PhD position in Informatics with a focus on AI in the public sector

The Department of Informatics together with TAIGA – Centre for Transdisciplinary AI is recruiting a PhD student for a fixed-term employment of four years starting in the beginning of 2026 or as agreed.

Project description
The PhD project focuses on the role of artificial intelligence in the public sector, with particular attention to how AI systems reshape organizational processes, decision-making practices, and service delivery. The project is situated within Swedish Center for Digital Innovation at the Department of Informatics, and it connects to ongoing work on the governance, implementation, and consequences of AI in public-sector contexts. As part of a broader externally funded research initiative, the PhD project will investigate how public agencies adopt and integrate AI technologies, what forms of automation and augmentation emerge, and how these developments influence organizational structures, professional roles, and interactions with citizens. The position includes collaboration with researchers across multiple universities and international partners, and will involve empirical studies of AI use in public-sector organizations. Prior knowledge of a specific public-sector domain is not required, but the candidate should be curious and motivated to conduct empirical research on the societal and organizational implications of AI from an Information Systems perspective.

The person employed for this PhD position shall primarily devote himself/herself to his/her own research training which is intended to result in a doctoral degree. As a doctoral student, you are trained in scientific work in the form of publishing scientific articles in journals and at national and international conferences. As a doctoral student, you will take both compulsory and elective courses, plan and execute your research projects independently. You will be in a stimulating working environment together with doctoral students at the Department of Informatics and at TAIGA, beyond your research project and group.

The position is linked to the research environment Swedish Center for Digital Innovation (www.scdi.se) located at the department of Informatics. The research at the center is largely conducted in collaboration with partners from industry, research institutes and other universities and colleges. More information about the doctoral programme at the department, what it means to be a doctoral student at our doctoral program can be found here.

About the employment
You will be employed by and accepted as a PhD student at the department of Informatics, Umeå University. The appointment runs for four years full-time. Salary is paid according to the established contract for doctoral positions, and is increased by study progress. Starting date is beginning 2026 or as agreed. Placement is at Umeå University, the department of Informatics and we are looking for a PhD student who will be part of our daily work and willing to engage in TAIGAs environment.

In cases where a residence permit is required for your stay in Sweden, the university reserves the right to revoke your admission if you are not granted a residence permit, or if you cannot present a valid residence permit before the start date of your studies.

Eligability
For employment as a doctoral student, admission to doctoral education is required. The basic eligibility to be admitted to postgraduate education is for those who have completed an advanced level degree in informatics or equivalent. The department's complete eligibility for admission to postgraduate education can be read here - General study plan for postgraduate education at the department of informatics. In order to fulfill the requirement for special eligibility, it is required that the applicant has basic university education in informatics of at least 90 higher education credits, as well as 60 higher education credits at advanced level in informatics (master's level) or other education of equivalent scope and depth. The department's complete eligibility for admission to postgraduate education: Syllabus for the PhD program in Informatics.

Other qualifications
Since the doctoral student will be part of a multicultural department, the ability to communicate well in English is required. It’s preferable if the doctoral student also speaks Swedish. When selecting eligible applicants, great importance is placed on the thesis plan and ability to assimilate the education as well as previous study results. Otherwise, reference is made to regulations for employment as a doctoral student found in Regulation SFS 1993:100 (Higher Education Regulation Chapter 5).

Application
Your application must include:
• A letter of introduction/personal letter
• Dissertation plan/research plan and description of research interest (max. 2 pages)
• Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• Copies of previous thesis/work (MSc/MA and/or BSc/BA)
• Copies of academic transcripts including documentation of completed academic courses and grades
• Copies of published own research (if any)

The application must be complete in order for it to be considered in the recruitment process. The application must be made via the e-recruitment system Varbi.

The Department of Informatics
At the Department of Informatics, research and education is conducted with a focus on digitization of society, organizations and interaction. Digital technology has become an enabler for changed ways of living and doing business. In our research, we study these changes and change processes and we study the interaction between humans and technology to understand technology's possibilities and its limitations. In our studies of digitization, we move in many contexts such as the public sector, media, games, entertainment, financial companies, entrepreneurship, IT companies and the manufacturing industry.

TAIGA
TAIGA is a research centre that brings together researchers from across disciplines to explore the transformative potential of artificial intelligence in science, society, and industry. Our goal is to foster collaboration between technical, social, and humanistic perspectives on AI, addressing both opportunities and challenges that arise in an increasingly AI-driven world. TAIGA currently hosts four postdoctoral researchers and is in the process of recruiting four PhD candidates across different departments to strengthen our transdisciplinary research environment.