Doctoral student in Computer Science at Karlstad University in cooperation with Cybercampus Sweden

Description 

The Faculty of Health, Science, and Technology is advertising a position within its doctoral program leading to a PhD in Computer Science. This PhD position is part of the Privacy and Security research group (PriSec) at the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at Karlstad University. Research within PriSec is specialized in privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs) and privacy engineering, network security, and usable security and privacy.  

The PhD student will be part of the newly started Cybercampus Graduate School (About Cybercampus Graduate School) and will work on a joint PhD project in close cooperation with researchers from Jönköping University, who will particularly contribute as co-supervisors with their complementary  interdisciplinary perspectives and expertise in usable security and privacy research, and  in Human Computer Interaction (HCI) and AI / Robotics. 

The PhD student will work on a PhD project with the title “Towards Privacy-Compliant and Trustworthy AI-Powered Social Robots”. The aim of the project is to explore privacy risks and other challenges related to trustworthy AI principles of the use of social robots in homes and by institutions, as well as suitable privacy and security mitigation measures. Moreover, it will research novel usable forms of human interaction concepts and interfaces with social robots for communicating privacy notices, obtaining consent, or exercising data subject rights in the context of social robots, considering the needs, preferences, and rights of different stakeholders. The project will take a human-centred approach and the PhD student will also have the opportunity of interdisciplinary cooperation with researchers from other disciplines. 

Affiliation with Cybercampus Sweden and its Graduate School 

The PhD position is part of the Cybercampus Graduate School, which is the first national Swedish PhD School on cybersecurity with 15 academic PhD positions to strengthen national cybersecurity research and competence. Cybercampus Sweden is a national initiative that brings together leading Swedish universities, industry partners, and public-sector organizations to strengthen research, education, and innovation in cybersecurity. It aims to address current and future cybersecurity challenges facing critical infrastructure, industry, and society and supports interdisciplinary and joint research involving more than one Cybercampus partner. The Cybercampus  Graduate School participants are expected to actively engage with the broader cybersecurity research community in Sweden, contribute to collaborative research activities, and participate in joint events, workshops, and training opportunities organized within Cybercampus Sweden.  

The PhD student will be mainly placed at Karlstad University. Nonetheless, to support this collaboration, the candidate is also expected to carry out longer research secondments at Jönköping University and make regular visits to Cybercampus Sweden in Stockholm. This setup provides access to an extended national research environment in cybersecurity and supports a broader research perspective through secondments and participation in Cybercampus Sweden’s joint research and training activities of the graduate school.  

The PhD project will be co-funded by Cybercampus Sweden and will include mobility funds for longer secondment research visits and travels. 

Video about the position: https://kauplay.kau.se/media/t/0_ch1torqj  

We are now looking for someone who is enthusiastic about driving state-of-the-art technology forward together with us! 

Duties

As a doctoral student, you will primarily dedicate time to your own studies. The doctoral programme comprises 240 credits for a Degree of Doctor and 120 credits for a Degree of Licentiate. The doctoral appointment is a paid position that offers a combination of studies and work, and a great opportunity for a potential career in academia. Doctoral students are expected to work independently and be prepared to contribute to the activities and development of the discipline and the department. You are given the opportunity to deepen your interests in collaboration with others. Teaching and administrative duties may also be included upon agreement, but will not constitute more than 20% of the full-time PhD position. Work as a doctoral student allows for great freedom and flexibility in terms of how you organise your tasks. This requires commitment, drive and the ability to structure your work to successfully complete the doctoral thesis.  

To contribute to a positive work environment and further both the activities at the Department and Cybercampus Sweden and your own development as a researcher, we expect you to be a present and active part of the day-to-day operations and workplace communities.  

Entry requirements and admission 

To be eligible for a PhD position, applicants must meet the general and specific entry requirements (Higher Education Ordinance, Chap. 7, Sect. 35). 

To meet the general entry requirements, applicants must have been awarded a second-cycle qualification, satisfied the requirements for courses comprising at least 240 credits of which at least 60 credits were awarded in the second-cycle, or acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad (Higher Education Ordinance, Chap. 7, Sect. 39).

To meet the specific entry requirements for third-cycle studies in Computer Science, the applicant must have a Master’s degree or the Swedish Magister or Civilingenjör Degrees in Computer Science or Computer Engineering, or equivalent. E A person who, in some other way in the country or abroad has acquired equivalent knowledge, also meets the specific entry requirements. Admission is based on individual assessment. 

Assessment criteria  

The assessment of eligible applicants is based on the criteria listed below. 

Special weight will be given to  

• Academic performance in previous academic studies (MSc studies or similar).
• Knowledge of and proficiency in English.
• Knowledge or experience in at least one or more of the following areas: cybersecurity, privacy-enhancing technologies, privacy and security measurements, trustworthy AI and Human Computer Interaction (HCI), and especially usable privacy, security, and transparency, Human-Robot Interaction (HRI), social robotics.
• Personal qualities such as initiative, cooperation skills, and the ability to communicate with international and national project partners and to work both independently and in a team are also highly important.
• The quality of your MSc thesis or similar, or of any independent written assignments included in previous academic  studies. 

Considerable weight will be given to 

• Knowledge of and experience in interdisciplinary projects in these areas, and in particular experience in HCI/HRI research and user studies. 

Also, knowledge of Swedish is a valuable qualification for the position.  

Terms 

Upon admission to doctoral studies, the person will be offered the appointment of doctoral student (Higher Education Ordinance, Chap. 5, Sect. 3). The position comprises four years of full-time studies consisting of research only. If teaching or other departmental duties become relevant, the appointment will be extended by a corresponding period, up to a maximum of five years full-time. The position is fixed-term, one year initially, followed by possible extensions of a maximum of two years at a time (Higher Education Ordinance, Chap. 5). Start date as agreed by both parties.  

The salary for the doctoral studentship corresponds to the standard level of salary for doctoral students and progresses in accordance with a local collective agreement.

Application 

Submit the application via the university’s web-based recruitment tool, Varbi. Applicants are responsible for submitting a complete application in accordance with the advertisement, for providing translations of any documents written in a language other than Swedish, Norwegian, Danish or English, and for ensuring that the documentation allows for objective and qualitative assessments. A complete application should be submitted by the application deadline. An incomplete application may jeopardise a fair assessment of qualifications. The application should include:

• a cover letter where the applicant details the reasons behind their interest in the position, 
• a list of qualifications (CV), 
• degree certificate with a complete transcript of the courses included, or a certified list of completed courses with grades and dates, 
• copy of Master's thesis or equivalent,
• where applicable, copies of publications or certificates for other qualifications,
• any letters of recommendation,
• two references, such as a teacher, supervisor, or previous or current superior. 

Attach all the documents and publications you wish to be considered to the electronic application (do not just provide links).

Documents that cannot be submitted electronically should be sent to the following address:

Karlstads universitet 
HR-avdelningen 
HR-administratör 
651 88 Karlstad
Sweden 

Application deadline: 15 March 2026 

State the reference number: REK2025/247

Applicants with qualifications from abroad 

If you have qualifications from a university outside Sweden or if they have not been recognised by a Swedish authority before, it is important that you attach degree certificates and official transcripts to facilitate the recognition of foreign qualifications.  
Provide a contact for the degree-awarding institution (phone number or email) who can verify your qualifications. 

 We look forward to your application! 

Karlstad University has chosen advertising channels for this recruitment and firmly declines any contact with advertising or recruitment agencies. 

This translation carries no legal weight.