The School of Culture and Society, Faculty of Arts, Aarhus University invites applications for a researcher position. The position is full time and is expected to begin on 1 April 2022 or as soon as possible thereafter and will end on 15 February 2025.

In its pursuit of academic excellence, the Faculty of Arts is committed to creating an inclusive working environment and therefore encourages all qualified candidates to apply, regardless of their personal background.
Applicants are expected to contribute to the department’s academic environment. We emphasise the importance of good working relationships among colleagues and with our students.

Research context

The researcher will be part of the research projects “Robot-Mediated Learning and Socratic Robotics: New Forms of Experienced Sociality for Tutoring, Self-Edification, and Coaching” and “Facilitation Robotics for Teams Foundational Research on Group Processes in Human-Robot Ensembles with Social Robots (S-FACTOR)”, headed by Principal Investigator Johanna Seibt and funded by the Danish Research Council and the Nordforsk Foundation, respectively. These research projects operate with a special value-driven, mixed-method approach developed within the Research Unit for Robophilosophy and Integrative Social Robotics, called integrative social robotics. Both projects undertake experimental and theoretical research in the multidisciplinary area of human-robot interaction.

The position

We are looking for an intellectually flexible and dedicated researcher with a background in anthropology and a focus on human-robot interaction, someone who has demonstrated research experience in the context of highly multidisciplinary teams using a mixed-method approach.

The successful applicant will be expected to:

• Conduct qualitative research in the context of the experimental research detailed in the two research projects
• Develop their research within the framework provided by the projects in cooperation with the PI and other project members
• Develop the method of integrative social robotics
• Work both independently and collaboratively with colleagues in the two project groups with a view to presenting and discussing empirical data, ideas and results
• Present their research at international meetings and publish results in peer-reviewed, international scientific journals
• Contribute to the efforts of research communication and public dissemination in the national and international contexts of the projects
• Contribute to the organisation of research workshops and the research unit’s robophilosophy seminar
• Translate research material from English into Danish and vice versa
• Be present at the research unit on a daily basis

Teaching        

The position will involve teaching as arranged with the head of school. The teaching will be in both English and Danish, so the ability to speak Danish is required. The position includes an obligatory course in university teaching.

Knowledge exchange

The successful applicant will be expected to exchange knowledge with various sectors of society and to contribute actively to public debate in areas related to the position. In particular, the successful applicant will be expected to create and perform tasks relating to knowledge exchange and research communication, in Danish and English, in both research contexts and contexts of public dissemination.

Qualifications

Applicants must hold a PhD degree or equivalent qualifications in anthropology.

Applicants must be able to document a research profile of high academic quality with the focus on mixed-method humanities research in the area of human-robot interaction relating to the applications of social robotics.

Applicants must also document:

• Research experience of conducting qualitative research in the contexts of multidisciplinary teams using mixed-method approaches in human-robot interaction
• Experience of teaching cross-disciplinary courses and supervising student projects
• Experience of setting up and coordinating large-scale experimental (mixed-method) research (up to 400 participants) in the area of human-robot interaction
• A strong interest in culturally sustainable and positive social robotics
• Technical skills pertaining to the robotic platforms used in the experiments, especially the Furhat robot, as required for experimental set-ups and teaching; or relevant competences showing that the applicant can acquire such skills quickly
• An interest in collaborative, interdisciplinary work. Applicants need good social and communication skills in order to engage in cross-disciplinary cooperation and to establish external collaborations
• The ability to speak Danish and high proficiency in written and spoken academic English

Applications must be uploaded in English.

Applicants must submit:

• A concise statement of their motivation for applying for the position (maximum two pages)
• A CV (maximum four pages)
• A maximum of five publications. Please note that only submitted publications will be assessed: a list of publications is not sufficient. Applications to which no publications are attached will not be assessed
• Please see under the headline 'Formalities' what else you have to upload

The research activities will be evaluated in relation to the actual research time available to applicants. We therefore encourage applicants to specify any periods of leave they may have had without research activities (e.g. maternity/paternity leave), so we can subtract these periods from the span of their academic career when evaluating their productivity.

Professional references or recommendations should not be included. Applicants who are selected for an interview may be asked to provide professional references.

For further information about the position and project, please contact the principal investigator, Johanna Seibt: filseibt@cas.au.dk.

For more information about the application, please contact HR supporter Marianne Birn, e-mail mbb@au.dk

The work environment

The successful applicant will work at the Research Unit for Robophilosophy and Integrative Social Robotics (www.robophilosophy.org), housed on the 2nd floor of building 1467, Nobel Park, Jens Chr. Skous Vej 7, Aarhus University. The unit belongs administratively to the School of Culture and Society, Aarhus University.

School of Culture and Society

At the School of Culture and Society, the object of research and teaching is the interplay between culture and society in time and space:

• From the traditional disciplines of the humanities and theology to applied social research
• From Antiquity to the issues facing contemporary societies
• From local questions to global challenges

The school’s goal is to produce compelling research with an international resonance, as well as offering teaching and talent development of high quality. The school has a broad cooperative interface with society, both in Denmark and abroad, and contributes to social innovation, research communication and further and continuing education. 

For further information about the school, please see http://cas.au.dk/en/.
 

Qualification requirements

Formalities

• Faculty of Arts refers to the Ministerial Order on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Danish Universities (the Appointment Order).
• Appointment shall be in accordance with the collective labour agreement between the Danish Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations.
• Further information on qualification requirements and job content may be found in the Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Danish Universities .
• Further information on the application and supplementary materials may be found in Application Guidelines.
• The application must outline the applicant's motivation for applying for the position, attaching a curriculum vitae, a teaching portfolio, a complete list of published works, copies of degree certificates and examples of academic production (mandatory, but no more than five examples). Please upload this material electronically along with your application.

Faculty of Arts

The Faculty of Arts consists of the School of Communication and Culture, the School of Culture and Society, the Danish School of Education, and the Centre for Teaching Development and Digital Media. Each of these units has strong academic environments and forms the basis for interdisciplinary research and education.

The faculty's academic environments and degree programmes engage in international collaboration and share the common goal of contributing to the development of knowledge, welfare and culture in interaction with society.

Read more at arts.au.dk/en

The application must be submitted via Aarhus University’s recruitment system, which can be accessed under the job advertisement on Aarhus University's website.

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Aarhus University

Aarhus University is an academically diverse and research-intensive university with a strong commitment to high-quality research and education and the development of society nationally and globally. The university offers an inspiring research and teaching environment to its 38,000 students (FTEs) and 8,000 employees, and has an annual revenues of EUR 885 million. Learn more at www.international.au.dk/