PhD Fellowship in Communication and Leadership: Communicating Environmental Futures in the Age of AI

The School of Arts, Design and Media

The School of Arts, Design and Media is Norway’s largest higher education environment for creative and art-related disciplines, with more than 1,700 students and 130 full-time academic positions. The school offers education and research across film and television production, music and sound, performing and written arts, communication, design and computer arts. Research and teaching are closely connected to professional working environments and the creative industries, linking artistic practice with technological innovation and international collaboration.

About the position

Kristiania University of Applied Sciences is offering a fully funded fellowship on its PhD programme in Communication and Leadership. The fellowship is for a project on communicating environmental futures in the age of AI within the School of Arts, Design and Media. The successful applicant will be included in a team of researchers with ambitious plans to further develop research and pedagogical activities related to communication and leadership at the university.

The position is part of the MishMash Centre for AI and Creativity, a national research centre funded by the Research Council of Norway (2025–2030).

The PhD project should aim to investigate how artificial intelligence and artistic communication can inform and transform how environmental futures are imagined, mediated and acted upon. The project will explore how creative and technological systems—such as generative media, algorithmic storytelling or data-driven visualisation—shape collective understanding, institutional responsibility and leadership in the context of ecological change. Central questions include how AI-based systems can enable more transparent, participatory and emotionally resonant forms of environmental communication while avoiding automation of empathy or oversimplification of complexity. As a main goal, the project’s outcome will provide new insights important for sustainable communication and leadership practices in cultural, institutional or public contexts.

Moreover, the project may involve developing or analysing AI-mediated communication strategies, creative prototypes or participatory frameworks for public engagement with environmental issues. Ethical and epistemic concerns will be central, ensuring that AI-based systems designed for environmental awareness promote trust, inclusion and respect for human and non-human agency.

 
The PhD candidate will have the opportunity to:

• Analyse how AI-based systems influence environmental communication, perception and public trust
• Design or assess creative or organisational approaches to AI-supported environmental storytelling
• Develop frameworks for responsible, inclusive and transparent communication in AI-mediated contexts
• Reflect on the ethical and societal implications of automated media in shaping collective ecological imagination
• Disseminate findings through interdisciplinary conferences and journals, collaborating with research and communication partners

The candidate will join a cross-disciplinary supervisory team and will collaborate with national and international partners in the MishMash network.

MishMash Centre for AI and Creativity is a Norwegian AI centre funded by the Research Council of Norway (2025–2030). It comprises more than 200 faculty members from higher education institutions across Norway, in collaboration with numerous public and private partners.

The centre’s primary objective is to create, explore and reflect on AI for, through and in creative practices. MishMash researchers investigate AI’s impact on creative processes, develop innovative co-creative AI systems and educational strategies, and address AI’s ethical, cultural, legal and societal implications in creative domains. See mishmash.no for more information.

It is expected that the appointed candidate will join one or more of MishMash’s work packages, collaborate across the MishMash network, and participate in all relevant MishMash activities.

• Master’s degree (120 ECTS or equivalent) in a relevant subject area with a grade B or better on the master’s thesis and for the master’s degree overall. The master’s thesis must be a minimum of 30 ECTS or equivalent. The relevance of the subject areas is dependent on the type of project proposed by the candidate
• Relevant 180 ECTS bachelor’s degree
• Strong analytical and conceptual skills relevant to communication, leadership and artificial intelligence in cultural or societal contexts
• Familiarity with digital or AI-based tools used in communication, design or media production (e.g., generative media, interactive environments or data visualisation)
• Demonstrated competence in creative, artistic or communicative practice—such as media art, digital storytelling or critical design
• Understanding of participatory or audience-centred approaches, with an interest in applying them to environmental, ethical or sustainability-related contexts
• Relevance to MishMash’s aims and objectives
• Proficiency in written and spoken English (interviews, and all communication will be in English)

• Familiarity with ethical, ecological or cultural perspectives on artificial intelligence and its role in communication and leadership
• Knowledge of research or evaluation methods relevant to environmental communication, audience engagement or public participation
• Motivation to contribute to responsible, creative and human-centred approaches to AI, sustainability and institutional communication

• Curiosity and a strong motivation to carry out independent interdisciplinary research
• Good communication and cooperation skills
• The ability, desire and capacity to work independently, systematically and purposefully
• Orientation toward the completion of projects and the attainment of goals

Emphasis will be placed on personal suitability for the position.

• High salary compared to international standards (NOK 550,800 per year)
• Equipment at your disposal during employment (e.g., high-end laptop, mobile and mobile subscription)
• NOK 50,000 per year to support travel to conferences and other running costs
• Free health insurance, travel insurance, and pension plan
• Strong labour laws (e.g., fully paid parental and sick leaves, 25 paid days of vacation and paid sick leave)

• Motivation letter for the position
• Approved diplomas and transcripts (in Scandinavian or English language)
• CV
• At least two references
• Master’s thesis
• A project proposal of up to 4 pages (max. 2,000 words, excluding references), written in English, outlining the candidate’s intended PhD research in relation to the described PhD project, including background, relevant literature, objectives, methods and expected contributions

Admission to the PhD programme is a requirement for taking up a position as a research fellow. The application must be submitted to School of Doctoral Studies within three months of the start date. For more information, see the Regulations relating to conditions of appointment for research fellowships: https://lovdata.no/forskrift/2024-06-28-1392/§3-19.

The PhD fellowship period is 3 years, and the earliest start date is 01.09.2026.

Working place is the School of Arts, Design and Media. The school is located in Oslo, with numerous amenities, recreational spaces and urban fun right next door.

Kristiania University of Applied Sciences welcomes and encourages applications from diverse backgrounds. Women and persons with minority backgrounds are particularly encouraged to apply.

For more information about Kristiania, visit: https://www.kristiania.no. To learn more about the PhD in Communication and Leadership, visit: https://www.kristiania.no/en/research/phd.

If you have any questions regarding the PhD project, please contact Synne Tollerud Bull (SynneTollerud.Bull@kristiania.no).

If you have any questions regarding the PhD programme, please contact person Nigel Halpern (Nigel.Halpern@kristiania.no).

Application deadline:

02.02.2026.

Only applications received through our application portal will be considered.

We use Semac background checks in our recruitment process.

The employment is to be made in accordance with the regulation to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and attachment are seen to conflict with the criteria in the latter law will be prohibited from recruitment to Kristiania.