A More Resilient Society
A More Resilient Society
NTNU has prioritised a strategic initiative comprising four interdisciplinary projects within the theme A More Resilient Society. 16 PhD Positions will be advertised on 1 November 2026, with an application deadline of 20 November.
Read more about the projects and access the job advertisements below. Each project has its own advertisement on Jobbnorge, and under each advertisement you will find four associated PhD positions.
How do we build a society that is resilient to crises, attacks, and unexpected shocks? A More Resilient Society is a major strategic initiative at NTNU that requires interdisciplinarity and innovative thinking to address complex and socially relevant challenges. A total of 16 PhD candidates will work across faculties and academic communities within the fields of critical societal infrastructure and health preparedness. The aim is to support research that challenges established assumptions and contributes to a safer and more resilient society.
The initiative will address challenges related to how transport infrastructure and other critical societal infrastructure can be secured and maintained during crises, how society can respond to the threat of antimicrobial resistance, and how digital wallets can be made secure. The geopolitical situation has changed, and the need for robustness, resilience and preparedness is greater than it has been for a long time. Society is more dependent than ever on the continued functioning of power supply, telecommunications, transport, financial systems and health services, even when they are exposed to crises or deliberate attacks.
The Projects and links to the Job Advertisements
Preparedness and Response to AMR, the silent pandemic
Four PhD Positions available at Jobbnorge: Preparedness and Response to AMR, the silent pandemic (link is coming)
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is often referred to as the silent pandemic. Resistance is currently associated with more than five million deaths annually, and this number is expected to rise to ten million by 2050. We need faster and more precise diagnostics to enable effective treatment, as well as new and effective antibiotics. Lessons learned from the pandemic and the current geopolitical situation demonstrate that Norway must be able to secure access to both new and existing antibiotics in times of crisis.
The project operates along three interconnected tracks: (i) the development of new antibiotics and combination therapies that counteract resistance, (ii) rapid precision diagnostics that enable targeted treatment of severe infections and limit the development of resistance, and (iii) governance, where social science research examines how responsibilities and incentives related to the development, production, and availability of new and existing antibiotics are distributed among states, health authorities, and the pharmaceutical industry.
This knowledge will help strengthen Norway’s preparedness, international influence, and capacity to secure access to life-saving antibiotics.
Managing drone threats to critical infrastructure
Four PhD Positions available at Jobbnorge: Managing drone threats to critical infrastructure (link is coming)
A resilient society depends on safe and robust critical infrastructure, including the ability to withstand drone attacks. The war in Europe and hybrid threats have shown that such systems can be deliberately targeted using low-cost, commercially available technology, and the Government’s drone strategy identifies reducing vulnerability to hostile use of drones as the greatest and most urgent challenge. As threats and technology evolve rapidly, new uses of drones must be met quickly with adapted countermeasures.
The project aims to contribute to a more resilient society by developing knowledge and technological solutions to understand, manage and respond to drone threats and attacks against critical infrastructure.
Cryptology and social life: Sovereignty, security and society in the face of digital wallets
Four PhD Positions available at Jobbnorge: Cryptology and social life: Sovereignty, security and society in the face of digital wallets (link is coming)
The EU Digital Identity (EUDI) Wallet is being deployed to give citizens easier access to public and private services, and is expected to become critical societal infrastructure, including in Norway. The wallet is designed to protect privacy by storing data locally and sharing only the attributes needed. This paradigm shift raises strong requirements for cryptography, security, privacy, regulation and user autonomy.
The project addresses three knowledge needs: robust and usable privacy-enhancing technologies, an understanding of how digital identity wallets are used and affect society in Norway and Europe, and provably secure cryptographic designs for quantum-safe wallets. The hard problem is combining these in a single solution that is also usable for ordinary citizens and fits its regulatory context.
STRIDE: Synergizing Transport Resilience, Infrastructure, and Defense in Extremes
Four PhD Positions available at Jobbnorge: STRIDE: Synergizing Transport Resilience, Infrastructure, and Defense in Extremes (link is coming)
Norway’s transport infrastructure faces converging climate and geopolitical risks. The storm «Hans» in 2023 closed a major railway line for three months, and the 2025 Levanger landslide destroyed both road and railway, splitting Norway in two. At the same time, sabotage has become a real threat. Yet current transport models and risk analyses are built for normal conditions and treat hazards in isolation.
The project will develop an integrated multi-risk framework, using dynamic modelling, machine learning and optimisation to help transport systems keep functioning during crises. It will also examine how civil transport planning can be aligned with the needs of Total Defence.