PhD position “Prospective Audience Analysis” (f/m/d)

The RHET AI Center is one of four newly established centers for science communication research funded by the Volkswagen Foundation in the program “Science Communication squared”. The goal of the center is to investigate how an informed social debate about artificial intelligence (AI) can succeed. At the RHET AI Center in Tübingen, the Seminar for Rhetorics cooperates with the Institute of Media Science, the Department of Science Communication of KIT, AI researchers from the Cluster of Excellence Machine Learning and Cyber Valley, Europe’s largest AI research consortium, and the practice partner Wissenschaft im Dialog, Berlin. Information about Tübingen as a location for excellent research can be found in the university’s annual report.

The advertised positions are part of the “Event Unit” at the RHET AI Center, which is led by Prof. Dr. Olaf Kramer (Seminar for General Rhetoric) and Patrick Klügel (Cyber Valley). The unit aims to initiate regional dialogues on AI through innovative formats of science communication. Establishment, evaluation as well as the target groups of these formats are the focus of the accompanying research. Of importance is the exchange with the other units of the center, especially with the “Discourse and Narrative Unit” researching regional discourse as well as the “Communicative Competence Unit” which conducts research on evaluations, too. As part of the RHET AI Center, the “Event Unit” also is dedicated to a transparent communication of its events and research results.

Responsibilities:

• Designing and conducting evaluations or target group surveys as part of the regional science communication activities at the RHET AI Center
• Writing a dissertation in the area of analyzing and addressing target groups
• Networking and presenting findings within the Unit and the RHET AI Center as well as in science and science communication communities

Requirements:

• Above average graduate degree (M.A. or equivalent) in rhetoric, science communication research, empirical education research, linguistics, psychology, or related disciplines
• Desirable: knowledge of statistical software for evaluation analysis (e.g., SPSS)
• Strong interest in the topics of science communication, impact measurement, and artificial intelligence
• Willingness to participate in the advanced training program on science communication at the RHET AI Center
• High level of initiative and ability to work in a team
• Very good knowledge of German and English
• The place of work is Tübingen

The University of Tübingen is an equal-opportunity employer. We prioritize diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for everyone. We seek to increase diversity and the number of women in areas where they are under-represented and therefore explicitly encourage women to apply. People living with disabilities will be given preferential consideration in case of equal qualification. The employment will be carried out by the central administration of the University of Tübingen.

Further information about the RHET AI Center can be found here. If you have any questions regarding the job profile and research tasks, please contact Prof. Dr. Olaf Kramer (olaf.kramer@uni-tuebingen.de) and Patrick Klügel (patrick.kluegel@cyber-valley.de). Please send your electronic application with the usual documents in German or English in a PDF file under the keyword “Audience Analysis” by November 1, 2021 (date of receipt) to Dr. Markus Gottschling (markus.gottschling@uni-tuebingen.de).