Fully Funded PhD Positions in Natural Language Processing, AI, and LLM Security at Aalborg University Copenhagen Aalborg University in Denmark

Aalborg University’s Department of Computer Science, Technical Faculty of IT and Design, invites applications for four fully funded PhD positions in Natural Language Processing (NLP), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Large Language Model (LLM) Security. These positions are based at the Copenhagen campus, located in Sydhavnen, and are part of the rapidly expanding NLP research group led by Professor Johannes Bjerva.

The research group is internationally recognized for its work in multilingual NLP, LLM security, linguistically informed approaches to NLP, factuality in LLMs, and socially sustainable AI. The group is supported by major national and international grants, including the DFF: Sapere Aude project (“Building TRUST in Text: Linguistically Motivated Language Model Detection”) and the NNF: Ascending Data Science Investigator project (“LM2-SEC: Linguistically Motivated Language Model Security”).

PhD students will join a collaborative and ambitious research community, with access to state-of-the-art computational resources and opportunities for international research stays. The group is expanding in 2026, with four new postdocs expected to work closely with incoming PhD students. Research topics include security, safety, and privacy in NLP and AI, with a particular focus on LLMs and LLM-based systems. Possible directions include detection and mitigation of backdoors, data poisoning, adversarial inputs, detection of compromised LLM-generated text, linguistically motivated methods for analyzing and securing LLM behavior, vulnerabilities in low-resource language settings, and formal semantic or symbolic methods for monitoring and improving LLM robustness.

The department is highly regarded for its research, education, and collaboration, and offers a supportive, inclusive, and diverse environment. The Section for Copenhagen is growing rapidly, fostering a positive atmosphere with regular seminars, social events, and cross-group activities. The NLP group collaborates broadly across Europe and globally, and is committed to psychological safety and inclusive research practices.

Applicants must hold a relevant MSc degree (e.g., Computer Science, Software Engineering, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Computational Linguistics, or related fields), possess strong skills in machine learning and deep learning, have experience with modern NLP methods including transformer models, and demonstrate excellent English communication skills. Preference is given to candidates with prior experience in NLP, LLM architectures, security, privacy, safety, or robustness. Enrollment as a PhD student at the Technical Doctoral School of IT and Design is required, with regular progress assessments according to Danish regulations.

Funding is fully provided for three years, including salary and employment terms in accordance with Danish academic staff agreements. The application deadline is August 31, 2026. Applications must be submitted via Aalborg University’s recruitment system and include an application letter, CV, diplomas, project description, and other relevant documents. The university values diversity and encourages all qualified candidates to apply.

For further information, contact Professor Johannes Bjerva at [email protected]. More details and the application portal are available at Aalborg University PhD Vacancies and Department of Computer Science.