At the Technical Faculty of IT and Design, Department of Architecture, Design, and Media Technology, a PhD stipend or integrated PhD stipend in explainability in asylum decision-making is available within the general study program “Electrical and Electronic Engineering”. The stipend is open for appointment from 1 August 2025, or as soon as possible thereafter. The duration of the position is three years, for an integrated PhD position four years.

The successful candidate will be hosted by the Visual Analysis and Perception Lab. You can read more about VAP LAB in Aalborg - an internationally recognized lab working on different aspects of AI. Focus has previously been on visual data but has recently been expanded to cover also other data modalities including textual data.

See more about the department here: About Create - Aalborg University.

About the position 
The position is based on the fact that despite decades of EU harmonization and growing international jurisprudence, the opportunity of receiving asylum for people from the same country or groups still varies significantly across the Nordic and European countries. These variations have led to repeated accusations describing legal decision-making as an “asylum lottery”. As AI-supported decision-making becomes embedded in such systems, there is a concern that inherent bias in data will be replicated. To study and mitigate these effects, a new 5-year research project has been funded by the Villum Foundation. The project "Explainable Artificial Intelligence and Credibility in Asylum Decision-making (XAI-CRED)" is led by AI Professor Thomas B. Moeslund, Aalborg University, and Law Professor Thomas Gammeltoft-Hansen, University of Copenhagen. XAI-CRED aims to develop an explainable AI (XAI) model to expose details of AI models – with a special focus on better understanding the role of credibility in asylum decision-making. The project is highly interdisciplinary and will involve approx. 7 researchers from data science and law. This particular position is focusing on technical aspects, but the applicant should be interested in and prepared to operate in an interdisciplinary setup.

Beyond the project team and the colleagues at the Visual Analysis and Perception lab, the PhD student will be part of the Pioneer Center for AI (https://www.aicentre.dk/) – a large national center for AI research. 

Your competencies

• Master's degree in one of the subfields of AI
• Experience in programming and deep learning frameworks
• A creative mindset and curiosity to research and develop new solutions with highly skilled colleagues
• Strong interest in XAI
• Willingness, and preferably prior experience, in working with other disciplines to conduct collective and interdisciplinary research

It would be considered beneficial if the candidate has knowledge of one or more of the following topics: XAI, NLP, law, latent space analysis, uncertainty estimation. 

Qualification requirements
PhD stipends are allocated to individuals who hold a Master's degree. PhD stipends are normally for a period of 3 years.

Integrated PhD stipends are allocated to individuals who has not yet completed a Master’s degree and who wish to begin the PhD study in connection with the Master study. Thus a prerequisite for acceptance is that the candidate is enrolled in a relevant Master’s programme.

The integrated stipend consists of two parts, A and B. During part A, you are enrolled simultaneous in the Master’s programme and in the PhD programme. The stipend consists of two SU-PhD grants per month (SU = the Danish students’ Grants and Loans Scheme). One SU-PhD grant equals DKK 6,397 DKK (2023 level). SU-PhD grants are paid for a maximum of two years. When the Master’s degree has been obtained, you will be employed for two years as a PhD fellow according to the present collective agreement. Part B has a maximum duration of two years.

The integrated PhD stipend is open only for appointment with starting date 1 September 2025.

It is a prerequisite for allocation of the stipend that the candidate will be enrolled as a PhD student at the Technical Doctoral School of IT and Design in accordance with the regulations of Ministerial Order No. 1039 of August 27, 2013 on the PhD Programme at the Universities and Certain Higher Artistic Educational Institutions. According to the Ministerial Order, the progress of the PhD student shall be assessed at regular points in time.

How to apply
Your application must include the following:

• Application, stating reasons for applying and qualifications in relation to the position
• Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• Diplomas (bachelor and master's degree diploma)
• Project description 
• Other relevant documents

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

Aalborg University wants to reflect the surrounding society and has diversity as a core value. Therefore, everyone, regardless of personal background and orientation, is encouraged to apply for the position.

Do you have any questions?     
If you have any questions about the position, you are more than welcome to contact us. You will find relevant contact persons at the bottom of the job post.

Job interviews will be conducted 1-2 July 2025. 

Further information  
We recommend that you save a copy of the job posting, as it will be removed from the website once the application deadline has passed.  

The assessment of candidates for the position will be carried out by qualified experts.
Shortlisting will be applied. This means that after the application deadline, the head of the department, with the assistance of the hiring committee, will select the applicants to be assessed. All applicants will be informed whether they have been shortlisted for assessment or not.

The hiring process at Aalborg University may include a risk assessment as a tool to identify potential risks associated with new hires, ensuring the safety, compliance, and integrity of the workplace.

Read more about The Technical Doctoral School of IT and Design.

Wages and employment

Ref number

2025/96

Deadline

30.05.2025