Doctoral Researcher, Multimodal Analysis of Emotion and Attention in Programming Education University of Jyväskylä in Finland

The University of Jyväskylä is recruiting a Doctoral Researcher in Computational Human Sciences for a fixed-term period from 2 November 2026 (or later by agreement) until 31 August 2030. This position is part of the project Towards Responsible AI for Education: How to Address the Emotional Needs of Novice IT Students, which studies how university students learn to program while collaborating in AI-mediated environments.

The selected doctoral researcher will lead the project’s multimodal affect and attention strand. The role is centered on the measurement side of the research: designing and running multimodal data collection, building a reproducible analysis pipeline, and analysing how affective features and visual attention unfold across phases of interaction. The work will be carried out in close collaboration with the project researchers and international partners.

This opportunity is especially relevant for candidates interested in programming education, human-AI interaction, CSCL, emotion measurement, eye-tracking, physiological signal analysis, facial expression analysis, and computational methods in education and psychology. The post is ideal for a student with strong quantitative training and practical experience with Python and/or R.

Eligibility requirements include a Master’s degree or equivalent in education, psychology, computer science, cognitive science, educational technology, biomedical engineering, or a closely related field, together with a clear quantitative orientation. Strong English skills are required. Desirable experience includes iMotions, eye-tracking, facial expression analysis, physiological signal analysis, log data analysis, agentic coding, operationalizing emotion across components, laboratory studies with human participants, and familiarity with control-value theory, appraisal theories of emotion, or trust-in-automation literature. Finnish language skills may be useful but are not mandatory. The candidate must have, or be about to obtain, permission for post-graduate studies at the University of Jyväskylä and must later apply separately for doctoral study rights through the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.

The position offers a salary of approximately 2500 €/month gross at the starting level under the Finnish University Salary System, with a holiday bonus and salary progression as thesis work advances. The University also highlights strong working conditions, international research collaboration, support for relocation from abroad, and a vibrant campus environment in Jyväskylä, Finland.

Application deadline: 22 September 2026. Applicants should submit a CV, a short motivation/cover letter (maximum two pages), and the highest degree certificate in PDF format through the recruitment system.