Villum Investigator grant

PhD position at Aarhus University in Coding Agents for Data Visualization and Analytics, hosted in the Department of Computer Science and supervised by Professor Niklas Elmqvist. The project sits at the intersection of computer science, data visualization, human-computer interaction, human-AI collaboration, and mobile/ubiquitous computing.

The research explores how AI-powered coding agents can generate, modify, and execute code to support visual data analysis beyond the desktop. The goal is to make visualization and analytics accessible on phones, tablets, wearable displays, and other situated or field-based settings, including the clinic, classroom, and other real-world environments. Possible directions include natural language and multimodal interfaces for visualization authoring, adaptive visualization for constrained devices, iterative human-AI collaboration, transparency and user agency in AI-mediated analytics, and immersive/extended reality platforms.

The position is available from November 2026 or later. The project uses participatory methods and combines system prototyping with qualitative studies and empirical evaluation. It is funded by Villum Investigator grant support through the Center for Anytime Anywhere Analytics (CA3) by Villum Fonden.

Eligibility highlights: applicants must hold a Master's degree in Computer Science, Human-Computer Interaction, or a related field, and should have a strong interest in human-centered AI, visualization, or code generation. Preferred experience includes visualization research, LLM-based code generation, mobile/ubiquitous computing, publications in HCI or visualization venues, and web/mobile development skills.

Application deadline: 1 August 2026 at 23:59 CEST. Applicants should prepare the required attachments, including a project description of 1/2 to 4 pages, and apply via the Aarhus University PhD application portal. In the application system, choose the August 2026 Call, select the Computer Science programme, and choose the study option Ph.D. Position in Coding Agents for Data Visualization & Analytics (PPCADV).