[Commlist] Junior Researcher (doctoral student) for a fully paid position

For details, please see the job announcement.
https://lut.rekrytointi.com/paikat/index.php?jid=938&o=A_RJ

Junior researcher (doctoral student) in global communication sciences

The LUT School of Engineering Sciences, the  academic discipline of 
global communication sciences, is looking for a junior researcher 
(doctoral student) in global communication sciences to strengthen its 
global communications, soft power and strategic narratives area. 
Specifically, we are looking for a curious mind who is aiming for an 
academic career and is passionate about constant learning and making the 
world a better place to live in through science.

LUT University will launch degree programmes in social sciences and 
communication sciences in autumn 2023. The university’s research in 
social sciences and communication sciences will also be further 
strengthened. With a significant public donation, LUT University is 
building a school of social sciences of a thousand students and a 
hundred researchers by the 2030s. Thus, you can contribute by joining in 
to create a new faculty. LUT’s research in social sciences and 
communication sciences is based on understanding society and human 
activities in relation to global sustainability problems. We believe 
that, by engaging people and communities more strongly at the very start 
of problem-solving, we will bring about changes more quickly.

What we expect

    You must have a master’s degree (M.Sc. or equivalent) in a relevant 
field (preferably communication studies, media and communications 
studies, news media and journalism studies or communications and AI). 
Alternatively, you may hold a degree in another social science field, 
such as sociology, political science, social psychology or international 
relations and want to use that knowledge to contribute to communication 
sciences, particularly to soft power, disinformation and strategic 
narratives research. You might also hold two degrees, with the other one 
in computer or data science, and be interested in applying that to the 
field of communication sciences.
    You must have the ability and motivation to complete doctoral 
studies within their expected duration (i.e. four years).
    You must be fluent in English (both written and spoken). Knowledge 
of other languages is seen as a plus.
    You want to write an article-based doctoral thesis (in English) and 
publish in international top-tier academic journals in the field of 
media and communication studies (such as Communication Theory; Journal 
of Communication; Media, Culture & Society; New Media & Society; 
International Journal of Cultural Studies; International Journal of 
Press/Politics; Political Communication; Big Data & Society).
    Knowledge of research ethics is a must, as are good computer 
skills. Practical knowledge of using social media and of designing 
webpages for a project is a merit.

A global perspective is seen as a strong merit, and applicants with 
international academic experience are especially encouraged to apply. 
The ideal candidate has excellent knowledge on scientific writing, 
research methods and strong research ethics. Previous scientific 
publications in the field are a strong plus.

The ideal candidate for the position

LUT Communication Sciences takes a global, interdisciplinary social 
science approach to the study of communication and media; therefore, we 
are looking for a candidate with an interest in global communication 
approaches to soft power, strategic narratives, propaganda and AI, 
democracy, news industry, technological platforms and social media. The 
research interests of the ideal candidate for the position would focus 
on topics related to global communications, and the candidate would be 
interested in writing a dissertation on any of the following areas of 
research or on their creative combination/s:

    Global communications and new forms of influence, power and soft power
    Ideology and propaganda; ideology and soft power; strategic 
narratives; disinformation and propaganda
    AI, news, democracy, disinformation and propaganda
    AI, news and strategic narratives; AI, soft power and media
    News, disinformation and democracy; democracy and soft power
    Foucault; production of ‘truth’ and governmentality; CMS
    Global communications, media and green transition; soft power and 
green transition; strategic narratives and green transition
    Global communications, soft power and strategic narratives around 
clean air, clean water and clean energy
    Crisis management and communications; crisis, sustainable HR & 
innovation; crisis, social innovations and cross-sectoral partnerships
    Global communications, media industry, geopolitics and soft power: 
soft power and Asia, particularly soft power and South Korea

Job description

    Completion of the article-based doctoral degree within four years
    Active member of a research group
    Participation in research projects (various tasks)
    Teaching and assisting in teaching
    Assisting in project/research group administration and media 
presence (e.g., project’s webpages)

What we offer

    An opportunity to launch a successful academic career and become an 
expert in the field of the dissertation
    A four-year (1+3 years) contract for completing the doctoral degree
        An employment contract can be concluded only if the candidate 
obtains the right to pursue postgraduate studies at LUT University
        The contract will initially be made for one year and can be 
extended by three years provided that the studies and research have 
progressed successfully
    Encouraging and supportive supervision by and research 
collaboration with the professor and research network

The job is based in Lappeenranta, Finland, but part of the work can be 
conducted remotely. The position starts with a six-month trial period, 
as is typical in the Finnish system. The employment start date is 
negoatiable.

The salary is based on the current collective agreement for Finnish 
universities. The typical starting gross salary for a junior researcher 
is approximately 30 800 euros a year. In addition to a competitive 
salary, the wide range of benefits that come with this job include a 
holiday bonus, a generous holiday entitlement, research incentive scheme 
with personal rewards for high-quality publications, flexible working 
hours, occupational health care, a collegial faculty environment and 
continued commitment for your support, learning, training and development.

How to apply

The deadline for application is Sunday 17 September 2023 at midnight, 
Finnish local time (UTC +3h).

Please submit your application by filling out the online form and 
attaching the following:

    A cover letter (max 2 pages)
    Your curriculum vitae (max 3 pages)
    A research statement describing dissertation project, work in 
progress, plans for publication and academic goals (max 4 pages)
    A copy of your degree certificate; if the original documents are 
not in English, Finnish or Swedish, each document must be accompanied by 
an official certified translation into English or Finnish
    A tentative dissertation research plan (5–8 pages) related to one 
of the research areas above or their combination. The plan should be 
organised as follows:
        Introduction: background for research, research gap, research 
objectives and rationale and research questions/hypotheses
        Theory/literature review: the main theoretical concepts and 
theoretical framework for your dissertation or relevant literature 
streams related to your topic
        Methodology: unless a theoretical study, data collection and 
data analysis methods to explore and investigate the topic and their 
justification and limitations, along with consideration of research ethics
        Results and contributions: relevance, novelty and contributions 
to theory development and a detailed publication plan
    If you have prior publications, please include them; they are not 
obligatory but are a strong merit. In addition, teaching qualification 
certificate/s or a teaching portfolio (max 10 pages) can be included, 
but those are not required attachments.

The possible start date of the work must be mentioned in the 
application. Please submit all the application materials in English. 
Please also note that using conversational AI-systems in writing the 
application, or any part of it, is forbidden and will result in 
rejection of the application.

More information

For further information, please contact Professor of communication 
sciences Hannele Seeck, (hannele.seeck /at/ lut.fi), +358 46 851 0784 
(available by phone after 15 August 2023).

Read more about: LUT as an employer and LUT Doctoral School (Social 
sciences)


LUT University | Clean energy, water and air are life-giving resources 
for which we at LUT University seek new solutions with our expertise in 
technology, business and social sciences. We help society and businesses 
in their sustainable renewal. Our international community consists of 
nearly 8,000 members. Our campuses are in Lappeenranta and Lahti, 
Finland. We’re one of the best universities in the world for climate 
action. lut.fi/en


Technical support for using the recruitment system: (recruitment /at/ lut.fi).
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