About the position
Position as PhD Research Fellow in Identity and Access Management available at Department of Informatics.
The fellowship period is three years.
Depending on the candidate and the teaching needs of the department, the fellowship period can be extended either for compulsory work consisting of e.g., teaching and supervision duties and research assistance up to four years.
Starting date no later than December 31st, 2026.
No one can be appointed for more than one PhD Research Fellowship period at the University of Oslo.
Place of work is Department of Informatics at Blindern, Oslo.
Job description
As digital services permeate nearly every part of daily life, identity and access management are increasingly vital. New approaches such as self-sovereign identities and FIDO2 passkeys present promising possibilities and are being supported by policy and legal initiatives like eIDAS and the EU Digital Identity Wallet. At the same time, these systems may encounter obstacles, including limited user acceptance, privacy concerns, and inherited weaknesses from legacy authentication methods. This research fellowship will investigate contemporary identity and access solutions and develop methods to evaluate their security, usability, and privacy.
The fellowship position is located at the Department of Informatics, and specifically in the Digital Security research group. The Digital Security research group currently has 12 full- and part-time faculty members and several postdoctoral researchers and PhD students. The research group conducts research in various areas of information and cyber security, focusing on fundamental aspects as well as on applications in multi-disciplinary contexts. We work in collaboration with leading national and international research partners from both academia and industry. Current research topics include identity management, cyber threat intelligence, AI applied to cyber security, ethical hacking, and privacy and data protection. For more information about the Digital Security Research Group, see https://www.mn.uio.no/ifi/english/research/groups/sec/
What skills are important in this role?
The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences has a strategic ambition to be among Europe’s leading communities for research, education and innovation. Candidates for these fellowships will be selected in accordance with this, and expected to be in the upper segment of their class with respect to academic credentials.
Required qualifications:
- Master’s degree or equivalent in Informatics or Mathematics
- Foreign completed degree (M.Sc.-level) corresponding to a minimum of four years in the Norwegian educational system
- Fluent oral and written communication skills in English
Candidates without a master’s degree have until August 31, 2026 to complete the final exam.
Desired qualifications:
- Documented previous experience in information/cyber security
- Documented previous experience in identity and access management
- Documented hands-on programming experience
Language requirement:
Grade requirements:
The norm is as follows:
- The average grade point for courses included in the Bachelor’s degree must be C or better in the Norwegian educational system
- The average grade point for courses included in the Master’s degree must be B or better in the Norwegian educational system
- The Master’s thesis must have the grade B or better in the Norwegian educational system
The purpose of the fellowship is research training leading to the successful completion of a PhD degree. For more information see:
http://www.mn.uio.no/english/research/phd/
All candidates and projects will have to undergo a check versus national export, sanctions and security regulations. Candidates may be excluded based on these checks. Primary checkpoints are the Export Control regulation, the Sanctions regulation, and the national security regulation.
What are we looking for in you?
Personal skills:
- Ability to work both independently and as part of a team
- Ability to work precise in a structured manner and swiftly adapts to new tasks
- Good communication and collaboration skills
- Positive attitude and the ability to handle hectic periods
- You are a person who prefers being present at work and actively contributes to the professional and social environment you are a part of
Employment in the position is based on a comprehensive assessment of all qualification requirements applicable to the position, including personal qualifications.
We can offer you
- A pleasant and stimulating work environment
- Good welfare schemes
- Opportunity of up to 1.5 hours a week of exercise during working hours
- A workplace with good development and career opportunities
- Career development programmes
- Membership in the Statens Pensjonskasse, which is one of Norway's best pension schemes with beneficial mortgages and good insurance schemes
- Oslo’s family-friendly surroundings with their rich opportunities for culture and outdoor activities
- Salary in position as PhD Research Fellow, position code 1017 in salary range NOK from 550 800 - 595 000, depending on competence and experience. From the salary, 2 percent is deducted in statutory contributions to the State Pension Fund
We need different perspectives in our work
UiO is an open and internationally oriented comprehensive university that strives to be an inclusive and diverse workplace and academic environment. You can read more about UiO’s work on equality, inclusion, and diversity at uio.no.
We fulfill our mission most effectively when we draw upon our variety of experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives. We are looking for great colleagues, could you be the next one?
We will do our best to accommodate your needs. Relevant adjustments may include modifications to working hours, task adaptations, digital, technical, or physical adjustments, or other practical measures.
If you have an immigrant background, a disability, or CV gaps (Norwegian), we encourage you to indicate this in the job application portal. We always invite at least one qualified candidate from each group for an interview. In this context, disability is defined as an applicant who identifies as having a disability that requires workplace or employment-related accommodations. For more details about the requirements, please refer to the Employer portal (Norwegian).
The selections made in the job application portal are used for anonymized statistics that all state employers include in their annual reports. More information about gender equality initiatives at UiO can be found here.
We hope you will apply for the position with us.
How to apply
The application must include:
- Cover letter - statement of motivation and research interests
- CV (summarizing education, positions and academic work - scientific publications)
- Copies of the original Bachelor and Master’s degree diploma and transcripts of records
- Documentation of English proficiency if applicable
- List of publications and academic work that the applicant wishes to be considered by the evaluation committee
- Names and contact details of 2-3 references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail and telephone number)
Application with attachments must be submitted via our recruitment system Jobbnorge, click "Apply for this job". Foreign applicants should attach an official explanation of their University's grading system.
When applying for the position, we ask you to retrieve your education results from Vitnemålsportalen.no. If your education results are not available through Vitnemålsportalen, we ask you to upload copies of your transcripts or grades. Please note that all documentation must be in English or a Scandinavian language.
General information
The best qualified candidates will invited for interviews.
Applicant lists can be published in accordance with
Norwegian Freedom of Information Act § 25. When you apply for a position with us, your name will appear on the public applicant list. It is possible to request to be excluded from this list. You must justify why you want an exemption from publication and we will then decide whether we can grant your request. If we can't, you will hear from us.
Please refer to Regulations for the Act on universities and colleges chapter 3 (Norwegian), Guidelines concerning appointment to post doctoral and research posts at UiO (Norwegian) and Regulations for the degree of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) at the University of Oslo.
The University of Oslo has a transfer agreement with all employees that is intended to secure the rights to all research results etc.