DIAS Professorship in Digital Society and Democracy

TheDigital Democracy Centre(DDC)andtheDanish Institute for Advanced Study (DIAS)at theUniversity of Southern Denmark (SDU)seeks strong candidates for a position as Full Professor and DIAS Chairin Digital Society and candidate must have an internationally recognized research agenda on how digital technologies (such as AI) affect democratic processes and society. Their focus could be in any of the disciplines of law economics political science communication journalism or AI.

The application deadline is March 15th 2026 23:59 CET/CEST. The starting date is flexible.

About the DDC
TheDDCincludes members and projects from disciplines like law economics computer science political science communication and journalism working on four core research areas: AI Media and Journalism; Citizens Organizations and new Technologies; Democratic Integrity; and Digital Democracy and Societal Transitions. The DDC / DIAS professorship is expected to contribute to these core research areas through research on Digital Society and Democracy. This is a broadly defined field that can have an emphasis on technical aspects of digital communication and AI (e.g. from the perspective of computational social science) communication practices (e.g. from the perspective of journalism studies or business focusing on media organizations) communication regulation (e.g. focusing on digital laws the regulation of AI etc.) or political or democratic effects (e.g. from a communication science psychology or political science perspective).

Candidates for the DDC / DIAS Chair may therefore come from different social science backgrounds.

It is important that the candidate has an active and internationally recognized research agenda around questions of how digital technologies (such as AI) affect democratic processes and society. DDC adheres to a socio-technological interdisciplinary approach. The DDC / DIAS Chair fits with the strategy of both DDC and DIAS as well as the Faculty of Social Sciences and the wider SDU profile and strategy.

The DDC conducts interdisciplinary cutting-edge research of the highest international standards. Our research is presented at competitive conferences published in leading international journals and our faculty and Centre members obtain competitive (inter)national research grants. We value outreach and impact activities and the Centre is building up a portfolio of education activities (ranging from undergraduate classes to new curricula postgraduate supervision and executive training). We expect our new colleague to actively contribute to these activities as well as to the international visibility of both DIAS and the DDC.

In the call we are looking for candidates who can be a leading figure at the DDC and DIAS who can help further develop and expand the profile of DDC and DIAS and who have an excellent and proven track record of high-quality publications and grants.

DIAS Chairs are offered support from DIAS and the Faculty of Business and Social Sciences during the first four addition DDC will contribute with a start-up package (for e.g. support for data collection assistance and/or PhD supervision). This will be agreed upon with the prospective candidate.

The research activities as well as the primary workplace are located in Odense.

For questions about the DDC please contact DDC Director Claes de Vreese.

About DIAS
DIAS at SDU is a hub for interdisciplinary excellence at and beyond the frontier of knowledge bringing together outstanding researchers from various disciplines to foster interdisciplinary research and innovation. Ithosts Chairs and Fellows from all faculties of the university fostering an interdisciplinary environment. DIAS encourages and supports curiosity-driven research and fosters the meeting of minds across disciplines and levels of seniority. The center cultivates an ambitious open-minded and playful environment that nurtures both academic growth and a strong sense of candidate will be anticipated to contribute actively to DIAS including but not limited to participation in DIAS activities mentoring of DIAS fellows and promotion of DIASnationally internationally and within SDU as well as through strengthening the bonds between the department/faculty on one hand and DIAS on the other through interdisciplinary collaborations where meaningful.

For questions about DIAS please contact DIAS Director Sten Rynning.

About the position
We offer and expect our new colleague to:

• conduct excellent research to be published in leading international academic journals
• attract external research funding
• take responsibility for research management
• undertake high-quality teaching and supervision at the undergraduate graduate and postgraduate (PhD) levels
• take responsibility for program and curriculum development
• maintain and develop relationships with appropriate stakeholders
• perform academic knowledge dissemination/outreach and administrative tasks.

The teaching languages at SDU are English and Danish. The research language at the department and DIAS is English. SDU offers Danish language courses for new employees and new hires are expected to acquire sufficient Danish language skills within 3-5 years to understand basic communication and read administrative documents.

This position is a unique opportunity as it comes with seed funding that the successful candidate can use to strengthen their own research area and it has a reduced teaching load for the first year of employment.

It is important for the department that all colleagues including applicants for the professorship have good interpersonal skills and are dedicated to and engaged in the daily academic and social interaction of the research platforms the department and DIAS.

The department values a diversity of competences and academic profiles among its academic staff. Applicants are encouraged to make their own competences and profile clear in their application; see below for an elaboration of the requirements.

Ideally applicants are expected to have

• a PhD in a relevant social science field (e.g. political science communication law economics sociology psychology) and a digital society profile
• an international profile and a strong record of research withresearch publications in leading international journals
• a successful record of attracting research funding and managing projects
• novel ideas with a clear potential to expand our frontiers of knowledge
• proven experience in academic leadership
• a solid record of designing and delivering academic teaching and supervision at undergraduate graduate (Masters) and PhD levels
• experience with developing and managing educational programs
• excellent interpersonal skills in developing and maintaining good working relationships
• ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences
• a consistent track-record of successful contribution to research management community building and administrative tasks including strategy development.

Relevant other professional experiences and qualifications in addition to the ones listed above may be considered.

Further information about the position can be obtained from Director of the DDC Professor Claes de Vreese e-mail:.

Salary and terms of employment
The successful applicant for the professor position will be employed in accordance with the agreement between the Danish Ministry of Finance and AC (the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations).

You can find further information aboutsalary pension taxation and employment conditionsat SDU on the website of ourInternational Staff Office.
Here you can also find information on more general matters such as housing relocation and living and working in Denmark.

Application
An application must include:

• Motivated cover letter
• Detailed CV including experience with external funding
• Copies of Certificates / Diplomas (Master and PhD degree)
• Teaching portfolio (see below)
• Research publication and funding plan for the next 3 years
• Complete list of publications indicating which publications are most relevant for the position
• Up to 5 of the most relevant publications. Please upload a pdf for each publication. For co-authored publications briefly describe the extent of the co-authorship or your contribution to the publications (please do this for each co-authored publication). You can do so by usingthis formor by describing the co-authorship in such a way that the committee can assess the extent of your contribution.

Applicants are encouraged to include reflections on experience with research leadership experience with applications for external funding experience with research collaborations and other qualifications relevant for the position in their cover letter.

All non-Danish documents must be translated into English.

Applicants are requested to submit a teaching portfolio with the application as documentation for teaching experience as well as supervision qualifications. Formal application instructions and a guide for the teaching portfolio can be foundhere.

Assessment of applications will be done under existing Appointment Order for universities. Applications will be assessed by an assessment committee. The committee may request additional information and if so it is the responsibility of the applicant to provide the necessary material.

When the assessment committee has submitted its report the applicant will receive the part of the evaluation that concerns him/her.

Applications that are incomplete with regards to the above requirements will not be assessed by the committee. Shortlisting and tests may be used in the assessment process and references may be obtained.

The University wishes our staff to reflect the diversity of society and thus welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of personal background. As part of the overall assessment of the applicants qualifications an interview may be applied.

Applications must be submitted electronically using the link Apply online. Uploaded files must be in Adobe PDF (unlocked) Word format.

Deadline for applications is: March.59 PM/23.59 CET/CEST.

Read the guidelines for applicants using the link How to apply through thiswebsite.

Each field can only contain a single file of max.10 Mb.