项目介绍

2026年10月3日

项目介绍

(ref. BAP-2026-602) Last modified: 28/09/26

The PhD position will be embedded in the Media Culture & Policy Lab of the Department of Communication Science, Faculty of Social Sciences. The Lab studies the interplay between media, technology and society, with particular attention to areas including digital youth culture, digital and media literacy, online risks and opportunities, digital resilience, diversity and vulnerability. The Lab works with both quantitative and qualitative research methods and collaborates closely with international research networks and societal partners.

Unit website

Project

We are looking for a motivated PhD researcher with a strong interest in the digital lives of children and young people and in issues related to digital safety.

An important starting point for the PhD project may be provided by data from EU Kids Online. The new EU Kids Online report published in 2026 is based on survey data from approximately 30,000 children and young people in 19 European countries and provides an exceptionally rich basis for further in-depth and comparative research.

Within this broad domain, there is scope to further develop the precise PhD topic together with the supervisor. We are particularly interested in the use of generative AI by children and young people: not only in educational contexts, for example for learning, writing, information seeking and problem-solving, but also in everyday life, where AI systems are increasingly used as personal conversational partners, advisers or sources of support. This raises questions concerning, among other things, autonomy, critical thinking, dependency, privacy, misleading or harmful advice, and the boundaries between technological support and human guidance.

Potential research themes include:

children, young people and generative AI, both in educational contexts and in everyday life; digital skills, AI literacy and critical engagement with digital technologies; online risks and opportunities, digital safety and well-being; social and digital inequalities; specific groups of children and young people and different forms of vulnerability; the role of parents, schools and other actors in supporting safe, critical and competent digital media use.

Methodologically, we explicitly envisage scope for a research design that combines large-scale quantitative analyses with in-depth qualitative research. In addition to survey and longitudinal analyses, the PhD project may, for example, make use of ethnographic methods, digital ethnography, observations, interviews, diary studies or other digital methods to gain insight into how young people actually integrate AI and other digital technologies into their everyday practices and how risks and opportunities emerge in concrete contexts of use.

Other research questions that clearly relate to children, young people and digital safety can also be discussed. A strong interest in this research domain is essential.

Profile

As a PhD researcher, you will develop, in consultation with the supervisor, your own research project leading to a PhD in Communication Science. You will be part of the research team of the Media Culture & Policy Lab and will actively participate in the Lab’s scientific activities.

Your responsibilities will include developing research questions and a theoretical framework, analysing existing and potentially newly collected data, publishing research findings in international peer-reviewed journals, and presenting results at national and international academic conferences.

Working with EU Kids Online data is envisaged as an appropriate starting point. From there, the PhD project may be further developed through original quantitative and/or qualitative data collection, including ethnographic research and digital methods. We particularly encourage research designs that connect large-scale patterns with an in-depth understanding of young people’s concrete digital practices and experiences.

We are looking for a candidate who:

holds a Master’s degree in Communication Science; has a clear and demonstrable interest in research on children, young people and digital safety, and particularly in current developments related to digital media and artificial intelligence; can demonstrate excellent academic results; has a strong foundation in statistics and quantitative research methods and achieved good results in methodological and statistical coursework; is interested in working with large-scale survey data and cross-national comparative research, including EU Kids Online data; is interested in combining quantitative analyses with qualitative, ethnographic and/or digital research methods; is willing to further develop their methodological expertise in line with the research questions; is able to critically engage with scientific literature, formulate theoretically grounded research questions, and gradually develop an independent research profile; is able to work accurately and independently, while also enjoying being part of a research team and international collaborative networks; has good academic writing and communication skills in English; has an excellent command of Dutch (native-speaker level/C2), as the research will initially be situated in Flanders and the candidate will also be expected to contribute actively to the multimethod research seminar, which is taught in Dutch.

Experience with statistical software and with the analysis of survey or longitudinal data is an important asset. Experience with qualitative, ethnographic or digital research methods is highly welcome. What matters most is a substantive interest in the digital lives of children and young people and a willingness to further develop both substantive and methodological expertise in this research domain. We provide ample opportunities for this through courses, summer schools and other forms of advanced training.

Offer

We offer the opportunity to pursue a PhD within an internationally oriented research group with extensive experience in research on children, young people, digital media and digital literacy. The candidate will gain access to relevant international research networks and data sources and will receive intensive supervision in the development of the PhD project, scientific publications and an international academic profile.

Interested? For more information please contact Prof. dr. Leen d’Haenens, mail: leen.dhaenens@kuleuven.be or Prof. dr. Stef Aupers, mail: stef.aupers@kuleuven.be. You can apply for this job no later than October 12, 2026 via the online application tool

KU Leuven strives for an inclusive, respectful and socially safe environment. We embrace diversity among individuals and groups as an asset. Open dialogue and differences in perspective are essential for an ambitious research and educational environment. In our commitment to equal opportunity, we recognize the consequences of historical inequalities. We do not accept any form of discrimination based on, but not limited to, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, age, ethnic or national background, skin colour, religious and philosophical diversity, neurodivergence, employment disability, health, or socioeconomic status. For questions about accessibility or support offered, we are happy to assist you at this email address.

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av_timer Appointment percentage: Full-time

location_city Location: Leuven

timer Apply until: 12/10/2026 23:59 CET

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