PhD position in Sociology: Security culture, trust and society in in the age of digital identity

PhD position in Sociology: Security culture, trust and society in in the age of digital identity

The Department of Sociology and Political Science (ISS) has a vacancy for a PhD research fellow in sociology

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About the position

The Department of Sociology and Political Science (ISS) has a vacancy for a PhD research fellow in sociology. This position is suited for candidates interested in critical, interpretive and ethnographic approaches to the study of security, power and digital technology in society, and in exploring how these shape cultural practices, democratic processes and social life through the case of digital identity infrastructures.

In this position, you will conduct research as part of the project Cryptology and social life: Sovereignty, security and society meet digital wallets, while achieving your doctorate degree. In this manner, you will gain valuable experience that qualifies you for a further career in higher education, research and other sectors requiring analytic skills, both within and outside academia.

The position is situated within NTNU’s interdisciplinary area “A more resilient society” (“Et mer motstandsdyktig samfunn”), and affiliated with the interdisciplinary research project “Cryptology and social life” and NTNU’s interdisciplinary team “Democratic resilience” (Demokratisk motstandskraft). You will also become part of the research groups “Technology and social change” and “Ethnography” at ISS, ISS’ junior scholar seminars, and the national research school on “Digitalization, Culture and Society.” Thus, the position offers excellent opportunities for academic development, research collaboration, conference participation, international publication, and engagement with societal actors.

The position is for 4 years, including one year of promotion work such as teaching.

Your immediate leader will be the Head of Department.

About the project

The PhD position is part of a group of four PhD’s forming the core of the NTNU funded interdisciplinary project “Cryptology and social life: Sovereignty, security and society meet digital wallets", combining sociology, STS, ethnography, ICT, and cryptology perspectives.

The EU Digital Identity (EUDI) Walleti is currently being deployed, with the intention to provide citizens with easier and expanded access to public and private services. Digital identity wallets will potentially become a critical socio-technical infrastructure also in Norway, and raises challenges related to issues such as privacy, fairness, stakeholder engagement and securityi. On this background the project's overall goal is to develop knowledge, methodologies and competencies that strengthen Norway's ability to deploy and maintain secure, privacy-preserving and democratically aligned digital identity wallets. Truly interdisciplinary, the challenges cut across issues of digital sovereignty, identity management, security technologies, and sociotechnical practices and imaginaries. Presently, critical, digital infrastructures are strongly dependent on foreign technology platforms, which limits the options for maintaining national and democratic control and accountabilityi. This is a sociotechnical challenge that entails mobilizing political, institutional and citizen knowledge, engagement and support.

As a critical societal infrastructure we need to understand how various actors such as citizens, user groups, employees, and institutions perceive and use digital identity wallets. As sociotechnically embedded infrastructure, digital wallets can be seen as “cultural practices” that are both entangled with and contribute to shaping individuals and social life, and fundamental social concepts such as power and trust, freedom and dominance, autonomy and control. The PhD project investigates how digital identity technologies such as EUDI Wallet contributes to shaping such perceptions and practices in the emerging digital society, including the cultural foundations of risk perceptions and security practices. The methods and approaches are based on ethnography and include empirical case studies, qualitative interviews, observations and document analysis.

Applicants are expected to develop a proposal that explains what you consider the societal relevance of this topic, as well as how you plan to contribute to the project’s agenda, suggesting relevant theoretical perspectives, and your thoughts on research design and the way forward. We particularly welcome proposals that engage critically with questions of security, power, identity, democracy, and lived experience, and that demonstrate conceptual ambition. Either in the attached application letter or project outline, you are encouraged to demonstrate some familiarity with ongoing debates on digital identity wallets and infrastructures, and explain your personal motivation for the topic.

