Postdoctoral Fellowship within the “Explainable AI systems for Business-Critical Applications” (...

We have a vacancy for a for a postdoc position for 3 years or 4 years with duty work.

The postdoctoral fellowship position is a temporary position where the main goal is to qualify for work in senior academic positions.

EXAIGON  aims at creating an XAI ecosystem around the Norwegian Open AI-Lab (NAIL), including researchers with diverse background and strong links to the industry. The project is supported by 7 key industry players in Norway who will provide the researchers with use cases, including data, models and expert knowledge. EXAIGON is a collaborative research effort by the Departments of Computer Science and Engineering Cybernetic around the Norwegian Open AI-lab. All involved researchers will work closely with each other, the industry partners, and researchers already working on relevant topics at NTNU, hence maximizing the project’s impact and relevance to the real world.

Against this backdrop, the postdoc position is to address the following. For all their merits and compelling results, the uptake of AI methods till date into actual, consequential decision-making in organisations have been uneven. The theme of the postdoc is to analyse technical, social, organisational, and institutional conditions that enable and hamper uptake of AI methods in general and XAI ones in particular. Put differently, the postdoc will in line with the field of Information Systems identify and analyse social conditions for the uptake of AI in organizations. An understanding of such conditions is fed back into the ongoing development of improved methods and techniques for XAI by other EXAIGON research partners. 

The EXAIGON research partners will explore techniques from reinforcement learning, supervised learning and Bayesian networks to enhance the transparency and thus, potentially, the explainability of decision support. The focal theme of the postdoc is to analyse how these different methods are perceived, understood and used by different users in the partner companies of EXAIGON to evaluate their relative merit. In other words, the postdoc will require a deep analytic and empirical understanding of the organizational context together with knowledge and interest into the details of different AI methods.

The postdoc position will rely predominately on qualitative or interpretative research methods as empirical data will comprise observations, interviews and trace data of users.

The postdoc will have the option for a research stay abroad during their studies. Potential destinations are the USA and Australia, where EXAIGON has established scientific collaborators.

You will report to Head of Department.

• Contribute to the research in the EXAIGON projct
• Publish in relevant reputable outlets
• Supervise master students in EXAIGON

• You must have a PhD degree in Information Systems (or what corresponds to that, e.g., Computer Supported Cooperative Work, Human-Computer Interaction) that demonstrates a sound grasp of the sociotechnical context together with knowledge about AI methods. 
• You must documented knowledge and academic skills of working with interpretative research methods.
• You must submit selected, relevant publications.
• You must provide a 4-5 pages project description outlining their theoretical and methodological approach to the challenges addressed by EXAIGON.
• You must have excellent English skills, written and spoken, are required. Applicants from non-European countries where English is not the official language must present an official language test report. The following tests can be used as such documentation: TOEFL, IELTS or Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English (CAE) or Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE). Minimum scores are:
  • TOEFL: 600 (paper-based test), 92 (Internet-based test).
  • IELTS: 6.5, with no section lower than 5.5 (only Academic IELTS test accepted).
  • CAE/CPE: grade B or A.

The appointment is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants and national guidelines for appointment as PhD, post doctor and research assistant .

• Mastering a Scandinavian language, written and spoken selection criteria
• Documented experience with research projects including generating external
• Documented, relevant work experience

• Collaboratively oriented
• Engaged
• Committed also to practical usefulness

As a Postdoctoral Fellow (code 1352) you are normally paid from gross NOK 553 500 per annum before tax, depending on qualifications and seniority. From the salary, 2% is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

The successful candidate will be appointed for a period of 3 years, with possible extension to a fourth year given the candidate and Department of Computer Science agree on teaching related duties.

The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants, and the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and attachment are seen to conflict with the criteria in the latter law will be prohibited from recruitment to NTNU. After the appointment you must assume that there may be changes in the area of work.  

It is a prerequisite you can be present at and accessible to the institution on a daily basis. 

The application and supporting documentation to be used as the basis for the assessment must be in English. 

Publications and other scientific work must follow the application. Please note that applications are only evaluated based on the information available on the application deadline. You should ensure that your application shows clearly how your skills and experience meet the criteria which are set out above. 

If, for any reason, you have taken a career break or have had an atypical career and wish to disclose this in your application, the selection committee will take this into account, recognizing that the quantity of your research may be reduced as a result.

The application must include :

• CV, certificates and diplomas.
• Transcripts and diplomas for PhD degrees. 
• Academic works - published or unpublished - that you would like to be considered in the assessment (up to 10 items).
• A 4-5 pages project description outlining their theoretical and methodological approach.
• Name and address of three referees.

Incomplete applications will not be considered.

If all, or parts, of your education has been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education. Description of the documentation required can be found here . If you already have a statement from NOKUT, please attach this as well.

Joint works will be considered. If it is difficult to identify your contribution to joint works, you must attach a brief description of your participation.

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal and interpersonal qualities. Motivation, ambitions, and potential will also count in the assessment of the candidates.

NTNU is committed to following evaluation criteria for research quality according to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment - DORA.

Working at NTNU 

A good work environment is characterized by diversity. We encourage qualified candidates to apply, regardless of their gender, functional capacity or cultural background.

The city of Trondheim is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. Trondheim is the innovation capital of Norway with a population of 200,000. The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world. Professional subsidized day-care for children is easily available. Furthermore, Trondheim offers great opportunities for education (including international schools) and possibilities to enjoy nature, culture and family life and has low crime rates and clean air quality.  

As an employee at NTNU, you must at all times adhere to the changes that the development in the subject entails and the organizational changes that are adopted. 

Information Act (Offentleglova), your name, age, position and municipality may be made public even if you have requested not to have your name entered on the list of applicants. 

If you have any questions about the position, please contact professor Eric Monteiro, email [email protected]  or Head of the Department Heri Ramampiaro, email: [email protected]   If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Kenneth Hågensen, e-mail: [email protected] 

Please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no with your CV, diplomas and certificates. Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered. Diploma Supplement is required to attach for European Master Diplomas outside Norway. Chinese applicants are required to provide confirmation of Master Diploma from China Credentials Verification (CHSI) .  

If you are invited for interview you must include certified copies of transcripts and reference letters. Please refer to the application number 2020/9110 when applying.  

Application deadline: 26.11.21

NTNU - knowledge for a better world

The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) creates knowledge for a better world and solutions that can change everyday life.

Department of Computer Science

We are the leading academic IT environment in Norway, and offer a wide range of theoretical and applied IT programmes of study at all levels. Our subject areas include hardware, algorithms, visual computing, AI, databases, software engineering, information systems, learning technology, HCI, CSCW, IT operations and applied data processing. The Department has groups in both Trondheim and Gjøvik. The Department of Computer Science is one of seven departments in the Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering.