Job description

Applicants are invited to apply for a 3-year position as PhD Research Fellow in language didactics to be based at the Department of Teacher Education and School Research (ILS) at the University of Oslo.

Are you motivated to take a step towards a doctorate and open up exciting career opportunities? As a PhD Candidate with us, you will work to achieve your doctorate, and at the same time gain valuable experience that qualifies you for a further career in higher education and research, both in and outside academia.

This PhD fellowship is part of the newly established AI Centre for the Empowerment of Human Learning (AI LEARN). The centre will foster interdisciplinary collaboration among researchers to address societal challenges, understand the impact of AI, develop new technologies, and drive innovation across both the business and public sectors. This initiative is established and financed through the government's significant investment in artificial intelligence over the next five years.

Your immediate leader will be professor Marte Blikstad-Balas and associate professor Fredrik M. Røkenes.

This PhD fellowship is part of the national AI Centre for the Empowerment of Human Learning (AI LEARN).

Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming how we learn, work, and participate in society. While these developments present significant opportunities, they also raise challenges that require a responsible and research-based approach.

As humans and AI learn together, create together, and lead together, the foundations of education, work, and civic life are being reshaped. AI LEARN brings together researchers and partners across disciplines and sectors to explore how AI can be used in inclusive, ethical, and sustainable ways – with the goal of strengthening human agency and democratic participation in an AI-driven society.

This PhD position is affiliated with Cluster 5 of AI LEARN, Work Package 5 Capacity Building for Empowerment, which focuses on identifying learning and competence development needs among students, teachers, school leaders, and other educational stakeholders. The cluster emphasizes AI literacy, professional development, and the design of data-informed learning environments that promote inclusion, equity, and the ability to act critically and responsibly in the face of AI technologies.

The position has a particular focus on reading and assessment, but it also allows for exploration of adjacent topics, such as language education, literacy, or professional development in relation to AI, depending on the candidate’s background and interests.

Reading is not only central to learning but also key to participation in work life, society, and democracy. As generative AI tools become increasingly integrated into reading processes, established practices and understandings of learning, academic integrity, and assessment are being challenged. This raises new pedagogical and ethical questions and creates a need for research-based knowledge to support educators, students, and institutions in developing responsible, meaningful ways of using AI in reading.

The PhD candidate will investigate how generative AI is influencing the way reading is taught, learned, and assessed in different educational contexts. The project will explore both the opportunities and challenges that arise in hybrid human–AI interaction, and contribute to the ethical, inclusive, and pedagogically sound integration of generative AI into reading and assessment practices.

In addition to this focus, the project may include an initial mapping of how generative AI is currently used in education—particularly in relation to reading and assessment practices. Such a mapping could provide valuable insights into the current landscape and inform the design of future case studies or interventions. The candidate will also participate in ongoing research within schools and teacher education and work closely with other researchers in AI LEARN.

More about the position

The fellowship period is 3 years.

The goal of this project is described above. We are seeking a highly motivated individual who wants to excel in a research environment. Part of the main duties and responsibilities include conducting the following tasks:

Plan and conduct research (e.g., surveys, focus groups, interviews) in schools, higher education and/or flexible learning environments,
Facilitate participatory design activities with teachers, students, and other stakeholders,
Collect and analyze empirical data,
Attend international conferences,
Organize dissemination and communication activities within the AI LEARN centre,
Participate in collaborative activities within the AL LEARN centre.

Your work duties may be adjusted during your research period.

The research fellow must take part in the faculty’s approved PhD program, and is expected to complete the project within the set fellowship period. The main purpose of the fellowship is research training leading to the successful completion of a PhD degree.

For more information, please see our web site.

Qualification requirements

Applicants must satisfy the requirements for admission to the faculty´s PhD programme. This normally includes:

Applicants must hold a master’s degree or equivalent in language didactics, reading, pedagogy, literacy or other relevant areas within teacher education.
A master’s degree (120 ECTS) with a minimum grade B (ECTS grading scale) or equivalent. The master’s degree must include a thesis of at least 30 ECTS, with a minimum grade B.
A bachelor’s degree with a minimum grade C (ECTS grading scale)
For 5-year studies, the average grade must be C or better for the first three years, and B or better for the last two years (ECTS grading scale). The Master thesis must have been graded with a minimum grade B
Fluent oral and written communication skills in English and Norwegian (or another Scandinavian language).

