PhD Research Fellow in fairness in artificial intelligence

About the position

We invite applications for a PhD Research Fellow position in fairness in artificial intelligence, available at the Department of Informatics, in the Scientific Computing and Machine Learning (SCML) research group.

Starting date as soon as possible/by agreement. The fellowship period is three (3) years.

Depending on the candidate and the teaching needs of the department, the fellowship period can be extended with a fourth year for compulsory work consisting of e.g., teaching and supervision duties and research assistance.

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

Place of work is the Department of Informatics at Blindern, Oslo. 

Project description

The PhD fellow will be affiliated with the Scientific Computing and Machine Learning (SCML) research group at the Department of Informatics and supervised by associate professor Anne-Marie George.

We are looking for a motivated and academically strong candidate to work on a project within fairness in artificial intelligence and machine learning. The candidate will investigate how to formally define, measure and reconcile different, at times conflicting, notions of fairness in AI systems, as well as the theoretical relationships between them.

Possible directions for the project include (the final scope will be developed together with the candidate, and it is not necessary to cover all topics):

• Group fairness: developing and analysing algorithms and metrics for ensuring fair treatment of groups defined by protected attributes (e.g. gender, age, ethnicity, …).
• Theoretical relations between fairness notions: studying the mathematical relationships, trade-offs, and impossibility results connecting different fairness definitions.
• Intersectional fairness: exploring fairness guarantees for combinations of multiple protected attributes, and addressing the challenges of subgroup fairness, such as computational complexity, statistical reliability and data sparsity for fine-grained subgroups.

What skills are important in this role?

The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences has a strategic ambition to be among Europe’s leading communities for research, education and innovation. Candidates for these fellowships will be selected in accordance with this, and expected to be in the upper segment of their class with respect to academic credentials.

Required qualifications:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in informatics/computer science, mathematics, statistics, or a closely related field. Foreign completed degree (M.Sc.-level) corresponding to a minimum of four years in the Norwegian educational system
• Documented competence in machine learning at Master level
• Documented programming skills
• Minimum three documented mathematics or statistics courses with passing grade B or better in the Norwegian educational system
• Fluent oral and written communication skills in English

Candidates without a master’s degree have until 30.11.2026 to complete the final exam.

Desired qualifications:

• Programming experience, e.g. in Python, particularly for machine learning
• Experience with machine learning theory, evaluation metrics, algorithmic fairness, statistics, or optimization is an advantage

Language requirement:

• Good oral and written communication skills in English
• English requirements for applicants from outside of EU/ EEA countries and exemptions from the requirements:
  https://www.mn.uio.no/english/research/phd/regulations/regulations.html#toc8

Grade requirements:
The norm is as follows:

• The average grade point for courses included in the Bachelor’s degree must be C or better in the Norwegian educational system
• The average grade point for courses included in the Master’s degree must be B or better in the Norwegian educational system
• The Master’s thesis must have the grade B or better in the Norwegian educational system

The purpose of the fellowship is research training leading to the successful completion of a PhD degree. For more information see:
http://www.mn.uio.no/english/research/phd/

UiO is subject to the Security Act, which governs the organisation's protection of security-sensitive objects and knowledge, in addition to other relevant legislation concerning access to and handling of sensitive information. Based on this, it is a requirement that successful applicants are security-eligible. We may use background checks as part of our recruitment process.

What are we looking for in you?

Personal skills:

• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team
• Good communication and collaboration skills
• Strong analytical skills and critical thinking
• Enthusiasm, creativity, self-motivation, perseverance and initiative
• Ability to take responsibility for your work — including troubleshooting, acquiring additional skills and asking for help when needed

Employment in the position is based on a comprehensive assessment of all qualification requirements applicable to the position, including personal skills.

We can offer you

• Exciting and meaningful tasks in an organization with an important societal mission, contributing to knowledge development, education, and enlightenment that promote sustainable, fair, and knowledge-based societal development
• Committed colleagues in a good working environment
• Good welfare schemes
• Opportunity of up to 1.5 hours a week of exercise during working hours
• A workplace with good development and career opportunities
• Career development programmes
• Membership in the Statens Pensjonskasse, which is one of Norway's best pension schemes with beneficial mortgages and good insurance schemes
• Oslo’s family-friendly surroundings with their rich opportunities for culture and outdoor activities
• Salary in position as PhD Research Fellow, position code 1017 in salary range NOK from 550 800 - 595 000, depending on competence and experience. From the salary, 2 percent is deducted in statutory contributions to the State Pension Fund 

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.

How to apply

The application must include:

• Cover letter (including statement of motivation summarizing prior scientific work) + 1-2 pages on research interests and vision for PhD work
• CV (summarizing education, positions, pedagogical experience, administrative experience and other qualifying activity)
• Transcripts of records, copies of the original Bachelor’s and Master’s degree diploma (see below)
• A complete list of publications and academic works that the applicant wishes to be considered by the evaluation committee
• Master's thesis. If your thesis has not yet been completed, upload a draft version.
• Documentation of English proficiency The appointed candidate cannot start in the position until approved documentation of ENglish language proficiency has been submitted
• Names and contact details of 2-3 references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail and telephone number)

Application with attachments must be submitted via our recruitment system Jobbnorge, click "Apply for this job". Foreign applicants should attach an official explanation of their University's grading system.

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 documentation must be in English or a Scandinavian language.

General information

The best qualified candidates will invited for interviews.

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 can't, you will hear from us.

Please refer to Regulations for the Act on universities and colleges chapter 3 (Norwegian), Guidelines concerning appointment to post doctoral and research posts at UiO (Norwegian) and Regulations for the degree of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) at the University of Oslo.  

The University of Oslo has a transfer agreement with all employees that is intended to secure the rights to all research results etc.