Postdoc in Qualitative Design Research

The Department of Digital Design & Information Studies within the School of Communication and Culture at Aarhus University invites applications for a postdoctoral position in Qualitative Design Research. The postdoc position is affiliated with the research project ‘Garment-Based Wearables for Shared Management of Anxiety of the Student in the University Context’ funded by the Carlsberg Foundation. The postdoc position is a full time and 3-year fixed-term position. The position begins on 01 August 2024 or as soon as possible thereafter. The School of Communication and Culture is committed to diversity and encourages all qualified applicants to apply regardless of their background.   Project  The number of Danish university students experiencing anxiety in their studies is growing due to stressful factors of studies coupled with individual performance requirements, for example, the pursuit of good grades. The education reform suggested by the Danish government might worsen the situation by asking students to complete their studies faster and more efficiently. To help university students cope with their growing study-related anxiety and prevent it from developing into more severe mental health issues, this project investigates how smart garment-based wearables could be designed to allow shared management of student anxiety with their close ones (that is, a close friend, family member, or partner) in the university context. In this approach, the student with anxiety is not left alone to cope but gets meaningful tangible support in real-time in situ through a soft garment type of smart wearable that is wirelessly connected to the support person’s wearable. The project will apply a qualitative research approach to understand university students’ experiences with study-related anxiety. The resulting knowledge is utilised in the iterative constructive design of artefacts (that is, speculative artefacts and functional prototypes) to investigate stakeholders’ subjective lived experiences with the wearables in the actual use contexts. The project aims to offer insights into the shared management of anxiety in study-related contexts and how to realise wearables for the alleviation of student anxiety.