The Department of Computer and Systems Sciences (DSV) is one of the oldest IT departments in Sweden and one of the largest departments at Stockholm University, with around 5 000 students. The discipline of computer and systems sciences bridges the gap between technology and the humanities, social sciences, and behavioral sciences. The use and design of IT is put in context in relation to people, organizations, and society. DSV offers a stimulating research environment in an international setting.

Project description 
Recent technical, research and societal developments have suggested using AI to understand better and optimize student learning, ensure improvements in educational quality, and boost retention rates. While these unprecedented developments promise to unlock the black box of student learning and to inform educational institutions about the complexities of educational processes, the use of student data and analytics techniques raises a series of issues that require ethical and legal considerations.

The Ph.D. position will investigate ethical and legal concerns embedded in the AI development and deployment in higher education from a human-computer perspective. The Ph. D. position will be part of the research project Ethical and Legal Challenges in Relationship to AI-driven Practices in Higher Education which is conducted as part of the research program WASP-HS, funded by the Marianne and Marcus Wallenberg Foundation. The project aims to contribute knowledge about how to conceptually and empirically approach ethical and legal challenges, but most importantly, how to deal with them in practice.

The thesis project within the PhD programme Information Society with a focus on human-computer interaction is expected to align with the project's aims of mapping and explaining ethical and legal considerations as they emerge in AI-driven practices in higher education and contributing to the development of the Swedish Observatory for Responsible AI in Education. The topic of the Ph.D. thesis is expected to contribute to the empirical and pragmatic (i.e., critical action research) parts of the project. Swedish language proficiency is an asset.

Qualification requirements
In order to meet the general entry requirements, the applicant must have completed a second-cycle degree, completed courses equivalent to at least 240 higher education credits, of which 60 credits must be in the second cycle, or have otherwise acquired equivalent knowledge in Sweden or elsewhere.

In order to meet the specific entry requirements, the applicant must have completed courses at second-cycle level in Computer and systems sciences, Humanities, Behavioural sciences, Pedagogy, Health sciences, Psychology, Communication studies, or within other for this programme relevant subject with a minimum of 60 higher education credits, or equivalent, including a thesis with a minimum of 15 higher education credits.

In addition, the applicant is required to have English language skills equivalent of Common European Framework of Reference for Languages Level B2.

The qualification requirements must be met by the deadline for applications.

Selection
The selection among the eligible candidates will be based on their capacity to benefit from the training. The following criteria will be used to assess this capacity:

• Independence in the analysis and organization of the earlier work
• Problem formulation and rigor in previous work and in the research plan
• Previously shown ability to keep the specified time limits
• Methodological and scientific maturity
• Communication and cooperation skills
• Subject specific knowledge relevant to education.

Admission Regulations for Doctoral Studies at Stockholm University are available at: www.su.se/rules and regulations.

Terms of employment 
Only a person who will be or has already been admitted to a third-cycle programme may be appointed to a doctoral studentship.

The term of the initial contract may not exceed one year. The employment may be extended for a maximum of two years at a time. However, the total period of employment may not exceed the equivalent of four years of full-time study.

Doctoral students should primarily devote themselves to their own education, but may engage in teaching, research, and administration corresponding to a maximum of 20 % of a full-time position.

Please note that admission decisions cannot be appealed.

Stockholm University strives to be a workplace free from discrimination and with equal opportunities for all.

Contact
For more information, please contact Associate Professor Teresa Cerratto-Pargman, tessy@dsv.su.se or the Director of PhD studies, Sirkku Männikkö-Barbutiu, sirkku@dsv.su.se.

Union representatives
Ingrid Lander (Saco-S), telephone: +46 708 16 26 64, saco@saco.su.se, Alejandra Pizarro Carrasco (Fackförbundet ST/Lärarförbundet), telephone: +46 8 16 34 89, alejandra@st.su.se, seko@seko.su.se (SEKO), and PhD student representative, doktorandombud@sus.su.se.

Application
Apply for the PhD student position at Stockholm University's recruitment system. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the application is complete in accordance with the instructions in the advertisement, and that it is submitted before the deadline.

Please include the following information with your application

• Your contact details and personal data
• Your highest degree
• Your language skills
• Contact details for 2–3 references

and, in addition, please include the following documents

• Cover letter
• CV – degrees and other completed courses, work experience and a list of degree projects/theses
• Project proposal/Research proposal (no more than 3 pages) describing:
  – why you are interested in the field/project described in the advertisement 
  – why and how you wish to complete the project 
  – what makes you suitable for the project in question
• Degree certificates and grades confirming that you meet the general and specific entry requirements (no more than 6 files)
• Letters of recommendation (no more than 3 files)
• Degree projects/theses (no more than 3 files).

The instructions for applicants are available at: How to apply for a position.

You are welcome to apply!