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Postdoctoral position in AI for Civil Society, part of the National Center for AI in Society (CAISA) and based in Copenhagen
The National Center for AI in Society (CAISA) at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Copenhagen, invites applications for a two-year postdoctoral position. CAISA, which is established as part of the Danish government’s strategic initiative for artificial intelligence, is an interdisciplinary national research consortium led by the University of Copenhagen in close collaboration with the Pioneer Centre of AI. With funding from the Danish Research Reserve and the Ministry for Digital Government, the center involves both part-time and full-time researchers across both social and technical sciences, as well as a number of fellows and visiting scholars.
The position is full-time and begins on November 1, 2026, or as soon as possible hereafter. The selected candidate will be employed at CAISA, and physically based there, working closely with other CAISA postdocs, fellows, and chief scientists. The candidate is expected to contribute actively to developing the research environment at CAISA and to engage in public dissemination and advisory work to authorities and companies.
CAISA focuses on diversity and encourages all qualified applicants to apply regardless of their personal background.
Project Description
Much of the current civil society activity is digital, and most of it happens on private commercial platforms. The advertised position is part of Advotar, a research project on the core principles of sovereign data infrastructure which could support effective use of AI across the civic society, while maintaining institutional trust and control over the citizen’s data. The project team includes chief scientists with expertise in machine learning (Professor Serge Belongie, Pioneer Center for AI), natural language processing (Associate Professor Anna Rogers, IT University of Copenhagen) and political science (Professor Rebecca Adler-Nielsen, University of Copenhagen), as well as a postdoc in natural language processing (Terne Sasha Thorn Jakobsen, IT university of Copenhagen). We also collaborate with Os&Data, a Danish non-profit organization experimenting with alternative infrastructures for supporting the civil society. The ongoing work focuses on technical NLP research: what kind of AI infrastructure could enable citizens to effectively access the communal resources (both from the public institutions and civic communities)?
We are seeking a civic-minded researcher with human-computer interaction skills to join the group. A well-documented problem with the current AI systems is the lack of factuality, but little is done to consider interfaces that would encourage verification and contextualization. Another problem is that the current modes of interacting with AI for information access are rather ‘selfish’: the people who originally provided the knowledge used by the AI system, do not get recognition when their data helped someone else -- and there is no incentive for the AI user to contribute back to the knowledge communities.
Rather than accepting the existing modes of interaction with current AI systems, we would like to consider more broadly what kind of AI-based methods and AI-mediated interfaces for accessing communal knowledge would be beneficial to help the society to keep its members well-informed -- and maintain the communal knowledge resources.
Qualifications
Applicants must have a PhD degree or document equivalent qualifications in one or more of the following areas: computer science, cognitive science, linguistics, or philosophy. Applicants are required to document:
- an internationally oriented research profile as documented by a PhD dissertation and/or research publications
- experience in independently managing research projects
- excellent communication and interpersonal skills in order to engage productively with both the CAISA research team and external organisations and institutions
Finally, applicants are asked to provide a proposal for research to be undertaken within the stated framework of the research project (max. 1-2 pages). Please note that although the application process can be completed on the University of Copenhagen system without uploading publications, applications that do not include uploaded publications (max. five) will not be considered.
Terms of Employment
- Further information on qualification requirements as postdoc can be found in the Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Danish Universities 2025 (In Danish) here: Bekendtgørelse om stillingsstruktur for videnskabeligt personale ved universiteter
- Terms of appointment and salary is in accordance with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (Akademikerne).
- The salary range starts at DKK 39.738,72 per month + a 18,07% contribution to the pension scheme. It is possible to negotiate salary supplements on an annual basis.
An Equal Opportunity Workplace
The University of Copenhagen is committed in its pursuit of academic excellence to equality of opportunity and to creating an inclusive working environment and therefore encourages all qualified candidates to apply, regardless of personal background, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, ethnicity etc. For more on the diverse working place environment at the University and the University’s participation in the HRS4R HR Excellence in Research, see https://employment.ku.dk/working-at-ucph/eu-charter-for-researchers/
International applicant?
The University of Copenhagen offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including support before and during your relocation and career counselling to expat partners. Please find more information about these services as well as information on entering and working in Denmark here: https://ism.ku.dk/
Contact information
Information about the recruitment process is available from HR, e-mail:
[email protected], please refer to ID number: 211-2597/26-2I
Additional information about the position can be obtained from Associate Professor Anna Rogers (
[email protected] or postdoctoral associate Terne Sasha Thorn Jakobsen (
[email protected]), IT University of Copenhagen.
The recruitment process & how to apply
Further information on the recruitment process at University of Copenhagen can be found here: https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/
Your application must be written in English and include the following documents:
- A motivated application (cover letter), including a detailed description of your qualifications and preferred starting date
- A full CV, including name, address, phone number, e-mail, previous and present employment and academic background, and contact information for 1-2 references
- Documentation of academic degrees (copy of degree certificates etc.)
- A statement of purpose indicating the direction for the project that the candidate would like to undertake, and any relevant prior experience
- [Optional] reference letters may also be included
The closing date for applications is 23:59 CET 10 August 2026
Applications or enclosures received thereafter will not be considered.
APPLY NOW
Part of the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU), and among Europe’s top-ranking universities, the University of Copenhagen promotes research and teaching of the highest international standard. Rich in tradition and modern in outlook, the University gives students and staff the opportunity to cultivate their talent in an ambitious and informal environment. An effective organisation – with good working conditions and a collaborative work culture – creates the ideal framework for a successful academic career.
Info
Application deadline: 10-08-2026
Employment start: 01-11-2026
Department/Location: Faculty of Social Sciences
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