Postdoc position at Center for Design and Production History

Center for Design and Production History at the Department of Design Media and Educational Science at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) invite applications for one full-time Post Doc position as part of the project Made In Denmark. Production history as cultural heritage and sustainable literacy (MadeDK) granted by Augustinus Foundation. The position is located at SDUs Campus in Kolding and is vacant from 1st October 2026 or soon thereafter and for a two-year period.

Applicants profile
We are looking for applicants with a PhD in the relevant field of design history or adjacent disciplines like art history or business we expect applicants to:

• Have a strong research profile for investigating design production and mediation.
• Be fluent in Danish both written and spoken as the research is based on Danish archives and interviews but also have excellent English skills both in speaking and writing as publications will be in English.
• Have excellent communication skills. Be engaged cooperative and able to work independently.

Experience in some or all of the following areas is of advantage:

• Research in museum collections and archives
• Interviews as historical documentation
• Communication on issues of sustainability

The successful candidate will be expected to participate in the various activities within the project and collaborate with the four museums being part of the project. Main workplace will be SDU Campus Kolding where the postdoc will also be part of the larger research group ofDesign Culture Studies Dept. of Design Media and Educational Science.

Job description
The research project MadeDK 2026-29 is a collaboration between CLAY Ceramic Museum Museum Midtjylland Museum Kolding Museum Sydøstdanmark and Design Culture Studies SDU as partners in Center for Design and Production History. The overall focus of the Center and the joint project is to investigate the role of production in design history and the potential role of this knowledge regarding sustainable consumption. Where production used to be a more visible part of Danish culture through local factories workshops and the primary schools teaching of practical skills outsourcing and digitalisation have erased traces of this and weakened hands-on experience. Few industries have been preserved but within design museums hold extensive collections that showcase the cultural heritage of production across both mass production and craftsmanship and evoke experiences of use and maintenance.

The Post Doc will be responsible for the independent subproject Mediations and Understanding of Production a historical investigation of representations of and discourses about Danish manufacture of design products. The focus of the post-doctoral research will be archival material related to the companies Royal Copenhagen (porcelain) Dranella (fashion) Hans Hansen (silver) and Kähler (ceramics) covering the period 1930-1990. The four museum collaborators will provide access to archival materials and collections.

The double focus of the overall project is first the Danish history of design manufacture in the four firms and second the changing public understandings of production and their potential relevance to responsible consumer behavior. The post-doctoral research is primarily concerned with the first but requires strong engagement with the second. The core investigations led by co-PIs Anders Munch and Josefine Baark alongside representatives from each museum will be object-based group interviews with former employees related to the four firms.
The tasks within the MadeDK project involve but are not limited to collaborating with project partners at the four museums on investigating collections and archives interviews coauthored chapters for a joint anthology as well as writing other academic publications.

Center for Design and Production History was established in 2021 as a research collaboration with eight Danish museums having collections of Danish design firms or branches. These other collections might also be relevant to the postdoc project if supplementary cases fits in. The center has currently four PhD-projects and one Postdoc. More information on information
For further information please contact Professor Anders V. Munch

For questions related to CV diplomas etc. please contacthumfak-hr

If you experience technical problems please contact

If you are not a Danish-speaking applicant please ensure that you use the English website to access the electronic application form to receive further information in English.

We recommend that as an international applicant you take the time to visitWork in Denmarkwhere you will find information and facts about moving to working and living in Denmark as well asthe International Staff Office at SDU.

Conditions of employment
Potential applicants must be post-doc qualified in accordance with the DanishMinisterial order on job structure for academic staff at Danish universities.

The appointment takes place in accordance with the collective agreement between the Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations for academics in the Danish state with the associated circular on the protocol on job structure for academic staff at Danish universities and the provisions for the position of postdocs as described herein. Please check links for more information onsalary(only available in Danish) andtaxation.

The person employed in the position may based on a specific individual managerial assessment be exempted from time registration also known as a self-organiser.

For more information on the department guidelines for qualification and recruitment please visit ourwebsite.

How to apply for this position
Applicants are encouraged to read the information How to apply before applying.

To qualify for the position as postdoc you must have obtained a PhD degree by the employment date.

An application must include:

• Motivation application
• 2-pages proposal of research plan for a historical investigation of Mediations and Understandings of Production as subproject to MadeDK
• Detailed CV where education and work history must be date month and year specific.
• Certified copies of your masters and PhD degree certificates. Alternatively the expected date of the PhD defense.
• A translation of grades according to the European ECTS system obtained in BA and MSc programs.
• Complete list of publications indicating which publications are most relevant for the position.
• Up to 2 of the most relevant publications. Please upload a pdf for each publication. If your publications have been co-authored please briefly describe the extent of the co-authorship or your contribution to the individual joint publication. You can do so by using thisformor you can describe the co-authorship in such a way that the committee can assess the extent of your contribution.

All non-Danish documents must be translated into English and documents should not contain a CPR number (civil registration number). If they do the CPR number must be crossed out. We request files in pdf-format no more than 5 MB per file. All pdf-files must be unlocked and allow binding and may not be password protected.

The application documents must be written in English. Use of large language models or related AI tools in any capacity must be disclosed in accordance with best academic practices.

The assessment process
Applications will be assessed by an assessment committee and the applicant will receive the part of the evaluation that concerns them. The assessment report will subsequently be forwarded to the Head of Department who will assemble an appointments committee. An interview may form part of the overall assessment of the applicants qualifications.

The committee may request additional information and if so it is the responsibility of the applicant to provide the necessary material.

If the application does not meet the requirements mentioned above the Faculty of Humanities may reject your application without further notice. Applications received after the deadline will neither be considered nor evaluated.

Shortlisting and tests will be used in the assessment process. Please note that only a shortlisted applicant will receive an assessment.Hereyou can read more about shortlisting at SDU.

Application deadline
Application deadline is April 15th 2026 23:59 CET.

The University encourages all interested persons to apply regardless of age gender religious affiliation or ethnic background.

About SDU
The University of Southern Denmark was established to create value for and with society. Whether our contributions come in the form of excellent research innovative solutions education or learning we must make a positive difference to society and contribute to a sustainable future. We do this by cultivating talents and creating the best environments for research and learning. It is therefore crucial that SDU retains develops and recruits the same time we need to ensure consistently high quality in all our activities and we can only do that with the right people. The Universitys researchers lecturers students managers and technical/administrative staff are the foundation of our success.