Assistant professor in Techno-anthropology, Digital Health and Participatory Design Hiring in processFinished, not possible to apply

At the Technical Faculty of IT and Design Department of Sustainability and Planning a position as assistant professor in Techno-anthropology Digital Health and Participatory Design is open for appointment from January 1st 2026 with workplace in Aalborg. The position is a fixed term (3 years) position.

The department was established in 1975. Today we are located in two beautiful harbour-front locations in both Aalborg and Copenhagen. We have more than 250 employees and approximately 1200 students across the two cities. Our research and study programs are rooted in sustainability and the green transition. This means we conduct research in areas such as the circular economy technology urban energy and environmental planning as well as sustainable transition and design. Sustainability is central to our work in environmental assessment and marine surveying and land use sustainability is reflected in our efforts in nature restoration and climate adaptation.

As society continues to develop digitally we also focus on responsible technology development addressing real-life challenges. Our problem-oriented approach and close collaboration with businesses and public organizations form the foundation of all our study programs. Additionally our engineering programs are among the best in Europe.

Job description and requirements

A position as assistant professor with a research profile within Digital Health and Participatory Design (PD) is available within the research group TAPAR (Techno-Anthropology and Participation) in Aalborg. TAPAR employs participatory approaches including participatory design to Digital Healthcare Technology Assessment and Sustainable Computing.

The position is primarily offered in relation to Digital Health. The applicant will primarily work with equity in digital health telehealth user involvement and user evaluations adopting participatory addition the Assistant Professor will manage a large national grant-solution project (PACT: Decentralized Patient-Centred Clinical Trials) involving multiple partners and stakeholders from the Danish regions and Life Science Industry and be responsible for research concerning user experiences with decentralized clinical trials. The applicant will teach and coordinate teaching at bachelor (in Danish) and master level (in English) at the education Techno-Anthropology primarily within the digital health domain and participatory design. The applicant will be responsible for coordinating semesters and courses. The applicant will be responsible for developing and structuring course materials teaching and supervising at the education. Therefore the applicant is expected to have teaching skills preferably with facilitating courses develop course material and coordinate semesters. Furthermore the applicant will be responsible for managing Continuous Education Programmes (EVU) specifically the course Digital and Data-driven Healthcare which is a collaboration between Danida Fellowship Centre (DFC) and Aalborg University. Therefore a strong international profile is necessary.

The applicant should be able to plan and conduct own research demonstrating visions and potential within the research fields. Therefore it is a prerequisite to have experience within research concerning:

• Equity and democratisation in digital health social determinants for health vulnerable populations with special needs (for example people with disabilities low socioeconomic status ethnicity etc.)
• Public and international/global health.
• Digital health/health informatics and evaluation of health information systems including comprehensive qualitative data analysis competence.
• Telehealth and research including clinical trial research.
• Participatory Design and user involvement including ethnographic data collection via. interviews workshops observation designing of participatory tools and techniques.

The applicant should be able to demonstrate independent and collaborative research skills within these topics and is expected to have experience with funding activities for example writing research proposals in collaboration with others. The applicant should also have project management experience.

In addition the applicant is expected to have experience with international research environments for example working with and in international research environments working with and in international NGOs and presenting research at both national and international conferences preferably as invited speaker.

The applicant is expected to have a network within the research fields preferably with both private and public stakeholders for example researchers NGOs Danish municipalities and regions Life Science Industry etc. It is a great advantage to have and continue to be involved in relevant networks such as DaCHI (Dansk Center for Health Informatics) and Dansk Selskab for Digital Sundhed. The applicant will conduct user evaluations in the Danish healthcare sector therefore knowledge of a Scandinavian language is an advantage.

Lastly the application is expected to have interdisciplinary collaboration skills and contribute to a good work environment within the TAPAR group.

You may obtain further professional information from associate professor Jeppe Eriksen e-mail .

You can read more on TECH as a workplace here

You can read more on Department of Sustainability and Planning here

Qualification requirements

Appointment as assistant professor requires academic qualifications at PhD level. The research potential of each applicant will be emphasized in the overall assessment.

How to apply

Your application must include the following:

• Application stating reasons for applying qualifications in relation to the position and intentions and visions for the position
• Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• Diplomas (masters degree diploma and PhD diploma)
• List of publications with an indication of the attached publications that you wish to be taken into account in the assessment. You may attach a maximum of five publications. If you are applying for a position at The Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) you must submit a co-author statement see template for co-author statement
• Documentation of teaching qualifications. Depending on which faculty you are applying for employment please see guidelines for teaching portfolio at The Technical Faculty of IT and Design The Faculty of Engineering and Science and The Faculty of Medicine or guidelines for teaching portfolio at The Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities. If this is not enclosed the applicant must enclose the reasons for this .
• Dissemination qualifications including participation on committees or boards participation in organisations etc.
• Additional qualifications in relation to the position
• References/recommendations

You can read more about the requirements for your application here.

The application must be submitted via Aalborg Universitys recruitment system which can be accessed under the job advertisement on Aalborg Universitys 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 contact persons at the bottom of the jobpost.

Further information

Read more about our recruitment process here

The appointment process at Aalborg University involves a shortlisting process. You can read more about the shortlisting and appointment process here.

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.

Salary and terms of employment

The employment is in accordance with the Ministerial Order on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities (the Appointment Order) and the Ministerial Order on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities (in Danish) and protocol on certain terms of employment of academic staff at universities (in Danish).

Salary and terms of employment are in accordance with the collective agreement between the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations and the state (AC collective agreement) (only in Danish) and protocol on certain terms of employment of academic staff at universities (only in Danish).

Workplace

Aalborg University (AAU) provides outstanding research and education. At AAU we believe that knowledge can and should change the world. This belief drives our high ambitions. We seek knowledge through interaction with the world around us focusing on real problems and missions that we aim to solve with sustainable solutions. Our research and educational programs are multidisciplinary and built on close collaborations with business and industry. This approach is further strengthened by our world-renowned Problem-Based Learning (PBL) teaching model which is grounded in solving real-world problems. These collaborations along with our recognized research contribute new insights solutions to societal challenges and knowledge that is changing the world.

In 2024 AAU has moved from the world Top-10 to the world Top-5 on sustainability! On the internationally acclaimed Times Higher Education Impact ranking list AAU takes fourth place among close to 1.600 universities worldwide. The ranking list evaluates the contributions of universities in terms of fulfilling the UNs sustainable development recent years Aalborg University has risen in the international lists of university rankings. More than 20000 students are enrolled at Aalborg University of which over 10% are international students from various countries worldwide. To support them we have 3500 employees.

Aalborg University - Knowledge for the world
Aalborg University is an international workplace with more than 3700 employees. We offer real-world-oriented education and create world-class research results through collaboration between researchers students and public and private companies. This is how we achieve insights new solutions to societal problems and knowledge that changes the world. Our main campus is in Aalborg but we also have campuses in Esbjerg and Copenhagen.