independent research project that you will present in a doctoral thesis. The programme concludes with a doctoral degree and comprises 240 credits, which corresponds to four years of full-time study. 

Our ambition is for your doctoral studies to be stimulating and purposeful throughout the programme until you have obtained your doctoral degree. A thorough introduction will therefore get you off to a good start and provide a solid foundation on which you can build your studies. As a doctoral student at Örebro University, you will be offered a specially tailored seminar series, covering matters ranging from doctoral programme rules and careers to support during the study period and networking. 

The place on the programme is linked to a full-time doctoral studentship for the duration of the study programme, which corresponds to four years of full-time study. More information on doctoral studentships, part-time studies and part-time doctoral studentships can be found in the Regulations Handbook . The initial salary for a doctoral studentship is SEK 32,300 a month.  

Entry requirements and selection 

For admission to doctoral studies, applicants are required to meet both general entry requirements  and specific entry requirements. In addition, applicants must be considered in other respects to have the ability required to benefit from the programme. For a full account of the entry requirements, refer to the admissions regulations  as well as to annex 2 to the general syllabus for Computer Science.  

Applicants meet the general entry requirements if they

Applicants meet the specific entry requirements for doctoral studies in Computer Science if they have been awarded a Degree of Master of Science in Engineering or a one-year Master’s degree from a programme within the subject field or related subjects, or if he or she has received a passing grade of at least 120 credits, including an independent project of at least 15 credits, in a main field of study of relevance to the computer science field. At least 30 credits of the 120 credits must have been awarded in the second cycle. A person who has acquired substantially corresponding knowledge, in Sweden or abroad, also meets the specific entry requirements.

Information 

For more information about the programme and the doctoral studentship, please contact Prof. Amy Loutfi, email: [email protected] , and/or Prof. Franziska Klügl, email: [email protected] . For administration issues, contact Head of Unit Martin Magnusson, email: [email protected] .

At Örebro University, we expect each member of staff to be open to development and change; take responsibility for their work and performance; demonstrate a keen interest in collaboration and contribute to development; as well as to show respect for others by adopting a constructive and professional approach. 

Örebro University actively pursues equal opportunities and gender equality as well as a work environment characterised by openness, trust and respect. We value the qualities that diversity adds to our operations. 

Application to the programme and for the doctoral studentship 

The application is made online. Click the button “Apply” to begin the application procedure. 

For the application to be complete, the following electronic documents must be included: 

• CV 
• Proof that you meet the general and specific entry requirements (copies of the original certificate and official transcript for bachelor's and master's degrees)
• Independent project (degree project) 
• Other relevant documents, course and degree certificates verifying eligibility 
• Description of research interests - explaining why you are interested in this project and why you would be a good candidate for the role (1 page)

As a main rule, application documents and attachments are to be written in Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, or English. Certificates and documents in other languages verifying your qualifications and experience must be translated by an authorised translator to Swedish or English. A list of authorised translators can be obtained from Kammarkollegiet (the Legal, Financial and Administrative Services Agency), www.kammarkollegiet.se/engelska/start . 

When you apply for admission, you automatically also apply for a doctoral studentship. 
More information for applicants will be found on our career site: https://www.oru.se/english/career/available-positions/applicants-and-external-experts/  

The application deadline is the 30th of June, 2026. We look forward to receiving your application! 

As we have already made our choices in terms of external collaboration partners and marketing efforts for this recruitment process, we decline any contact with recruitment agencies and advertisers.  

As directed by the National Archives of Sweden (Riksarkivet), we are required to deposit one file copy of the application documents, excluding publications, for a period of two years after the appointment decision has gained legal force. 

Website

https://academicpositions.com/ad/orebro-university/2026/doctoral-student-in-com…

Research Field

Computer science

Years of Research Experience

1 - 4

Research Field

Engineering

Years of Research Experience

1 - 4

Website for additional job details

https://academicpositions.com

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

Örebro University

Country

Sweden

City

Örebro

Postal Code

702 81

Street

Fakultetsgatan 1

City

Örebro

Website

http://www.oru.se/English/

Postal Code

702 81

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