Are you interested in working with research in information systems, with the support of competent and friendly colleagues in an international environment? Are you looking for an employer that invests in sustainable employeeship and offers safe, favourable working conditions? We welcome you to apply for a position as PhD student at Uppsala University.
The Department of Informatics and Media is part of the Faculty of Social Science at Uppsala University. The Department has a broad research profile, focusing on current research topics and societal challenges, among other, information systems, interaction design and media and communication. The Department of Informatics and Media offers Bachelor and Master programmes and courses within the Faculty of Social Sciences. The department turnover is approx. 86 million SEK. The department has about 80 employees. Read more about the Department of Informatics and Media.
Duties
We are looking for a PhD student in information systems for a research project that examines how next-generation AI-based systems are reshaping the ways in which organizations develop, interpret, and operationalize rules and requirements. The project focuses on AI as a groundbreaking and radical technology with characteristics and capabilities that transform institutional structures, organizational practices, and digital infrastructures and platforms. In light of the rapid development of generative AI, computers can no longer be regarded merely as tools or machines. Rather, they constitute digital agents that can act autonomously, increasingly detached from human intentions and decision-making. Such agentic AI involves complex multi-step processes in which the technology more or less independently plans, decides, and acts until a defined goal or outcome is achieved (which is, however, still usually formulated by human actors).
Recent developments in generative AI and large language models clearly illustrate that these intelligent agents possess linguistic capabilities that enable them to translate rules and requirements into software, thereby making the automatic generation of digital systems possible. Traditionally, systems within institutions and organizations have been developed by manually translating rules and requirements into code. With agents, established and conventional principles of coding are no longer a prerequisite for such translation. And in situations where these principles are still needed, the very nature of coding is fundamentally transformed.
Both of these situations entail that development and innovation processes are changing to become increasingly language- and data-driven. The focus shifts away from the software itself toward models, rules, data quality, and how structured and unstructured information can be transformed into actionable logic in specific contexts of use. Consequently, digital systems—and their development and use—are reshaped through agentic processes that combine natural language, rules, requirements, and data. This constitutes a disruptive change that calls for the ethical, legal, legitimate, and responsible application of agentic AI.
The project aims to develop guidelines for decision-makers, organizational leaders, and practitioners regarding how these development and usage processes should be structured, organized, and evaluated. Such guidelines offer both a much-needed and highly sought-after roadmap for strengthening institutional innovation within organizations, as well as in society at large. Based on the project’s orientation, the doctoral dissertation is expected to address questions such as:
- how meta-requirements such as ethics, legal certainty, and governance should be implemented “by design” in digital and agentic systems
- how rules and requirements are mutually understood and developed in close interaction between designers and users
- how digital and agentic systems are designed, implemented, and scaled in increasingly complex operational contexts
- how development and usage processes should be organized and managed to ensure sustainable and reliable innovation and value creation
- how AI-based applications both accelerate and enable data-driven institutional change, with implications for individuals, groups, organizations, and industries
The project is design-oriented with a practice-near focus on qualitative case studies of how digital and agentic applications and systems are developed, implemented, and used within and across private and public organizations. Together with your supervisors, you will shape, develop, and conduct the project in relation to the ongoing research at the Department of Informatics and Media.
Requirements
To meet the entry requirements for doctoral studies, you must
- hold a Master’s (second-cycle) degree in Information Systems, or
- have completed at least 240 credits in higher education, with at least 90 credits at Master’s level including an independent project worth at least 15 credits, or
- have acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way.
We welcome applicants with a strong and clear interest in information systems and the interplay between organizing and technology in practice. Relevant backgrounds may include information systems, informatics, computer science, industrial engineering and management, or related fields. Experience with AI-based applications and systems, data-driven innovation and organizational development, as well as knowledge of architecture, infrastructure, and platforms—along with an interest in qualitative and practice-oriented research—are considered meritorious. To succeed in the role, the applicant must possess very good proficiency in both Swedish and English, in spoken as well as written form.
Rules governing PhD students are set out in the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5, §§ 1-7 and in Uppsala University’s rules and guidelines.
The application must include:
- A brief cover letter, which should contain:
1)The applicant’s motivation for applying for the position (maximum 500 words).
2) A brief description of the documents submitted (list them).
3) If more than one academic work (thesis, article, etc.) is submitted for assessment, the cover letter must specify which of these the admissions committee should prioritize.
- Doctoral project plan (maximum two pages, in English). The plan should include the theoretical framework, research questions, aims, type of data, methodology, and timeline.
- CV with certified copies of academic documents, such as transcripts, demonstrating that the applicant meets the eligibility requirements for doctoral studies in Media and Communication Studies, as well as copies of certified degree certificates and grades.
- Two letters of recommendation.
- Copies of independent academic works authored by the applicant as part of their undergraduate or graduate education (C-, D-, or advanced level, or equivalent; drafts of ongoing work may be attached), or other relevant texts.
- Any other documents the applicant wishes to include.
About the employment
The employment is a temporary position according to the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5 § 7. Scope of employment 100 %. Starting date 1 Septeber or as agreed. Placement: Uppsala
For further information about the position, please contact: Rickard Lindgren, rickard.lindgren@im.uu.se
Please submit your application by 29 May 2026, UFV-PA 2026/1507.
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Uppsala University is a broad research university with a strong international position. The ultimate goal is to conduct education and research of the highest quality and relevance to make a difference in society. Our most important asset is all of our 7,600 employees and 53,000 students who, with curiosity and commitment, make Uppsala University one of Sweden’s most exciting workplaces.
Read more about our benefits and what it is like to work at Uppsala University
https://uu.se/om-uu/jobba-hos-oss/
The position may be subject to security vetting. If security vetting is conducted, the applicant must pass the vetting process to be eligible for employment.
Please do not send offers of recruitment or advertising services.
Submit your application through Uppsala University’s recruitment system.Placement:Disciplinary Domain of Humanities and Social Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Informatics and MediaScope:Full timeWorking hours:100%Type of employment:Temporary positionPay:Enligt avtalNumber of positions:1Town:UppsalaUnion representative:
Number of reference:UFV-PA 2026/1507Last application date:29 May 2026