PI - 4-Year Predoctoral Research Position in the «DEUSTEK6» Research Group at the University of Deusto

Call for applications for a 4-year PhD position in the DEUSTEK6 research group at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Deusto.

The purpose of this position is to undertake a PhD within the framework of the project "Reciprocal Learning and Collective Intelligence through Human-AI Collaboration for Pro-Environmental Change (RECLAIM)"(administrative reference PID2025-175861OB-I00), funded under the 2025 Knowledge Generation Projects Call - Proyectos de Generación 2025 de Conocimiento».

The successful candidate will join the "DEUSTEK6- Humanized Computing for Smart Sustainable and Healthier Communities and Environments" research team at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Deusto and will pursue their doctoral studies in the PhD Programme in Engineering for Information Society and Sustainable Development.

RECLAIM (Reciprocal Learning and Collective Intelligence through Human-AI Collaboration for Pro-Environmental Change) (administrative reference PID2025-175861OB-I00) positions citizens and local communities as co-regulators - not merely data providers - of the AI services mediating urban environmental governance (air quality and noise). The project designs a Human-AI Collaboration Framework (HAICF) and Reciprocal Learning Agents (RLAs) with negotiable, explainable and contestable levels of autonomy, deployed in Hybrid Intelligence Scenarios (a university campus and a neighbourhood/school) through Extreme Citizen Science (ECS). The associated PhD thesis focuses on the design, implementation and longitudinal evaluation of these RLAs and the HAICF, following a Design Science Research methodology, to determine how negotiable autonomy and explainability affect trust calibration, perceived agency and sustained pro-environmental behaviour change, yielding design principles transferable to other smart and participatory-governance environments.

• Development of a PhD dissertation in artificial intelligence, focusing on human-AI collaboration and its application to environmental challenges.
• Design and implementation of intelligent agents with different levels of autonomy, explainability and human oversight.
• Development of software prototypes and components, together with the analysis of data obtained from sensors, platforms and user studies.
• On-premises deployment of intelligent agents by adapting open-source large language models, while ensuring the energy-efficient use of computational resources.
• Participation in real-world pilots conducted on university campuses, in neighbourhoods or in educational centres, using mixed research methods combining quantitative and qualitative approaches.
• Publication of scientific results and contribution to the research and knowledge-transfer activities of the RECLAIM project.

The job offer available in Spanish | Oferta disponible en español

Position Description

Project

Funding institution

Spanish State Research Agency a the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities

Contract duration and remuneration

• The contract will have a maximum duration of 4 years.
• Salary: €25,456.10 gross per year.

If the PhD degree is obtained before the end of the four-year period, a Postdoctoral Orientation Period (POP) of a maximum duration of 12 months will be funded, aimed at further professional development and specialisation.

Additional funding

In addition, the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities provides additional funding of €7,000 to cover expenses related to research stays at R&D centres and enrolment fees for doctoral studies.

Expected starting date

The start date will be subject to the final resolution of the 2025 Call for "Knowledge Generation Projects" «Proyectos de Generación de Conocimiento» and is expected to take place between November and December 2026.

The candidate is expected to join the University of Deusto within a maximum period of nine months from the first day of the month following the publication of the final grant award resolution.

REQUIREMENTS for PhD position

Application requirements

1. Meet the requirements established in Article 12 of the call for "Knowledge Generation Projects 2025". Specifically, Article 12.2 specifies the evaluation criteria and their corresponding scores (see pages 27 and 28).
2. Be enrolled in, or have been admitted during Phase 2, to a PhD programme at the University of Deusto for the academic year 2026/2027.