PhD in Quality news-chatbots for Public Service Media

The Department of Electronic Systems at the Technical Faculty of IT and Design invites applications for a PhD stipend in the field of Quality news-chatbots for Public Service Media within the general study programme Wireless communication; as per May 1 2026 or as soon as possible thereafter. The candidate will be based in Copenhagen at the CMI Section (Communication Media and Information Technologies) of Department of Electronic Systems.

In electronic engineering Aalborg University is known worldwide for its high academic quality and societal impact. The Department of Electronic Systems employs more than 200 people of which about 90 are PhD students and about 40 % of all employees are total it has more than 600 students in its BSc and MSc programs which are based on AAUs problem-based learning model. The department leverages its unique research infrastructure and lab facilities to conduct world-leading fundamental and applied research within communication networks control systems AI sound cyber security and robotics. The department plays an active role in transferring inventions and results into applications in close collaboration with industrial partners worldwide. You can read more about the department at .

Your work tasks
As a PhD student on this project (RePIM DC3) you will conduct research within the field of AI based chatbots using Retrieval-Argumented Generation (RAG) to improve the quality of a chatbots answers. As case the PhD project uses a news chatbot called NEO developed by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) in Geneva. This PhD project is in close collaboration with the Head of Software - Technology and Innovation at EBU. You will have an extended and paid stay in Geneva with the EBU. As part of RePIM you will participate in Summer- and Winter Schools and you will also have an extended stay in Brussels as part of the academic exchange among the universities in RePIM.

NEO is currently being in several European public service media organisations primarily as a research tool for journalists. To make NEO usable for normal users outside the organisations the quality of its answers must be improved. The quality must adhere to the highest journalistic standard and must integrate in the editorial profile of the news organisations where it is implemented.

The current version of NEO only searches articles published by public media journalists but if a deep search mode should be implemented to provide better answers on more complex questions external trusted sources must be carefully integrated and answers must be automatically quality-controlled e.g. via a novel agentic workflow where elements of information in the chatbot answer are examined by a network of independent software agents.

Another possible topic is designing NEO for different user needs. Journalists have different needs so have end-users. The use context for NEO as a plug-in for social media is radically different from NEO implemented within a news website: How to speak to the user which pictures to show

A third possible topic is performance improvement of using a graph-based analysis and/or infrastructure. Typical RAG systems use a semantic search based on embeddings. NEO uses a hybrid approach with both embeddings-based and keyword-based retrieval. While the hybrid approach has clearly shown its supremacy retrieval could still be better.
The applicant can also develop a fourth topic in collaboration with the supervisors.

The PhD position is part of RePIM Revisioning Public Interest Media a four-year Marie Skłodowska-Curie (MSCA) Doctoral Network dedicated to reimagining the role and future of Public Interest Media in a data-driven platform-dominated environment. Coming from different fields of research each of the 12 projects helps preparing public interest media - at a management level - for the future. The network investigates how Public Interest Media can remain relevant sustainable and impactful by transforming how content is produced packaged distributed and supported organisationally and technologically. Through its focus on strategic innovation organisational change and media management RePIM equips its doctoral researchers with advanced analytical and managerial skills to help reshape Public Interest Media across diverse European contexts.

The position requires relocation to Copenhagen Denmark as the candidate will be enrolled in the PhD programme of Aalborg University. The project is conducted under the supervision of Jannick Sørensen Associate Professor at Aalborg University and Tim Raats Associate Professor at Vrije Universiteit Brussel. It will involve close collaboration with other Doctoral Candidates in the RePIM doctoral Network Project and an academic secondment of approximately 2 months at Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Belgium. The candidate will also carry out 3-month internship at the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) in Geneva.

Your competencies
You have a strong profile within computer science computer engineering or similar and have an interest in quality news and AI-based chatbots.

We expect:

• A Masters degree in either computer engineering or computer science/data science.
• Experience with AI Large Language Models RAG data science embeddings and software agents is welcomed. The EBU-NEO tech-stack consists of: Python LangChain LangGraph MongoDB Milvus Elastic Search.
• Knowledge from the fields of media science user experience design journalism or communication studies is welcome.
• Willingness to engage in international mobility in line with the MSCA-DN framework (meetings training sessions research stays and industry stays etc.).

MSCA eligibility requirements

The RePIM project is financed as a doctoral network by EUs MSCA (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions). Therefore these eligibility requirements apply:

• At the time of recruitment candidates must not already hold a doctoral degree.
• Applicants of any nationality are welcome to apply. However researchers must not have lived or carried out their main activity (work studies etc.) in the host country (in this case: Denmark) for more than 12 months within the 36 months immediately preceding their recruitment date. Candidates must be willing to move to Denmark for the duration of the PhD research.

Please see the RePIM project website ( for further information.

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

Who we are
You will be affiliated with the Digital Transformation research group at the CMI-section of Dept. of Electronic Systems in Copenhagen. Most likely you will also have interaction with the many other PhD students at the Cyber Security research group and at the Edge Computing and Networking research group at CMI. We are a strong computer engineering environment with close and interdisciplinary collaboration with many different industries.

How to apply
*** Please apply by submitting the following documents to (subject line: Application for DC3 position)***

• Certificate of your masters degree or equivalent
• Transcripts of records for your Masters degree
• A one-page motivation letter indicating why you are applying for this position. If you are interested in other RePIM positions please clearly indicate them as your second and third choices adding a half-page motivation for each.
• Curriculum vitae (CV). If applicable this should also include a list of all publications and/or other documented research activities.
• Proof of English proficiency in line with the requirements detailed in the Profile section above.
• A one-page reflection on how you would approach this research in terms of
  o questions and methods
  o the use of your own background and skills
  o the societal and scientific relevance of the topic.

Additional documentation you are encouraged to send with your application if available:

• If the diploma(s) or transcript of records are not in English or Danish you can add a translation by a sworn translator.
• Other relevant certificates or transcripts (e.g. courses completed at the PhD level).
• If the issuing authority of grades and degrees does not use the ECTS grading scale include an official description of the grading scale used.

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.

Application process:
Step 1: initial selection based on the applications we have received
Step 2: first round of interviews with long-listed candidates (est. FebruaryMarch 2026)
Step 3: second round of interviews with short-listed candidates (March 2026)
Starting date: est. 1 May 2026.

Do you have any questions
If you have any questions about the position you are more than welcome to contact Associate Professor Jannick Kirk Sørensen ()

Further information
The assessment of candidates for the position will be carried out by qualified experts.

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

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).

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) (in Danish)

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.