In the assessment of applications, emphasis will be placed on:

The applicant’s ability to formulate a relevant and academically grounded problem and to write at an academic level. The project should have the potential to contribute new and original knowledge to the field and explain how the research question will be answered, showing insight into appropriate research methods. The applicant is also expected to be familiar with the problem area and central research in the field. If the PhD project is part of a larger research project, the description must clarify the applicant’s specific role and contribution
The applicant’s experience, personal suitability and motivation for the post, including the ability to collaborate and to form part of a cross-disciplinary academic community
The applicant’s academic attitude and motivation regarding completing the research training program

Personal skills

To complete a PhD, it is essential to
Be reliable and independent
Contribute to teamwork
Work systematically and structured

We need different perspectives in our work

UiO is an open and internationally oriented comprehensive university that strives to be an inclusive and diverse workplace and academic environment. You can read more about UiO’s work on equality, inclusion, and diversity at uio.no.

We fulfill our mission most effectively when we draw upon our variety of experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives. We are looking for great colleagues—could you be the next one?

We will do our best to accommodate your needs. Relevant adjustments may include modifications to working hours, task adaptations, digital, technical, or physical adjustments, or other practical measures.

If you have an immigrant background, a disability, or CV gaps (Norwegian), we encourage you to indicate this in the job application portal. We always invite at least one qualified candidate from each group for an interview. In this context, disability is defined as an applicant who identifies as having a disability that requires workplace or employment-related accommodations. For more details about the requirements, please refer to the Employer portal (Norwegian).

The selections made in the job application portal are used for anonymized statistics that all state employers include in their annual reports. More information about gender equality initiatives at UiO can be found here.

We hope you will apply for the position with us.

We offer

Salary NOK 550 800 - 594 000 per annum depending on qualifications in a position as PhD Research Fellow, (position code 1017). From the salary, 2 percent is deducted in statutory contributions to the State Pension Fund
Attractive welfare benefits and a generous pension agreement, in addition to Oslo’s family-friendly environment with its rich opportunities for culture and outdoor activities
A pleasant and stimulating work environment
A workplace with good development and career opportunities

How to apply and what to include in your application

The application must include:

Cover letter, including statement of motivation and research interests
A project description, including progress plan (5-7 pages). Please see our guidelines.
CV (summarizing education, positions and academic work)
Copies of educational certificates (academic transcripts only). Foreign applicants must attach an explanation of their grading system
Documentation of English proficiency (for information on required documentation, see information on this webpage)
Master thesis
A complete list of publications and academic works
List of reference persons: 2-3 references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail, and phone number)

Incomplete applications will not be assessed.

The application with attachments must be delivered in our electronic recruiting system Jobbnorge.

When applying for the position, we ask you to retrieve your education results from Vitnemålsportalen.no. If your education results are not available through Vitnemålsportalen, we ask you to upload copies of your transcripts or grades. Please note that all documents should be in English (or a Scandinavian language).

When evaluating the application, emphasis will be given to the project description and the applicant’s academic and personal prerequisites to carry out the project. Applicants may be called in for an interview.

Formal regulations

Please see the guidelines and regulations for appointments to Research Fellowships, Regulations for the Act on universities and colleges chapter 3 (Norwegian) and Regulations for the degree of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) at the University of Oslo.

No one can be appointed for more than one PhD Research Fellowship period at the University of Oslo.

Applicant lists can be published in accordance with Norwegian Freedom of Information Act § 25. When you apply for a position with us, your name will appear on the public applicant list. It is possible to request to be excluded from this list. You must justify why you want an exemption from publication and we will then decide whether we can grant your request. If we cannot, you will hear from us.

The appointment may be shortened/given a more limited scope within the framework of the applicable guidelines on account of any previous employment in academic positions.

The University of Oslo has an agreement for all employees, aiming to secure rights to research results etc.

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