PhD Position in Human-Robot-Bonding

This vacancy for a PhD-candidate position is part of a larger research program, an EU-funded ‘ERC Advanced Grant’, titled “Understanding Human-Robot Bonding to Optimize Personal Support” [ROBOT-BOND], awarded to prof. dr. Elly A. Konijn (PI) with a total duration of 5 years. See: www.robot-bond.nl

The overarching aim of the ERC-project ROBOT-BOND is to develop and empirically validate a new theory on Human-Robot-Bonding for longer term interactions focusing on various target groups. The different target groups include children, adolescents, students, and adults. Social robots are being developed to assist professionals in areas in healthcare and education, where they face serious shortages in human personnel. Our project focuses specifically on developing scenarios to provide support for those who need a little extra in the social and communicative realm. Establishing some form of a bond between the human user and a robot is seen as essential to effectively use a social robot over longer time. The research team will compare different types of robots in varying contexts, with different tasks and different target groups. Within this research program, we integrate research from the perspectives of Communication Science and Media Psychology, with Developmental and Clinical Psychology, Computer Sciences/AI, Human-Robot-Interaction, and Natural Language Processing in focus groups, experiments, and field studies. The PhD-candidate will closely collaborate with three Postdoctoral researchers, two PhD-candidates and a software/AI engineer, who are currently hired in the same project, among others.

Your duties
Collaborate in an interdisciplinary team (media psychology, developmental, educational, and clinical psychology, computational linguistics, AI) to further develop and empirically validate a theory on affective bonding with social robots through focus groups and in field studies. First studies in each sub-project explore best fitting robot options, communication cues, needs, and goals to be aligned between robots and targeted users. To assess the theoretical constructs in the model, new short-form measurement devices need to be developed and optimized through pre-testing and validation in representative samples. Further testing occurs with various robots differing in appearances and competencies within specific social contexts, related to answer the overarching research question. Together with your supervisors and team members, you will plan and execute your own research project, collaborate in others, carry out your research according to international standards, ethical and open science principles, make your research and experiments publicly available and reproducible, and publish it in leading international journals, conference proceedings, and brief reports accessible to the public at large. The research work of the PhD-candidates should result in a timely completion of a dissertation each. As a PhD-candidate, you will take part in the Graduate School of Social Sciences (GSSS) that offers a wide range of courses for your further academic development (see website, ‘Starting your PhD trajectory’). More detailed information is available upon request.

PhD-candidate(4 yr full-time: 1 fte) will have a specific focus on primary education with a robot as tutor for a specific topic to be decided (e.g., arithmetic, second language learning) in field studies. This includes close collaboration with primary schools on location.

A challenging position in a socially involved and highly interdisciplinary organization allowing for a solid academic development. The salary will be in accordance with university regulations for academic personnel and amounts from € 2,901 per month (during the first year) and increases to € 3,707 gross per month during the final year, based on a full-time employment. The job profile is based on the university job ranking system and is vacant for 1 FTE, while 0.8 FTE is negotiable.

The appointment will initially be for 1 year (standard). After a satisfactory evaluation of the initial appointment, based on a portfolio including academic products as defined by the GSSS, the PhD-contract will be extended for a total duration of 4 years full-time (or 5 years based on a 0.8 fte contract or any variation thereof). Additionally, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam offers excellent fringe benefits and various schemes and regulations to promote a good work/life balance, such as: 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus; contribution to commuting expenses; optional model for designing a personalized benefits package; a wide range of sports facilities which staff may use at a modest charge.

About the project, department, institute

Social robots are developed to take part in our lives in the near future but little is known about how robots can talk to us to create a social-affective bond. This EU-granted project “Understanding Human-Robot Bonding to Optimize Personal Support” [ROBOT-BOND] is looking for an ambitious and highly-motivated PhD-student to work in a multidisciplinary team. We purchased a large number of different social robots (e.g., NAO, QTrobot, Navel, Furhat, Misty, Buddy, Ari) who will be equipped with communication modules to assist human users in specific social contexts to examine how to optimize support. Through establishing social-affective bonds and shared experiences, robots can be enabled to communicate more efficiently and vice versa. The current program examines how, when, why and for whom affective bonding might occur through robot communication in various social contexts in healthcare and education, specifically targeting primary education, special needs education, disabled young adults, adolescents with mood issues, and university students. We closely collaborate with specialized institutions (e.g., GGZinGeest/Arkin, Philadelphia, SBO de Brigantijn, primary schools). In this project, the PhD-candidate collaborates with three postdoctoral researchers, two PhD-candidates, an AI/software engineer, the supervisory team and related researchers within and outside the department.

The research is embedded in the Media Psychology Program at the department of Communication Science. Main supervisor is Prof. dr. Elly A. Konijn (https://research.vu.nl/en/persons/elly-konijn) and co-supervisors are appointed based on relevant expertise per project. You will be part of a substantial group of pioneering international researchers working on social robots for social communication. The project started in January 2025 and runs until 2030. See the project’s website at: www.robot-bond.nl.

School of Social Sciences
At the School of Social Sciences we examine the major social issues facing us today from a variety of critical perspectives. We combine sociology, anthropology, political science, communication science, administration and organisation. Because there aren’t any ready-made solutions to the complex social issues of today. They demand a multidisciplinary approach. Working together with others helps you expand your mind, come to new ways of understanding and devise creative solutions.

Are you interested in joining Social Sciences? That means working with a team of colleagues from different disciplines in an inspiring work and study climate. Enjoy working in a professional organisation with an informal atmosphere, where we give you space for personal development. SSC employs over 350 staff members and enrols around 3,000 students.

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam stands for values-driven education and research. We are open-minded experts with the ability to think freely - a broader mind. Maintaining an entrepreneurial perspective and concentrating on diversity, significance and humanity, we work on sustainable solutions with social impact. By joining forces, across the boundaries of disciplines, we work towards a better world for people and planet. Together we create a safe and respectful working and study climate, and an inspiring environment for education and research. Learn more about our codes of conduct

We are located on one physical campus, in the heart of Amsterdam's Zuidas business district, with excellent location and accessibility. Over 6,150 staff work at the VU and over 31,000 students attend academic education.

Diversity
Diversity is the driving force of VU Amsterdam. VU wants to be accessible and receptive to diversity in disciplines, cultures, ideas, nationalities, beliefs, preferences and worldviews. We believe that trust, respect, interest and differences lead to new insights and innovation, to sharpness and clarity, to excellence and a broader understanding.

We stand for an inclusive community and believe that diversity and internationalisation contribute to the quality of education, research and our services.

Therefore, we are always searching for people whose backgrounds and experience contribute to the diversity of the VU community.