PhD in Futureproofing Employee Careers in the Age of Generative AI
Explore how generative AI reshapes employee careers and organisational support through a four-year doctoral scholarship in Norway.
Best for:Best for social science researchers with a strong interest in organisational behaviour, human resource management, or AI’s impact on careers, who possess quantitative or mixed-methods skills and a passion for translating research into actionable organisational insights.
Overview
This doctoral scholarship at BI Norwegian Business School focuses on understanding how employees perceive generative AI as an opportunity or threat to their careers, and how organisational support influences career adaptability and resilience. The project examines the role of supervisory support, skill development, job satisfaction, and internal mobility in shaping sustainable career trajectories during AI-driven workplace transformations. The successful candidate will contribute to both academic research and practical guidance for organisations navigating AI adoption. The position is part of the MSCA Doctoral Network EMANAIRE, offering interdisciplinary collaboration, training, and mobility opportunities across Europe.
What you'll do
- Investigate how employees evaluate generative AI as a career opportunity or threat, linking these perceptions to adaptability, skill use, job satisfaction, and engagement.
- Analyse how supervisory and organisational support structures influence risk and resilience during AI-driven workplace changes.
- Identify conditions under which employees retain agency over their careers amidst AI-driven shifts in work content.
- Develop practical guidance for organisations on supporting employees and communicating effectively during AI transitions.
- Collaborate with supervisors to refine research questions, design methodologies, and prepare ethics, data management, and open-science materials.
- Complete a doctoral thesis and related research outputs under the host doctoral programme and EMANAIRE framework.
- Participate in local and network-wide training, cohort activities, research seminars, and practitioner engagement.
- Undertake a six-month intersectoral secondment and an academic mobility visit as part of the EMANAIRE programme.
- Contribute to research integrity, equality, responsible AI, open science, and FAIR data practices.
Requirements
Degree required: Master of Science degree with thesis work, a research master’s/M.Phil. degree, or a comparable degree relevant to Communication, Media Studies, Human-Computer Interaction, Information Systems, Sociology, Psychology, Management, Organisational Behaviour, Human Resource Management, Law and Technology, Science and Technology Studies, Political Science, or related social science and interdisciplinary fields. An MBA degree does not meet the requirements.
Degree offered: PhD
Language: English; IELTS 6.5 or TOEFL 90 (or equivalent) unless a waiver is granted.
Instruction: English
- Strong quantitative or mixed-methods research skills, including experience with surveys, multivariate analysis, or person-centred approaches.
- Ability to translate employee-level evidence into organisation-level insights and practical guidance.
- Proficient academic writing skills with a demonstrated ability to publish in international peer-reviewed journals.
- Experience with data visualisation or longitudinal organisational research.
- Familiarity with research ethics, data management, and open-science practices.
- Applicant must not hold a doctoral degree (MSCA eligibility rule).
- Must not have resided or worked in Norway for more than 12 months in the 36 months prior to the start date (MSCA mobility rule).
- Must meet the conditions for timely enrolment in the doctoral programme at BI Norwegian Business School.
- Must have completed or be completing a qualifying master’s degree by the start date with a grade point average of B or higher.
- Applicant must be eligible for MSCA funding if selected.
Funding & terms
How to apply
Deadline: unknown (open until filled) · open until filled
Applicants must submit their application electronically through BI Norwegian Business School’s application system. Required documents include a master’s degree certificate with transcripts, a bachelor’s degree certificate with transcripts, a Diploma Supplement, a 2,000-word project proposal, CV, two letters of recommendation, certificates of doctoral-level courses (if applicable), a list of publications, and a signed verification document. English proficiency documentation (TOEFL/IELTS) is required unless a waiver is granted. All documents must be uploaded in the electronic system; no exceptions will be made for documents submitted after the deadline.
- Certificate of a Master degree (MSc, MA, or equivalent) including transcripts of grades
- Certificate of a bachelor's degree or equivalent including transcripts of grades
- Diploma Supplement or comparable document explaining study and grading systems
- Other relevant certificates and transcripts
- 2,000-word original project proposal
- Curriculum vitae
- At least two letters of recommendation
- Certificates from previously completed doctoral-level courses (if applicable)
- Complete list of publications and other documented relevant activities
- Signed verification document
Contact
BI Norwegian Business School PhD Administration· PhD Admissions Contact
https://www.bi.no/en/programmes-and-individual-courses/phd/communication/
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