Duties of the position

• Complete the doctoral education ( Sociology – Programme Components – Social Sciences - NTNU )until obtaining a doctorate
• Develop and carry out an independent research project, including data collection, analysis, and academic writing, representing high-quality research within the framework described above.
• Contribute to collaborative research activities and meetings within the project and the affiliated teams and research groups.
• Publish and disseminate research in peer-reviewed journals and/or through a monograph, as well as at conferences, and through relevant public venues.
• Actively contribute to the research groups “Technology and social change” and “Ethnography”, and ISS’ academic and social environment.
• Participate in international activities such as conferences, workshops, and/or research stays at foreign educational institutions.
• Complete the required coursework as part of the PhD program.
• Teaching in relevant study programs at the Department

Be prepared for changes to your work duties after employment. The PhD is obliged to conform with the regulations concerning changes and developments within the position, and/or the organizational changes concerning activities at NTNU.

Required selection criteria

To be qualified for this position you must fulfill the following criteria.

• Master's degree in Sociology or political science, or from adjacent fields, such as Science and Technology Studies (STS), Social Anthropology, or Human Geography.
• Your course of study must correspond to a five-year Norwegian course, where 120 ECTS credits have been obtained at master's level. The Master's degree must include an independent research project equivalent to a Master's thesis of at least 30 ECTS credits. Master's students can apply, but the master's degree must be obtained and documented before starting the position.
• The position must be taken up no later than august 2027.
• Strong academic background from your previous studies with an average grade from your master's degree, or equivalent education, equal to B or better compared to NTNU's grading scale. If you have a weaker grade background, you may be considered if you can demonstrate particular suitability for a doctoral study on the theme.
• Meet the requirements for admission to the faculty's Doctoral Programme in Social Science.
• Strong interest in interpretive and qualitative methodological approaches.
• Good written and oral skills in English.

PLEASE NOTE: For detailed information about what the application must contain, see paragraph “About the application.”

The appointment is to be made in accordance with NTNUs guidelines for recruitment positions for general criteria for the position.

Preferred selection criteria

• The quality and relevance of the project outline will be an important part of the overall assessment of candidates.
• Knowledge of theoretical approaches for studying questions of security, digital infrastructure, power, trust, democracy, and technology; as well as good understanding of or interest for societal aspects related to the rise of digitalisation, AI, and global tech companies.
• Documented experience with ethnographic, interpretive, qualitative data collection and analysis.
• Good oral and written communication skills in Norwegian, Swedish, or Danish.
• Demonstrated interest in one or more of the following topics: daily life, experience, and meaning-making in the face of societal transformations; questions of security and securitization, identity and autonomy, power and freedom, sovereignty and democracy; digitalisation; sociotechnical infrastructures; political economy of data and technology; democratic decision-making and public policy; local government and large-scale infrastructures.
• Experience from research, or as research or teaching assistant.

Personal characteristics

Completing a doctoral degree (Ph.D.) can be demanding. Therefore, we expect that you:

• Are intellectually curious and strongly motivated for the subject.
• Are able to work independently and take initiative.
• Are eager to collaborate and invite others in.
• Have strong professional and analytical skills.
• Have high work capacity.
• Are open to feedback and willing to develop your ideas through discussion and collaboration with colleagues and supervisors.

Emphasis will be placed on personal qualities.

We offer

• An exciting job with an important mission in society
• Developing tasks in a strong and international professional environment
• Career guidance and follow-up during the PhD period
• Open and inclusive working environment with committed colleagues
• Working capital that can be used to implement the project
• Mentor programme as a new employee at NTNU
• Favorable terms as a member of the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund (SPK)
• Free Norwegian language training at a basic level (A2)

As a PhD Candidate at NTNU, you will have access to employee benefits.

Diversity

Diversity is a strength, and at NTNU we aim to be an employer that reflects the diversity in society and that makes use of the potential of the population's collective skills. Our vision is Knowledge for a better world and our values ​​are creative, critical, constructive and respectful. We believe that an organization that is equal, diverse and gender-balanced is essential for us to achieve our goals.

