Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Deep Learning for Image Analysis and Marine Sciences

Stig Brøndbo
6th June 2023
Languages
English

• English

English
Faculty of Science and Technology
Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Deep Learning for Image Analysis and Marine Sciences
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The position

The Department of Physics and Technology at UiT The Arctic University of Norway in Tromsø has a vacant full-time position as postdoctoral research fellow within Visual Intelligence , a Centre for Research-Based Innovation (SFI) funded by the Research Council of Norway and consortium partners. The appointment is for a period of 3 years.  

Visual Intelligence is a research centre at the international forefront of deep learning and image analysis research. The centre is hosted by UiT The Arctic University of Norway with the University of Oslo and the Norwegian Computing Center as research partners and with a consortium of industry and public sector partners. Visual Intelligence’s research fuels innovations relevant to the consortium partners and beyond.  

The position is a fixed term position for a duration of three years. Appointment to the position of Postdoctoral Research Fellow is mainly intended to provide qualification for work in top academic positions. It is a prerequisite that the applicant can carry out the project over the full course of the employment period. No person may hold more than one fixed term position as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the same institution.

The workplace is at UiT in Tromsø within the UiT Machine Learning Group. The successful applicant must be able to start in the position within 3 months after receiving the offer.

The position's field of research

The field of this position is the development of novel deep learning methodology, providing new solutions for extracting important information from images in general, and from images related to the marine sciences in particular.

The marine sciences are increasingly relying on data coming from various imaging techniques to monitor the oceans and the marine environment. This may for instance include echosounder data. Images and videos from benthic habitats, fish behaviour, in-trawl cameras, otoliths, or scales for fish aging are other examples where cameras are used for data collection.

The combination of imaging sensors and modern machine learning analysis methods based on deep learning will support sustainable marine management and provide a better basis for understanding our marine ecosystems in entirely new ways.

The candidate for this position will take part in the development of a new generation novel deep learning methodology for extracting information from marine science images and for image analysis in general. Deep learning for marine images imposes entirely new challenges. The candidate will solve challenges related to limited labels and the need to move away from traditional supervised learning. Furthermore, since marine data is usually class imbalanced and noisy, the candidate will create new methods for incorporating contextual data and for exploiting domain knowledge. Innovations coming out from this research may contribute new ways for abundance estimation, where transparency is important and uncertainty in predictions must be assessed, and therefore the candidate will put emphasis on creating new deep learning solution for uncertainty quantification and for providing a certain degree of interpretability with respect to the predictions made.

The positions field of research is by nature interdisciplinary and will be performed in collaboration with national and international partners. An important partner will be the Institute of Marine Research in Norway.

A core element of Visual Intelligence is transferability of ideas and solutions across applications and consortium partners and the candidate is expected to collaborate with Visual Intelligence researchers in generic deep learning image analysis research and to collaborate with researchers focusing on other applications of importance to Visual Intelligence.    

The postdoctoral researcher is expected to be involved in all aspects of the research, including study design, planning, conducting research, data analyses, and publishing results., and progress and results are expected to be published in peer-reviewed scientific journals and presented at national and international conferences/workshops. It is expected that the postdoctoral researcher takes an active role and regularly interacts with other members of Visual Intelligence.

The position comes with teaching duties amounting to 20% of the work hours, associated with courses at the introduction to machine learning level taught at the Department of Physics and Technology.

Contact

For further information about the position, please contact Professor and Director of Visual Intelligence Robert Jenssen:

• email: [email protected]  

Qualifications

This position requires a Norwegian doctoral degree (PhD) or an equivalent foreign doctoral degree in machine learning or a related, relevant field. 

Moreover, it is required that the applicant has: 

• Very solid expertise within mathematical and statistical development of new deep learning methodology and algorithms, and in particular, development of deep learning methodology for image analysis;
• This must be documented by publications in relevant journals and conferences;
• Since we seek candidates with a background in methodology development and not only use of existing traditional supervised deep learning for certain applications, at least one publication must come from a journal or conference which is not purely application oriented but which is considered a generic machine learning, computer vision, pattern recognition, etc, publication.
• Experience with teaching at the introduction to machine learning level is required.
• The candidate must have a documented excellent command of English (both written and oral).

Furthermore, since an aim of the research for this position is to provide novel solutions to Visual Intelligence’s main focus areas when it comes to deep learning research challenges, publications that tackle solutions for learning from limited data, uncertainty quantification, incorporation of context and dependencies, as well as interpretable deep learning, will be emphasized positively in the evaluation.

Willingness to visit national and international collaborating institutions is expected. The research is carried out in collaboration with researchers outside UiT, and the successful candidate must be able and willing to spend time for scientific collaboration elsewhere than Tromsø.

Experience with interdisciplinary work at the intersection of deep learning and the marine sciences will be evaluated very positively and publications reflecting such experience will be weighted heavily in the evaluation.

Additional desired qualifications include:

• Independence, creativity, and engagement.
• Strong problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Excellent work ethics.
• Good skills in handling, analyzing, and visualizing data.
• Track record of publication in international, peer-reviewed scientific journals.
• Teaching and student supervision experience at university level.
• Skills in Norwegian or another Scandinavian language.

