Fact sheet · Primary sources
Singularity University: the "Dr." designation and the biography actually supplied
THIRD-PARTY PUBLICATION
Claim reported
A 2022 article was headlined:
Singularity perceived CanopyLab founder as 'doctor'
The underlying issue was a Singularity profile that contained a graphical "Dr." designation.
What the primary sources show
The existence of the graphical designation is not disputed.
But the same profile also described me as:
PhD fellow Sahra-Josephine Hjorth
More importantly, the email correspondence concerning creation of the faculty profile shows what biographical information was actually supplied to Singularity.
On 6 March 2018, Victoria Chuang of SingularityU Nordic asked for any changes to the biography for the Faculty page.
The biography prepared for approval the following morning began:
PhD fellow Sahra-Josephine Hjorth focuses on the potential of converging technologies...
The final biography likewise began:
PhD fellow Sahra-Josephine Hjorth has spent the past five years...
The supplied biography therefore did not describe me as a doctor or completed PhD holder.
Assessment
The graphical "Dr." designation existed. The reviewed primary sources do not show that I supplied or requested it.
The biographical material supplied for the same profile stated that I was a "PhD fellow."
The primary-source distinction is therefore between a third-party graphical designation and the academic status actually supplied in the biography.