We strive to attract employees with different skills, life experiences and perspectives to contribute to even better problem solving of our societal mission in research and education.

If you think this position is relevant and interesting, we encourage you to apply, regardless of gender, functional ability and cultural background, or whether you have been out of work for a period of time.

Salary and conditions

In the position of PhD Candidate, code 1017, your gross salary will normally be NOK 580 000,-per annum depending on qualifications and seniority. A 2% statutory contribution to the State Pension Fund is deducted from the salary.

The employment period is 4 years

For employment as a PhD Candidate, it is a prerequisite that you gain admission to the PhD programme in [subject area] (link to possible website)within three months of your employment contract start date, and that you participate in an organized doctoral programme through out the period of employment.

The position is conditional on external funding (remove if the position is not to be funded by external funds)

As an employee at NTNU, it is important that you keep yourself up to date with academic and organizational changes and adapt to them.

For the necessary professional and social interaction, it is a prerequisite that you are physically present and available to the institution on a daily basis.

The appointment is carried out in accordance with the principles of the State Employees Act, and Export control (legislation that regulates the export of knowledge, technology and services). Candidates who, after assessment of the application and attachments, are considered to bein conflict with the criteria in the latter act, will not be able to be employed.

About the application

The application and required attachments (including a description of your scientific work) must accompany the application as these documents form the basis of the application assessment. The documents must be in Norwegian/a Scandinavian language or English.

Please note: the application will only be assessed on the basis of the information we have received by the application deadline. Therefore, make sure that your application clearly shows how your skills and experience meet the criteria described above. The application and all attachments must be sent electronically via Jobbnorge.no. If you are invited to an interview, you must bring certified copies of certificates and diplomas upon request.

The application must include:

• An application letter that specifies your motivation for the position (both for pursuing a PhD generally and for the specific topic) and that describes your academic background and you as a person (1 page)
• CV
• Project outline containing an overall description of how you would approach the proposed research project explaining the societal relevance for exploring this topic, suggesting a research problem definition and relevant theoretical perspectives, and your thoughts on research design and the way forward (maximum 1500 words)
• Transcripts and diplomas for bachelor's and master's degrees
• Copy of master's thesis and other relevant publications. If you have not yet submitted your master's thesis, you can attach a draft of the thesis. Documentation of a completed master's degree must be presented before taking up the position.
• Possible certificates and relevant publications, or other scholarly work
• Names and contact information of three referees

If all, or parts, of your education has been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education, both Bachelor's and Master's education, in addition to other higher education. If your institution uses “diploma supplement” (normal for most European institutions), you must attach this. A description of the documentation required can also be found here. If you already have a statement from Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills (HK-dir), please attach this as well.

Joint work will be considered. If it is difficult to identify your contribution to joint work, you must attach a brief description of your participation.

When assessing the best qualified, we emphasize necessary qualifications such as education, experience and personal suitability. Motivation for the position, ambitions, and potential for research will also count when assessing the candidates.

NTNU recognizes a wide range of academic contributions and has committed itself to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment and CoARA (responsible assessment of research and recognition of a greater breadth of academic contributions in accordance with NTNU's social mission).

General information

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you wish to be exempt from entry on the public applicant list, this must be justified. Assessment will be made in accordance with current legislation. You will be notified if the exemption is not granted.

If you think this position looks interesting and in line with your qualifications, we encourage you to apply!

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Professor Emil A. Røyrvik, telephone: +47 93087708, e-mail: emil.royrvik@ntnu.no.

If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR Advisor Morten Carlson, e-mail: morten.carlson@ntnu.no

Application deadline: 20.11.2026
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For practical information about working at NTNU, please visit this webpage.

The city of Trondheim is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. Trondheim is the tech capital of Norway with a population of 200,000. The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world. Professional subsidized day-care for children is easily available. Furthermore, Trondheim offers great opportunities for education (including international schools) and possibilities to enjoy nature, culture and family life and has low crime rates and clean air quality.