PhD position in Relational Learning in AI-rich Business Education

The Department of Management, Society and Communication invites applications for a PhD position in Relational Learning in AI-rich Business Education at the Department of Management, Society and Communication (MSC). The expected start date is 1 February 2027.

MSC carries out multidisciplinary research on the relationship between business and society. Its faculty explore the conditions and practices of responsible management, organisation and governance in a globalising world, sharing a particular concern with culture, communication and context as lenses to understand the interaction and interdependencies of business and society. MSC’s contribution to the study of responsible business and governance is organised around various research environments.

Further information is available here: https://www.cbs.dk/research/department-management-society-and-communication.

Generative AI is often framed as a tool for individualisation: it responds to a single student, on demand, outside the classroom, and outside the presence of others. Yet management education has long depended on relational learning. Students learn by interacting with each other and with faculty through dialogue, disagreement, and co-construction of meaning — a process central to developing reflexivity, judgement, and the ability to collaborate.

This PhD explores a concern raised directly by this tension: that AI's individualising tendency may quietly erode the relational fabric of learning, even as it is adopted with good pedagogical intentions, and that this can show up in practice as declining class attendance and study intensity.

The PhD application should reflect an independently formulated research project addressing questions about relational learning as they relate to the use of AI in business education. We would be interested in projects that engage with questions around, for instance and not limited to, how the integration of generative AI changes the conditions for relational learning and classroom interaction, pedagogical designs that sustain collaborative, dialogical learning and encourage students to keep showing up for it, how assessment, particularly exam formats, can be redesigned to both function as a learning activity and credibly evaluate learning that is AI-supported and relationally produced, and questions of academic ethics raised by the use of AI for learning.

We welcome applicants with backgrounds in management learning, educational science, organisation studies, psychology, sociology, or related fields. What matters most is a genuine interest in both the theoretical questions the project raises and hands-on, design-based experimentation with pedagogy and assessment.

The PhD will be hosted in the department's Communication, Organisation and Governance research cluster.

About the PhD programme

The three-year PhD programme at CBS gives you the opportunity to conduct research under the supervision of CBS’s associate professors and professors, supported by research related PhD courses. The programme is highly international, and you are expected to participate in international research conferences and to spend time at another research institution as a visiting PhD student. See the CBS homepage for more information about the PhD programme, https://www.cbs.dk/en/research/phd-programme.

CBS PhD graduates are held in high esteem not only in academia and research institutions but also in government and business where their research qualifications are in high demand.

CBS is committed to ensuring excellence, transformative and relevant teaching and research. Candidates who wish to join us must be interested in working in an organisation of this type and it is expected that the applicant shows an interest in joining the department's research environments. You can read more about the department's research here: https://www.cbs.dk/en/research/department-management-society-and-communication.

Application and admission requirements

The department will give priority to applicants with high grades from their universities.

To be considered the applicant must

* have a basic education at master's level (corresponding to the 3 + 2 Bologna process)

* have received the grade of 10 (or equivalent) for the master's thesis according to the Danish 7-point grading scale (https://ufsn.dk/english/education/recognition-and-transparency/)

* have a weighted grade point average of at least 8.2 on the Danish 7-point grading scale for the bachelor's and master's degree combined or alternatively a weighted grade point average must be at least 9.5 for the master's degree alone. If the grade point average is not met, documentation for being in the top 40% of the class is also accepted. In rare cases, the grade requirement can be waived.

* have a relevant educational background in the social sciences

* have completed the master's programme before the application deadline

* be in command of master academic English at a high level in writing and speaking

The application must include a five-page PhD project description. The project description must include:

• a presentation of an original research question
• a description of the initial theoretical framework and method
• a presentation of the proposed empirical material
• a work plan for the three years

More information can be found here: https://www.cbs.dk/en/research/phd-programmes/admission

In addition to the project description, copies of the following must be included:

• diploma for bachelor's and master's degree or other certificates at an equivalent level as well as the grade transcripts
• documentation for being in the top 40% of the class (if grade requirements are not met)
• a concise curriculum vitae (CV)
• If relevant, a list of articles and publications (if applicable)
• one example of a selected written work (e.g. master's thesis)
• documentation of English language skills is not required for the application but may be requested if the applicant is shortlisted for interviews.

The PhD student is enrolled in the CBS PhD School. Further information about PhD scholarships and the PhD programme can be found at https://www.cbs.dk/en/research/phd-programme.

For clarifying information regarding the position please contact the department: jobcall.msc@cbs.dk

Employment and salary

A PhD scholarship runs for a period of three years and includes teaching obligations corresponding to 416 work hours. The scholarships are fully salaried positions, according to the national Danish collective agreement. The monthly salary is currently approximately DKK 30,264 up to DKK 36,877 depending on seniority and a pension contribution totaling 18,07 %. The scholarship includes tuition fees, office space, course and travel costs (according to the current CBS agreement).

Salary level and employment take place in accordance with the Ministry of Finance's agreement with the Academics' Central Organization.

Recruitment procedure

The Recruitment Committee shortlists at least two-five applicants to be assessed by the Assessment Committee. Applicants are informed whether their application has proceeded for assessment.

Applicants selected for assessment will be notified about the composition of the Assessment Committee and will receive their personal assessment later. Selected applicants will be invited for an interview. Please note that a positive assessment does not automatically result in an interview. Once the recruitment process is completed each applicant will be notified of the outcome of their application.

We expect to conduct interviews in late November/early December 2026.

The application must be sent via the online link below.

Copenhagen Business School must receive all application material, including all appendices (see above), by the application deadline.

Details about Copenhagen Business School are available at www.cbs.dk/en.

Apply for position

WE TRANSFORM SOCIETY WITH BUSINESS

CBS is a globally recognised business school with deep roots in the Nordic socio-economic model. Our faculty has a broad focus on societal challenges, and we have earned a reputation for high-quality disciplinary and interdisciplinary research and education.
We are located at Frederiksberg and have approximately 20,000 full and part-time students, 800 full-time faculty members, 200 PhD students and 700 administrative staff, and a full portfolio of bachelor, master, MBA/EMBA, PhD and executive programmes taught in English and Danish.
Our global profile carries the obligation to address critical challenges in our research and to develop the transformational capabilities of students, graduates and business leaders via our educational activities and opportunities for lifelong learning. Complex challenges call for joint action, and therefore our strategy focuses on strengthening current and starting new partnerships with other sciences, the business community, authorities and civil society.
CBS is working continuously on becoming a diverse and inclusive organisation, and we encourage all regardless of gender identity and expression, ethnicity, religious beliefs, LGBT+ identity, cultural background etc. to apply.Reach out to us if you need assistance in the application or recruitment process, if there is something we should know, or if as a person with disability you wish to make use of your preferential access.