Qualification with a PhD is required before commencement in the position. If you’re at the final stages of your PhD, you may still apply if you have submitted your PhD thesis for doctoral degree evaluation within the application deadline. You must submit the thesis with your application. You must have dissertated before the start-up date of the position.

At UiT we put emphasis on the quality, relevance and significance of the research work and not on where the work is published, in accordance with the principles of The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA ).

Inclusion and diversity  

UiT The Arctic University i Norway is working actively to promote equality, gender balance and diversity among employees and students, and to create an inclusive and safe working environment. We believe that inclusion and diversity is a strength, and we want employees with different competencies, professional experience, life experience and perspectives.  

If you have a disability, a gap in your CV or immigrant background, we encourage you to tick the box for this in your application. If there are qualified applicants, we invite least one in each group for an interview. If you get the job, we will adapt the working conditions if you need it. Apart from selecting the right candidates, we will only use the information for anonymous statistics. 

We offer

• A cross-disciplinary, interactive and stimulating working environment.
• National and international mobility to work closely with the research partners and to present the work in conferences/workshops.
• Opportunity to develop academic components of the career, i.e., working closely with graduate and undergraduate students.
• Guidance and support to identify and apply for relevant research grants.
• UiT has good welfare arrangements for employees including beneficial arrangements for pension and insurances. 
• A unique hometown, Tromsø, combining a multicultural urban scene with nearby Arctic wilderness. 

Norwegian health policy aims to ensure that everyone, irrespective of their personal finances and where they live, has access to good health and care services of equal standard. As an employee you will become member of the National Insurance Scheme which also include health care services .

More practical information for working and living in Norway can be found here: https://uit.no/staffmobility  

Application

Your application must include:

• Cover letter explaining your motivation, research interests, and experience relevant for conducting the work within the vacant position (max. 1 A4 page).
• A brief project proposal identifying outstanding research questions within the topics of the position, and a research plan for how to answer them (max. 2 A4 pages).
• CV (containing a complete overview of education and professional work; max. 3 pages).
• Diplomas and transcripts (all degrees)
• Documentation of English proficiency
• Letters from 2-3 references including their contact information.
• Documentation of teaching experience and qualifications, if applicable
• A list of your academic production
• The academic works (published or not) you wish is taken into consideration in the assessment, including a PhD thesis.

All documentation to be considered must be in a Scandinavian language or English. We only accept applications and documentation sent via Jobbnorge within the application deadline.

Assessment

The applicants will be assessed by an expert committee. The committee's mandate is to undertake an assessment of the applicants' qualifications based on the written material presented by the applicants, and the detailed description draw up for the position.

The applicants who are assessed as best qualified will be called to an interview. The interview should among other things, aim to clarify the applicant’s motivation and personal suitability for the position. A trial lecture may also be held.

General information

The appointment is made in accordance with State regulations and guidelines at UiT. At our website, you will find more information for applicants . 

The remuneration for Postdoctoral research fellow is in accordance with the State salary scale code 1352. A compulsory contribution of 2 % to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund will be deducted. You will become a member of the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund, which gives you many benefits in addition to a lifelong pension: You may be entitled to financial support if you become ill or disabled, your family may be entitled to financial support when you die, you become insured against occupational injury or occupational disease, and you can get good terms on a mortgage. Read more about your employee benefits at: spk.no .

The successful candidate must be willing to get involved in the ongoing development of their department and the university as a whole.

According to the Norwegian Freedom and Information Act (Offentleglova) information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure. 

Charter & Code - Torger Grytå
Eallju - Developing the High North 

UiT The Arctic University of Norway is a multi-campus comprehensive university at the international forefront. Our vision is to be a driving force for developing the High North. The Northern Sami notion eallju, which means eagerness to work, sets the tone for this motive power at UiT. Along with students, staff and the wider community, we aim to utilise our location in Northern Norway and Sápmi, our broad and diverse research and study portfolio and interdisciplinary advantage to shape the future.

Our social mission is to provide research-based education of high quality, perform artistic development and carry out research of the highest international quality standards in the entire range from basic to applied. We will convey knowledge about disciplines and contribute to innovation. Our social mission unites UiT across various studies, research fields and large geographical distances. This demands good cooperation with trade and industry and civil society as well as with international partners. We will strengthen knowledge-based and sustainable development at a regional, national and international level.

Academic freedom and scientific and ethical principles form the basis for all UiT’s activities. Participation, co-determination, transparency and good processes will provide the decision-making basis we need to make wise and far-sighted priorities. Our students and staff will have the opportunity to develop their abilities and potential. Founded on academic integrity, we will be courageous, committed and generous in close contact with disciplines, people and contemporary developments.

We will demonstrate adaptability and seek good and purposeful utilisation of resources, so we are ready to meet the expectations and opportunities of the future. We will strengthen the quality and impact of our disciplines and core tasks through the following three strategic priority areas.

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Deadline

6th June 2023

Employer

UiT The Arctic University of Norway

Municipality

Tromsø - Romsa

Scope

Fulltime (1 positions) Fulltime (%)

Duration

Temporary

Place of service

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