Host institution: University of Stavanger (UiS) 🇳🇴
Supervisors: Prof. Helle Sjøvaag (UiS) and Prof. Reza Tadayoni (AAU)
Academic secondment: Aalborg University (AAU) 🇩🇰
Industrial secondment: Altibox 🇳🇴
PhD duration: 3 years
This PhD project is titled: Digital infrastructures in the public interest and is part of WP5 Digital infrastructures.
In today’s media ecosystem, technical infrastructure is no longer an invisible conveyer of information, but an enabler of communication. The health of the media sphere is determined by the stability and vulnerability, as well as the ownership and independence of digital infrastructures. The shift to Internet-based content distribution also implies that media companies, to a very large extent, have become critically dependent on external, foreign, technology providers for content production and distribution, and organisational management, raising cyber-security challenges.
The position calls for projects that examine the role and potential of telecoms to ensure universal communication infrastructure services, amidst geo-political tensions and ownership concentration in sectors including submarine cables, satellite-based Internet services, CDN market and data centres.
The position calls for projects that examine the robustness of media delivery infrastructure and the transformational role of telecommunication actors in providing public interest content. Areas of research for the PhD project include, but are not limited to:
- The role of national telecoms in the communication infrastructure
- Displacement of telecoms in the internet industries
- Business models for telecom in the internet ecosystem
- Telecom in the broadband, CDN, cable, peering, and data centre industries
- The role of telecom in media distribution
- The political economy of Tier 1 internet provision
- Regulation of the telecom sector.
Methodologies could include qualitative and quantitative methods, mixed approaches as well as computational methods.
Tasks foreseen include research and dissemination activities. The candidate will be associated with the Digital Society Research Group, and will be enrolled in the University of Stavanger’s PhD-programme in Social Science, pending approval of the PhD proposal. The candidate is expected to carry out an extended secondment with Altibox, the largest fibre-based telecommunication company in Norway, based in Stavanger.
The successful candidate will conduct a project under the supervision of Helle Sjøvaag, Professor at the University of Stavanger, and Reza Tadayoni, Associate Professor at Aalborg University.
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. RePIM brings together leading European universities, industry partners, and 12 Doctoral Candidates in an interdisciplinary, cross-sectoral training and research programme. 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.3. Profile
MSCA eligibility requirements
- 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: Norway) for more than 12 months within the 36 months immediately preceding their recruitment date. Candidates must be willing to move to Norway for the duration of the PhD research.
Project-specific profile requirements
- Eligible candidates should have a background in the social sciences, with a full Master’s degree corresponding to the European 3+2 (Bachelor + Master, 120 ECTS) or an equivalent qualification in media and communication sciences, political science, sociology, law, or business and administration studies.
- The candidate needs a B (or equivalent) qualification in their Master’s degree to be eligible for enrolment in the PhD programme in social sciences at the University of Stavanger.Â
- A background in the telecom industries is an advantage, as is a background or BA in engineering.Â
- The candidate should be proficient in qualitative and quantitative methods such as research interviews, fieldwork, ethnographic studies, document analysis, content analysis, and computational methods.Â
- Candidates should be proficient in English.
Requirements for competence in English
A good proficiency in English is required for anyone attending the PhD program. International applicants must document this with a valid test certificate from one of the following tests:
- TOEFL – Test of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based Test (IBT). Minimum result: 90
- IELTS – International English Language Testing Service. Minimum result: 6.5
- Certificate in Advanced English (CAE) or Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE) from the University of Cambridge
- PTE Academic – Pearson Test of English Academic. Minimum result: 62
The following applicants are exempt from the above requirements:
- Applicants with one year of completed university studies in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, United Kingdom, USA
- Applicants with a completed master’s degrees taught in English in a EU/EEA country
- Applicants who are exempt based on HK-dir’s GSU list.