Postdoc in Design Ethics in Practice

The Department of Department of Digital Design & Information Studies within the School of Communication and Culture at Aarhus University invites applications for a postdoctoral position studying digital design ethics in practice. The postdoc position is affiliated with the research project ‘DEEP: Design Ethics in Practice’ funded by the Independent Research Fund Denmark.

The postdoc position is a full time and 2-year fixed-term position. The position begins on 01 September 2024 or as soon as possible thereafter.

The School of Communication and Culture is committed to diversity and encourages all qualified applicants to apply regardless of their personal background.

Project

As digital technology permeates most aspects of our lives, there is a growing awareness that ethics is a central concern for designers and developers of technology. Even though ethics has a long history within design, human-computer interaction, and related disciplines, relatively little is known about how design practitioners and technology developers, working in commercial settings, understand and deal with ethics as part of their practice. The central research questions guiding the DEEP project are how do design practitioners understand and deal with ethics in their work, and how might we develop new concepts, tools, and techniques to better deal with the ethics of designing digital technology? To address these questions, the project will engage with designers, developers and others working in commercial settings to explore digital design ethics in practice. The main outcomes of the project will be case studies that show how ethics is understood and dealt with in practice and a framework for understanding the main factors and dynamics at play regarding design ethics. Moreover, the project will collaborate with partner companies to co-design new concepts and tools for better dealing with ethics in practice.

Postdoc position

The postdoc will focus on studying how diverse practitioners deal with design ethics as part of their everyday practice in organizational settings. The main part of the research will consist of empirical work involving interviews and observations taking place at a number of Danish companies that design and develop digital products. Also, the postdoc will take part in facilitating co-design workshops to develop tools and concepts to deal with ethical issues and in developing a theoretical framework synthesising the results of the project.

The postdoc will collaborate closely with the project manager, Christian Dindler, and the partner companies of the DEEP project. Also, the applicant is invited to engage with the broader research groups around the DEEP research project: the Center for Computational Thinking and Design and the Interaction Design research programme which bring together a broad range of researchers across a wide spectrum of Interaction Design and Human-Computer Interaction topics.

Teaching and supervision

As postdoc in the DEEP project your position is primarily research-based, but it will also involve a small degree of teaching and supervision within topics related to Interaction Design and Human-Computer Interaction. To that end, the successful applicant will be expected to take part in the department’s teaching and supervision activities and to teach and supervise on BA and MA levels.

Qualifications

Applicants should have a strong proficiency in qualitative research as well as a strong theoretical understanding of design processes and ethical issues related to design and technology. The applicant must document previous experience in studying design processes in complex settings and preferably focusing on ethical issues.

The applicant must have a PhD degree or equivalent qualification. Applicants must be able to document, relevant to the position:

• an internationally oriented research profile within fields such as Design Research, Interaction Design, Co-Design, Human-Computer Interaction or Computer Supported Cooperative Work as documented by a PhD dissertation and/or research publications
• experience in the self-directed management of research projects
• relevant teaching experience at university level as documented by a teaching portfolio (or equivalent documentation of teaching experience and qualifications) commensurate with the length of the applicant’s academic career
• excellent communication and interpersonal skills, in order to engage productively both within the research team and with external organizations and institutions.

Furthermore, it will be considered an advantage if applicants can document

• a track record of research publications of a high international standard commensurate with the length of the applicant’s academic career
• experience of participation in national and international research networks
• time spent abroad working at one or more internationally recognised research institutions.

Finally, applicants are asked to provide a proposal for research to be undertaken within the stated framework of the research project (max. three pages). The proposal should focus primarily on the applicant’s research ideas in relation to the project, and how the applicant’s prior research experience and competences could contribute to the project.

Please note that although the application process can be completed on the Aarhus University system without uploading publications, applications that do not include uploaded publications (maximum five) will not be considered.

Although the Aarhus University application system includes an option to upload letters of recommendation, please do not include letters of recommendation or references with the application. Applicants who are invited to an interview may be asked to provide references.

Work environment

Active participation in the daily life of the department is a high priority, and we emphasise the importance of good working relationships, both among colleagues and with our students. To maintain and develop the department’s excellent teaching and research environment, the successful applicant is expected to be present at the department daily.

We respect the balance between work and private life and strive to create a work environment in which that balance can be maintained. You can read more about family and work-life balance in Denmark.

Aarhus University also offers a Junior Researcher Development Programme targeted at career development for postdocs at AU.

International applicants

International applicants are encouraged to read about the

attractive working conditions

and other benefits of working at Aarhus University and in Denmark, including healthcare, paid holidays and, if relevant, maternity/paternity leave, childcare and schooling. Aarhus University offers a wide variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including a

relocation service

and an

AU Expat Partner Programme

. You can also find information about the

taxation aspects of international researchers’ employment by AU

.

The department

The place of employment is the Department of Digital Design and Information Studies, Helsingforsgade 14, 8200 Aarhus N, Denmark.

Prospective applicants are invited to view the department’s website .

School of Communication and Culture

The school is a part of the Faculty of Arts. You will find information about the school and its

research programmes

,

departments

, and diverse activities on its

website

.

Contact

For further information about the position, please contact the principal investigator (PI), associate professor Christian Dindler

[email protected]

.

If you need help uploading your application or have questions about the recruitment process, please contact Arts HR support by email: [email protected] .