PhD Research Fellowship in Norwegian Language Technology at MediaFutures

Organisation/Company

University of Bergen

Department

Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies (LLE)

Research Field

Communication sciences » Media studies
Language sciences » Other

Researcher Profile

First Stage Researcher (R1)

Country

Norway

Application Deadline

28 May 2023 - 23:59 (Europe/Oslo)

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Full-time

Hours Per Week

37,5

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

Not funded by an EU programme

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Through robust and close interaction with the world around us – globally, nationally and locally – we shall be instrumental in building a society based on knowledge, skills and attitudes.

Do you want to take part in shaping the future?

The Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies (LLE) invites applications for a PhD position at MediaFutures: Research Centre for Responsible Media Technology & Innovation, commencing August 1st, 2023, or as agreed. The position will be formally established at the Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies, University of Bergen. The position is for a fixed-term period of four years.

MediaFutures is part of the Norwegian Research Council’s Research-based Innovation scheme. The centre is based at the University of Bergen and located at Media City Bergen, which will be the workplace for the position.

In cooperation with industry partners from news media and media technology, researchers at MediaFutures are performing research on topics like media experiences, recommender technology, content production and analysis, content interaction and availability, and Norwegian language technology. The goal is to develop responsible technological solutions to societal challenges like AI, fake news, echo chambers and political polarization. The results will be new digital tools, analysis methods and content types for the future of media. The center is also performing research training within media technology and innovation. This will create outputs such as new patents, prototypes, research articles and software, as well as innovative start-up companies. Read more about the centre at https://www.mediafutures.no .

The Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies (LLE) is part of the Faculty of Humanities and has the co-leader of Work Package 5 on Norwegian Language Technologies in MediaFutures. The department has a wide range of education and research. Read more about the Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies here .

We are looking for a candidate who wants to work on the research frontiers of responsible media technologies with a focus on Language Technology for generating Norwegian news texts. An important research challenge in MediaFutures is the generation of Norwegian textual media content automatically from quantitative data sources, databases, knowledge graphs and narrative structures. This task may address versioning by the adaptation of lexical, grammatical and stylistic choices to user profiles (including cognitive accessibility), media characteristics (e.g., screen size), journalistic format and other parameters. The methodology could include generative neural encoder-decoder architectures, making use of a large Norwegian language model currently being developed in the project. Domain specific datasets and model inputs can be gathered in cooperation with industry partners and other work packages. Evaluation of the developed generation models will be important.

The PhD candidate will work at MediaFutures in Work Package 5 and will co-operate with researchers and partners in this work package, including UiO, the National Library of Norway, Schibsted, Amedia and TV2, and with relevant researchers and partners in other work packages as well. The candidate will also get membership of the research group on Language Models and Resources at LLE, UiB. The candidate will be supervised by Prof. Dr. Koenraad De Smedt (LLE), with co-supervision by other work package members, and will report to the centre director at MediaFutures. The candidate will also carry out secondments at industry partners in MediaFutures.

• The applicant must hold a Norwegian master’s degree or an equivalent foreign research-based MA-degree (a five-year degree including the BA) in a relevant discipline such as Computational Linguistics, Language Technology, or equivalent. It is a condition of employment that the master’s degree has been awarded at the time of application. Applicants who document a foreign degree will be evaluated according to the regulations of the Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education (NOKUT) and The Faculty of Humanities’ PhD Programme plan. 
• The applicant must have good programming skills in Python, knowledge of data science methods and quantitative methods.
• Previous experience with neural approaches and particularly generative language models is an advantage.
• Experience from relevant scientific work (e.g., previous conference and journal publications) is an advantage.
• The applicant must be proficient in both written and oral English (the working language of the project).
• Proficiency in both written and oral Norwegian is an important advantage.
• Personal qualities will be emphasized. We value candidates that can work in a structured way, both independently and in a team, are solution-oriented, and have good communication skills.

Applicants must write a project proposal for a project that will result in a doctoral thesis.

Applicants will be evaluated according to admission requirements in The Faculty of Humanities' PhD Program pt. 2.1.

In assessing the applications, the academic quality and feasibility of the proposed PhD project and the academic qualifications of the candidate will be considered. Further emphasis is also placed on strategic considerations, motivation, and the applicant's personal eligibility.

