PhD Position in Computing Science

Faculty & Department

• Faculty: Faculty of Science
• Department: Department of Information and Computing Sciences
• Hours per week: 36 to 40
• Application deadline: 15 June 2026

Project Overview

Investigate how people experience and interpret personal data from wearables and health apps. This project examines the affective, social, and reflective dimensions of personal informatics, focusing on how individuals engage with sensitive or emotionally charged health metrics in everyday life. It aims to improve system design for supporting reflection while accounting for users’ emotional responses to their personal data.

Your Job

Digital technologies, such as wearables and mobile applications, allow individuals to continuously track personal data related to health and wellbeing. These systems capture a wide range of metrics, including steps taken, stress levels, heart rate, and sleep quality.

Metrics are not neutral entities: they shape self-perception, evoke emotion, and can reinforce social norms, often surfacing sensitivities, taboos, and stigma. As a result, people’s experiences with their data are shaped not only by usability, but by how these metrics are interpreted, felt, and situated within everyday life; often involving processes of reflection and, at times, rumination.

In this PhD project, you will investigate the lived and affective experience of personal data in context. The focus is on how individuals interpret and engage with their metrics over time, particularly when these data become emotionally charged or socially sensitive. You will examine how such experiences influence ongoing interaction, including responses such as reflection, discomfort, reassurance, or resistance.

The project takes a human-centred and interpretive perspective, drawing on concepts from human-computer interaction, sociology, and psychology. It focuses on meaning-making and subjective experience, contributing to research in human-data interaction and personal informatics by examining how data is experienced, negotiated, and sometimes avoided in everyday contexts.

Methodologically, you will make use of qualitative and design-oriented approaches, such as:

• Interviews
• Ethnographies
• Diary studies
• Reflective or speculative design

You will also investigate the design of reflection-supportive systems that scaffold how and when people engage with their metrics, with attention to supporting reflection while avoiding rumination.

You will have the opportunity to shape specific research directions within this theme, including data sensitivity, affective responses to metrics, and the role of social and cultural norms in human-data interaction.

You will contribute to teaching activities within the department (approximately 15% of your time).

Candidate Profile

Required

• Recently completed or nearly completed Master’s degree in:Interest in personal informatics systems research
  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • Industrial Design
  • Psychology
  • Or related discipline
• Experience with:Strong English communication skills (written and spoken)
  • Qualitative methods (interviews, thematic analysis, focus groups)
  • Quantitative methods (experiments, surveys)
  • Design methods (from academic projects or thesis work)
• Critical thinking and ability to work in interdisciplinary teams

What We Offer

• Position for 18 months, extended to 4 years after positive evaluation
• Salary: €3,059 → €3,881 monthly (scale P, CAO NU)
• 8% holiday pay + 8.3% year-end bonus
• Pension scheme and parental leave options
• Flexible working conditions and professional development support
• Sports, cultural activities, and employment customization options

Research Environment

You will join the Human-Centred Computing group within the Interaction division of the Department of Information and Computing Sciences at Utrecht University.

The group focuses on:

• Personalized and adaptive systems
• User modelling and recommender systems
• Personal informatics
• Persuasive technology

You will work in a collaborative and interdisciplinary environment involving:

• Computer science
• Information science
• AI
• Interaction design

Faculty & University Context

Utrecht University focuses on major societal themes such as sustainability, youth, and open societies. The Faculty of Science includes six departments:

• Biology
• Pharmaceutical Sciences
• Information & Computing Sciences
• Physics
• Chemistry
• Mathematics

The department is internationally known for research in algorithms, AI, software, and interaction, with a strong focus on human-centred computing.

Contact

Academic contact:
Marit Bentvelzen
???? m.bentvelzen@uu.nl

Application support:
science.recruitment@uu.nl

Application Requirements

Applicants must include:

• Motivation letter addressing:CV
  • What you hope to achieve during the PhD
  • Why this project interests you
  • Relevant skills from your MSc
• References (at least two)
• MSc certificate or proof of expected graduation
• Bachelor’s and Master’s transcripts

Deadline

• Application deadline: 15 June 2026