PhD Position in Low-Resource NLP

Faculty/Services: Faculty of Science

Educational level: Master

Function type: PhD position

Closing date: 15 mei 2023

Vacancy number: 11350

Do you get excited by the prospect of scientific exploration? Are you seeking a PhD position at the crossroads of Language Technology and Machine Learning? If you imagine yourself conducting cutting-edge research in AI, in an interdisciplinary and international environment, then you should apply for this position.

We are looking for a PhD candidate who has strong affinity with Natural Language Processing (NLP) and an adequate background in Machine Learning techniques, to join us at the Faculty of Science (FNWI), University of Amsterdam. This PhD position is part of an ongoing collaboration between the NLP group at the Institute for Logic, Language and Computation (ILLC) and the Language Technology group at the Informatics Institute (IvI), as well as the Municipality of Amsterdam.

You are expected to conduct research towards developing and testing new models and techniques for low-resource text simplification and machine translation (MT). Both challenges involve modelling the translation process (either between two levels of language proficiency or between two languages) in a setting of impoverished linguistic and/or data resources that are usually required for developing and training Language and MT models.

If you are passionate about these research areas and have an inclination for technologically-oriented research or for developing AI systems that are useful for society, then you are at the right address and we would be happy to take you on board.

What are you going to do

You will be expected to:

• complete and defend a PhD thesis within the official appointment duration of four years;

• present research results regularly at international workshops and conferences, and to publish them in conference proceedings and journals;

• participate in and to contribute to the organisation of research activities and events at the Institute, such as workshops and colloquia;

• make a small contribution to the FNWI’s educational mission, by working as a teaching assistant for courses in your area of expertise and by assisting with the supervision of students’ research projects;

• Contribute to UvA’s research programme Language Sciences for Social Good (https://ww.language-science.nl)

What do we require

• a Master’s degree in a relevant discipline, such as NLP/computational linguistics, machine learning or artificial intelligence (note that holding a Master’s degree is not required at the time of the application, but will be a requirement for employment);

• an excellent academic track record;

• a serious interest in pursuing fundamental research;

• good programming skills and experience with deep learning methods for NLP;

• good writing and presentation skills;

• good social and organisational skills;

• full professional proficiency in spoken and written English.

Please note that knowledge of the Dutch language is not required for this position, nor is it required for being able to live in Amsterdam. However, PhD candidates at the ILLC have the opportunity to attend Dutch language classes if they wish.

Our offer

A temporary contract for 38 hours per week for the duration of four years (the initial contract will be for a period of 18 months and after satisfactory evaluation it will be extended for a total duration of four years). This should lead to a dissertation (PhD thesis). We will draft an educational plan that includes attendance of courses and (international) meetings. We also expect you to assist in teaching undergraduates and Master’s students.

Your salary, depending on your relevant experience on commencement of the employment contract, will range between €2,541 to €3,247 gross per month on the basis of a full working week of 38 hours. This sum does not include the 8% holiday allowance and the 8.3% year-end allowance. The Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO NU) is applicable.

About us

The University of Amsterdam is the largest university in the Netherlands, with the broadest spectrum of degree programmes. It is an intellectual hub with 39,000 students, 6,000 employees and 3,000 doctoral students who are all committed to a culture of inquiring minds.

Want to know more about our organisation? Read more about working at the University of

Amsterdam.

About the Faculty of Science

The Faculty of Science has a student body of around 7,000, as well as 1,600 members of staff working in education, research or support services. Researchers and students at the Faculty of Science are fascinated by every aspect of how the world works, be it elementary particles, the birth of the universe or the functioning of the brain.

About the ILLC

The Institute for Logic, Language and Computation (ILLC) is a research institute at the University of Amsterdam (UvA) in which researchers from the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Humanities collaborate. Its central research area is the study of fundamental principles of encoding, transmission and comprehension of information. Research at ILLC is interdisciplinary, and aims at bringing together insights from various disciplines concerned with information and information processing, such as logic, mathematics, computer science, linguistics, natural language processing, cognitive science, artificial intelligence, music cognition, and philosophy.

About the Informatics Institute (IvI)

The mission of the Informatics Institute (IvI) is to perform curiosity-driven and use-inspired fundamental research in Computer Science. The main research themes are Artificial Intelligence, Computational Science and Systems and Network Engineering. Our research involves complex information systems at large, with a focus on collaborative, data driven, computational and intelligent systems, all with a strong interactive component.

Questions

If you have any questions about the position, please contact:

Prof. dr. Khalil Sima’an (k.simaan@uva.nl) or Prof. dr. Christof Monz (c.monz@uva.nl)

Job application

If you feel the profile fits you, and you are interested in the job, we look forward to receiving your letter and CV. You can apply online via the link below. We will accept applications until 15 May 2023.

We will invite potential candidates for interviews shortly after the vacancy is closed. The date and time will be indicated to the shortlisted candidates by email.

The UvA is an equal-opportunity employer. We prioritise diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for everyone. We value a spirit of enquiry and perseverance, provide the space to keep asking questions, and promote a culture of curiosity and creativity.

If you encounter Error GBB451, reach out to our HR Department directly. They will gladly help you continue your application.