The main purpose of the PhD position is to complete a doctoral degree, which qualifies for independent research and for other forms of employment that demand specific competency. The duration of the PhD position is four years, of which 25 per cent of the time comprises obligatory duties associated with teaching, dissemination of results, and administration. The plan for this part of the position is developed in collaboration with LLE and MediaFutures at the very beginning of the employment period. 

Applicants who have already held a PhD position at the University of Bergen are not eligible to apply for this position.

The employment period may be reduced for candidates who have previously been employed in a recruitment position at other institutions.

The PhD position demands that the applicant has their regular workplace at the University of Bergen and comply with the guidelines that apply to the position at all times. 

As a PhD candidate you must participate in the Faculty of Humanities’ educational programme. The programme consists of completing a training component of 30 ECTS, annual progress reporting and an approved midway evaluation. Click here  for additional details on the content and requirements of the PhD program at the Faculty of Humanities.

• A good and professionally challenging working environment. 
• Salary at pay grade 54 (code 1017) in the state salary scale, currently NOK 501 200 gross p.a. following ordinary meriting regulations. 
• Enrolment in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund. 
• A position in an inclusive workplace (IA enterprise). 
• Good welfare benefits

Apply electronically via the link "APPLY FOR THIS JOB". Applicants are required to use the electronic CV form.

The following information must be enclosed:

• A project proposal of up to five pages/12.000 characters, when bibliography is not included. The project proposal should describe the research project, including research background, main research questions, theory, method, ethical aspects, and a timetable for implementation etc. 
• A cover letter including a brief account of your research interests and motivation for applying for the position.
• CV.
• Transcripts and diplomas showing completion of the bachelor's and master's degrees. This must contain information about the number of ECTS of the master’s degree, or be followed by an official and personalized confirmation with this information issued by the awarding institution.  
• A short summary of your master’s thesis or equivalent thesis (up to three pages).
• Relevant certificates/references.
• Bibliography for the proposed project. 
• A progress plan for the project. 
• A list of any works of a scientific nature (publication list). 
• Publications in your name (up to three works). 
• Full text of up to five academic publications that you want to submit for assessment (may include your master’s thesis or equivalent).
• The names and contact information of two referees. One of them must be the main advisor for the master's thesis or equivalent thesis.

The application and attachments need to be in Norwegian, another Scandinavian language or English. Documents in other languages need to be uploaded together with a certified translation into English (or a Scandinavian language). Attachments can be in either a Word- or PDF-format and must be uploaded to Jobbnorge within the application deadline.

Detailed information about the position can be obtained by contacting work package co-leader Prof. Koenraad De Smedt, e-mail: desmedt@uib.no , telephone: (+47) 95836558, or Centre Director Prof. Christoph Trattner, e-mail: Christoph.Trattner@uib.no , telephone: (+47) 45396180.

The public sector shall reflect the diversity of the Norwegian society to the greatest extent possible. People with immigrant backgrounds and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply for the position.

The University of Bergen applies the principle of public access to information when recruiting staff for academic positions.

Information about applicants may be made public even if the applicant has asked not to be named on the list of persons who have applied. The applicant must be notified if the request to be omitted is not met.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to an interview.

Questions or inquiries about the electronic application process can be directed to: fakadm@hf.uib.no .

For further information about the recruitment process, click here .

Marion Claireaux tells about life and work as a PhD candidate at UiB.

The University of Bergen is a renowned educational and research institution, organised into seven faculties and approximately 54 institutes and academic centres. Campus is located in the centre of Bergen with university areas at Nygårdshøyden, Haukeland, Marineholmen, Møllendalsveien and Årstad. 

There are four departments and four centres at Faculty of Humanities. Read more about the faculty  and departments.  

Research Field

Communication sciences » Media studies

Education Level

PhD or equivalent

Research Field

Language sciences » Other

Education Level

PhD or equivalent

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

University of Bergen

Country

Norway

Geofield

Website

https://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/244992/phd-research-fellowship-i…

City

Bergen

Website

http://www.uib.no

Street

Post Box 7800

Postal Code

N-5020

E-Mail

mona.matre@uib.no