See our Job Brochure here!

The SDU Metaverse Lab is seeking a new colleague to join our team. Our focus is on the interface of technology and people, working across domains to create experiences and technologies that enable people to shape and engage with the future. We seek a new colleague to support the strengths of the lab across all forms of interactive technologies, while unlocking new opportunities to provide societal benefit through cutting-edge technical research.

1 The SDU Metaverse Lab

The Metaverse Lab is an interdisciplinary research, academic, and impact-generating organisation. Unconstrained by disciplines, the Metaverse Lab sees engineers, scientists, designers, artists, and practitioners focusing on creating experiences and technologies that enable people to shape and engage with the future. In the Metaverse Lab, staff and students work together with companies and organisations on projects across disciplines in an environment designed for collaboration and technology transfer. Our research is motivated by a single aim: delivering science and technology for the benefit of society at scale. Within the broad interdisciplinary space of the Metaverse Lab, our work converges on three interconnected themes.

In Human-AI Interaction, we develop AI systems that work with and alongside people - from multi-agent logistics and swarm control in hospital settings to adaptive AI decision-making, affective computing for emotion-aware support systems, and AI-driven game environments including game twins: lightweight interactive counterparts of real-world processes designed to explain complex ideas, lower barriers to entry, and build awareness and resilience.

In Digital and Technical Literacy, we investigate how children, students, and educators can be better prepared for the digital transformation of the labour market - through STEM education programmes, teaching materials for primary and secondary schools, teacher training in emerging technologies, and AI-powered educational tools.

In Health and Wellbeing Technology, we build computational methods that improve how healthcare is delivered and experienced - including AI systems for capturing and structuring clinical conversations, causal AI for medical interventions, and game-based approaches to therapeutics and diagnostics.

Across all three themes, we work closely with industry, healthcare, defence, and public-sector partners to ensure our research translates into real-world impact.

Our faculty leads the Game Development and Learning Technologies Bachelor's degree, as well as the Interactive Technologies and Games MSc programme, working with students, visitors, and our many partner companies and organizations. Our students form the crucial front-end engineering link between back-end engineering and the actual users of information systems, with deep technical expertise and design skills who can ensure systems are useful and impactful - and ready for the future. Our alumni have gone on to share their unique skills and competencies across the Creative Industries and beyond.

The degree comprises a 3-year BSc plus a joint MSc programme with the Software Engineering section at the same institute. At its heart, the programme is a technical software engineering degree, but with a heavy emphasis on front-end design and thinking. The degree covers a diverse range of situations with an emphasis on game design and game development, including AI fundamentals and advanced techniques, VR/XR, web programming, hardware and robotics, learning technologies, and advanced interaction technologies. We place a heavy emphasis on semester projects in teams and integrate these projects directly into our courses. The degree is taught primarily in English. Some courses can be taught in Danish if the lecturer speaks Danish and there are no native-English speaking students in the class in question.

2 Organisation

The SDU Metaverse Lab is part of the Faculty of Engineering and the Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Institute at the University of Southern Denmark 

3 About the Positions

We are looking for people who can generate real-world positive impact at scale, and contribute to our core research themes, as well as develop and teach subjects in our undergraduate and graduate courses, and secure funding to further support the lab's growth.

The successful candidate will be actively engaged with the latest technological and methodological developments in their area of research and demonstrate a well-developed teaching philosophy. You will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of the SDU Metaverse Lab.

The purpose of this position is to contribute to our mission of creating the technological solutions of the future that support the meeting between people and technology. You will be expected to bring your expertise to our team, helping us meet our future skill requirements and enabling further growth of the group.

The Metaverse Lab has a strong focus on societal benefit and collaboration with external stakeholders, such as the industry. Our research is characterized by being purpose-led R&D. We strive to have a very direct impact, working across the technology level readiness chain. We provide excellent support for your work and a highly flexible environment. Our lab and SDU offer numerous opportunities for professional development. You will have the chance to influence the direction of our lab, improve on our teaching degree, and explore your areas of interest. You are expected to take on leadership roles within our lab and lead research projects.

We are a small and agile team and are looking for colleagues who are motivated and not afraid to think outside the box to get results. As a team in growth, this position provides an excellent opportunity to put your imprint on the lab and further your career. We have immense respect for each other, and we recognise that as a supportive team, everything is easier.

4.1 Key Responsibilities

Specific duties may include:

4.1.1 Research and scholarship

• Publishing research findings in peer-reviewed journals, presenting at conferences, and participating in academic discussions.

• Undertake excellent research that is aligned with the Metaverse Lab's research priorities and that produces high-quality outcomes.

• Connect with the professional community and lead and influence your profession and discipline.

• Securing Funding: applying for grants to acquire funding to further accelerate your research and the lab's development. Pursue opportunities for external research funding, collaborate on, and initiate grant applications.

4.1.2 Academic leadership

• Administrative Contributions: participating in faculty and departmental meetings. Contributing to decision-making processes, proposing improvements, and collaborating on program development.

• Networking and Industry Interaction: attending academic events, conferences, and seminars. Networking with other researchers and industry professionals to stay informed about the latest trends and research opportunities. Engage with industry, government, and the community to advance research impact.

• Contribute to SDU's research culture through internal and external collaborations, including those with international partners.

• Implement and administer SDU policy within the Metaverse Lab with respect to equitable access to education and workplace health and safety.

4.1.3 Teaching and educational leadership

• Facilitate excellence in the Metaverse Lab's undergraduate and postgraduate courses through the development and delivery of innovative teaching methods and materials.

• Developing and Delivering Course Material: You are expected to create, refine, and teach course content, curricula, and syllabi. This also includes conducting exams and grading.

• Education Development: contribute to curriculum development, program assessment, and strategic planning.

• Supervision and Guidance: guiding and mentoring Bachelor and Master students as they work on their theses and projects. Also advising students on your courses to help them navigate the course.

• Prepare and deliver physical and virtual lectures and seminars for effective learning outcomes.

• Provide real-world learning and assessment.

• Supervise postgraduate and other students' research projects.

6 Contact Information

For questions about the positions, please contact Head of the SDU Metaverse Lab, Professor Anders Drachen.

The application deadline is August 1, 2026, at 11:59 PM/23:59 (CET/CEST) 

See full job describtion, selection criteria, and how to apply on our website. 

The University of Southern Denmark wishes its staff to reflect the surrounding community and therefore encourages everyone, regardless of personal background, to apply for the position. SDU conducts research in critical technologies, which, due to the risk of unwanted knowledge transfer, is subject to a number of security measures. Therefore, based on information from open sources, background checks may be conducted on candidates for the position(s).