PhD research fellow in Music Technology with a focus on AI, health and wellbeing

1st April 2026
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English

• Norsk Bokmål
• English

English

The Department of Music has a vacancy for a

PhD research fellow in Music Technology with a focus on AI, health and wellbeing
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About the position

At The Department of Music within Faculty of Humanities, NTNU, we offer a 3-year 100 % position as PhD research fellow in Music Technology with a focus on AI, health and wellbeing.

The position is part of MishMash Centre for AI and Creativity, which is a Norwegian AI centre funded by the Research Council of Norway (2025-2030). It comprises more than 200 faculty members from many higher education institutions in Norway, in collaboration with numerous public and private sector partners. The primary objective of MishMash is to create, explore, and reflect on AI for, through, and in creative practices. MishMash researchers will investigate AI’s impact on creative processes, develop innovative co-creative AI systems and educational strategies, and address AI’s ethical, cultural, legal, and societal implications in creative domains. See www.mishmash.no for more information.

The position is primarily linked to Work Package 3 (WP3) of MishMash: Creative Use of AI for Health and Well-being. Collaboration with other MishMash work packages is regarded positively. 

Applicants are required to prepare a research proposal targeted at the topics and/or research questions described in WP3 (see www.mishmash.no ). Here, you should use the Faculty of Humanities’ template giving a clear presentation of the proposed scientific project, including research background, main research questions, theory, method, and relevant ethical aspects. 

The position reports to the head of the Department of Music.

Job description

The successful applicant will have to:

• commit to completing their PhD thesis within the period of employment (3 years).
• complete the coursework component of the PHESTET programme, consisting of in total 30 ECTS credits.  
• participate in the collaborative activities within the MishMash centre
• participate in the Music and Artificial Intelligence (MoKI ) research group
• work under the supervision of one internal supervisor employed at the Department of Music, and one external supervisor from MishMash. 

Be prepared for changes to your work duties after employment.

Required qualifications

• You must have an academically relevant Master's degree in Music technology or equivalent, preferably with a focus on interactive music instrument design, interaction design, HCI, human-AI collaboration, music technology for therapeutic applications or alike. 
• Your course of study must correspond to a five-year Norwegian course, where 120 credits have been obtained at master's level. Master's students can apply, but the Master's degree must be obtained and documented so that the final evaluation is available by the application deadline.
• You must have a strong academic background from your previous studies and have an average grade from your Master's degree study, or equivalent education, which is equal to B or better compared to NTNU's grading scale . If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic foundation. If you have a weaker grade background, you may be considered if you can document that you are particularly suitable for a PhD education. 
• Meet the requirements for admission to the faculty's Doctoral Programme .
• Good written and oral English skills. 

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 and Regulations for the degrees philosophiae doctor (ph.d.) and philosophiae doctor (ph.d.) in artistic development work at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) for general criteria for the position.

Desired qualifications

• Applicants should possess a basic understanding of key AI concepts (machine learning, neural networks, prompt engineering, human-machine interaction, algorithms, training data, bias etc.) and express willingness to increase their knowledge and technical proficiency through individual studies and relevant coursework
• Fluency in programming and digital tools used in AI or interactive system development (e.g., Python, Max/MSP, Csound, PD, etc) is an advantage
• Applicants should be familiar with user-centred or participatory design methods and have interest in applying them to health, accessibility or well-being contexts
• Applicants should be familiar with ethical, cultural, or societal perspectives on AI and creative technology

Personal qualities and skills

• Structured, systematic and goal oriented
• Good communication and collaboration skills
• Motivation to contribute to a good working environment, both academically and socially
• Academic and personal ability to work independently and to complete the project within the time frame

We offer

• Exciting and developing tasks in a strong and international professional environment
• Open and inclusive working environment with committed colleagues
• Favorable conditions in the State pension fund
• Benefits and advantages
• Norwegian courses up to A2 level

Salary and conditions

In the position of PhD research fellow, code 1017, your gross salary will normally be NOK 550 800,- 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 3 years, but career-enhancing work may be considered added to some of the positions, depending on the needs of the departments. 

For employment as a PhD research fellow, it is a prerequisite that you gain admission to the PhD programme in Humanities and the Arts within three months of your employment contract start date, and that you participate in an organized doctoral programme throughout the period of employment.

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 be in conflict with the criteria in the latter act, will not be able to be employed.

About the application

The application must include information about the applicant's background, language skills and motivation for carrying out the PhD project. The application and project description must be available in English, Norwegian or another Scandinavian language, normally in the same language as planned for the PhD project. 

Applicants are not supposed to send in applications for admission to the PhD-programme at this point.

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: 

• transcripts, diplomas and diploma supplement for bachelor’s and master’s degrees
• CV registered in Jobbnorge.no
• description of the doctoral project to be carried out during the employment period, using the appropriate template for project description (the template is located at the bottom of the page in a separate Word document)
• copy of Master's thesis. If you have recently submitted your Master's thesis, you can attach a draft of the thesis. 
• short cover/motivation letter (400 words/1 page).
• publications and any other work that the applicant wishes to be taken into account should clearly indicate the applicant's contribution.
• names and contact information of three relevant referees (can be provided before an interview)

The project description is a key element in evaluating the applicants. In assessing the research proposal special emphasis will be placed on:

• high scientific potential of the research proposal
• the feasibility of the proposed project within the nominal length of study, which is three years full time, with ½ year set aside for the coursework component 
• the proposal’s relevance to the research topics and objectives of MishMash, and particularly those of WP3

 

If all, or parts, of your education have 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. 

The successful applicant commits to completing a PhD within the period of employment and the available resources. The applicant must therefore demonstrate that they will have access to the necessary equipment and infrastructure to complete the project. PhD research fellows in artistic research at the Faculty of Humanities will receive up to NOK 100,000 in working capital (driftsmidler) to complete the project.

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.

The following applications will not be considered:

• applications that are not sent electronically through the Jobbnorge.no portal by the application deadline 
• applications that have not used the faculty’s template for project description or which lack a project description all together 
• applications who do not document the qualifications from the required qualifications list above

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.

General information

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.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact professor Andreas Bergsland, email andreas.bergsland@ntnu.no . If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR-advisor Martin Jakobsen, email martin.jakobsen@ntnu.no .

Application deadline: 01.04.2026

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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. 

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NTNU - knowledge for a better world

NTNU - knowledge for a better world

The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) creates knowledge for a better world and solutions that can change everyday life.

Department of Music

We conduct research and teach in the disciplines of dance studies, music technology, musicology, and music performance studies. We also carry out extensive artistic development work and activities. The Department of Music is one of six departments in the Faculty of Humanities .

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Deadline

1st April 2026

Employer

NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Municipality

Trondheim

Scope

Fulltime (1 positions) Fulltime (%)

Duration

Fixed Term

Place of service
Edvard Bulls veg 1, 7491 Trondheim

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