RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP | Center for Responsible Al | 978392

29 Feb 2024
Job Information

Organisation/Company

Universidade de Coimbra

Research Field

Engineering » Other

Researcher Profile

First Stage Researcher (R1)

Country

Portugal

Application Deadline

15 Mar 2024 - 23:59 (Europe/Lisbon)

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Full-time

Hours Per Week

35

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

European Union / Next Generation EU

Reference Number

7142

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

No

Offer Description

CALL FOR RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP

University of Coimbra opens a call for one  research fellowship, in the framework of the CRAI project “Center for Responsible Al” (reference: 7142), financed by PRR - Recovery and Resilience Plan and by the Next Generation EU Funds, following NOTICE N.º 02/C05-i01/2022, Component 5 – Capitalization and Business Innovation - Mobilizing Agendas for Business Innovation, in the following conditions:

Scientific area: Informatics Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or similar.

Skills/Qualifications/Admission requirements: Bachelor's degree in Informatics Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or similar enrolled in a Master's degree course in Informatics Engineering or similar.

Although the recipients must be enrolled in a cycle of studies leading to the attribution of an academic degree, at the time of application it is not necessary for the candidate to have made such an enrollment, and proof of enrollment must be presented until the fellowship is contractualized. Candidates are only required to meet the requirements to enroll in the training offer. If there are candidates already enrolled (including attending a course), they compete on an equal footing with those who are not enrolled.  

Work plan/ Objectives: The aim of this work is to explore the explainability of the state-of-the-art ML models used for chemistry. More specifically, the goal is the use of the framework introduced by Rasmussen to make Graph Neural Nets such as EGNNs, more understandable for human interpretation. Therefore, we can better understand the logic behind the models and propose improvements. In this case, the models are used for predicting molecular enthalpy, for which we can generate an interpretable ground-truth dataset.  
Thus, this study aims to contribute to the understanding and improvement of the interpretability of ANI models in chemistry by applying XAI techniques and assessing their effectiveness in providing clear and trustworthy explanations for users.
1- State of the art
2- Problem statement, research aims and objectives
3- Design and first implementation of the AI system
4- Improvement of the AI system
5- Experimental Tests
6- Paper writing.

Regime: The attribution of the fellowship does not generate or entitle a relation of a legal-labour nature, and the fellowship is undertaken in an exclusive dedication regime. The fellowship holder is awarded the Fellowship Statute of the UC, in its current wording, according to the Research Fellowship Holder Statute , and according to the Regulation for Research Fellowships of the Foundation for Science and Technology, both in their current wording.

Location: Department of Informatics Engineering  at the University of Coimbra.

Duration: 3 Months .

Renewal: Eventually renewable.

Scientific orientation: Luís Miguel Machado Lopes Macedo and Fernando Amílcar Bandeira Cardoso.

Financial conditions: The amount of the fellowship is € 990.98  corresponding to the monthly compensation stipulated in the FCT table (https://www.fct.pt/en/financiamento/programas-de-financiamento/bolsas/ ), plus   personal accidents insurance. The payment will be made by bank transfer. This amount will not be increased during the entire period of the fellowship duration.

Selection methods: Curriculum Evaluation (50%) and Interview (50%) .

Selection criteria: 
Curricular Evaluation: 
Absolute merit of curriculum vitae – 50%;
Academic achievement in subjects relevant to the work plan – 50%; 

Interview: 
 Motivation and interest – 50%; 
 Knowledge in Responsible and Reliable Artificial Intelligence– 50%.

Jury responsible for selection:  
President: Luís Miguel Machado Lopes Macedo; 
Member: Fernando Amílcar Bandeira Cardoso; Hugo Ricardo Gonçalo Oliveira;
Alternate member: Licínio Gomes Roque; Ana Cristina da Costa Oliveira Alves.

Formalization of application:  
- Letter of Interest; 
- Curriculum vitae; 
- Certificate of qualifications; 
- Bachelor's Degree Academic Transcript; 
- Proof of enrollment – Master’s (optional); 
- Declaration mentioned below, the fulfillment of which is carried out in a specific form on the apply.uc.pt platform ..

Declaration on the honor of the candidate(s) with the indication of the fellowship(s) of the typology to which the contest was held and the respective duration(s).

Applicants with academic degrees obtained abroad will be required to present a Certificate of Recognition in accordance with applicable law. This document is mandatory only in the contractualization phase.

Applications submission: Applications must be submitted through the Apply UC platform https://apply.uc.pt/IT137-24-103 .

Submission of applications: Between 01/03/2024  and 15/03/2024.

Submission deadline date: 15/03/2024.

Additional information: The evaluation results will be announced within 90 working days after the end of the applications submission deadline, by notifying the applicants via email. After the announcement of the results, candidates are considered automatically notified to, if they wish to do so, comment on the results on a preliminary hearing period within 10 days after that date. After this, the selected candidates will have to declare in writing their acceptance. Unless a justification worthy of consideration is presented, if the declaration is not submitted within the referred period, it is considered that the candidate waivers the fellowship. In case of resignation or withdrawal of the selected candidate, the next candidate with the highest evaluation score will be notified immediately.
Once the selection process is completed, the fellowship contract will be drawn up in accordance with the draft contract provided by the FCT.
After the contracted period, the fellowship holder and supervisor must prepare the final report in accordance with the respective assessment criteria that were established.

Pursuant to subparagraph h) of Article 9 of the Portuguese Constitution, the University of Coimbra, as employer, actively promotes a policy of equal opportunities between men and women in access to employment and professional development, and acts to prevent each and every kind of discrimination.
Therefore, no one can be privileged, benefited, harmed or deprived of any right or immune from any duty on account of, in particular, ancestry, age, sexual orientation, gender, marital status, family, economic situation, education, origin or social condition, genetic heritage, reduced work capacity, disability, chronic illness, nationality, ethnic or racial origin, territory of origin, language, religion, political or ideological beliefs and trade union membership.

Selection reserve list: NA 

Requirements

Research Field

Engineering » Other

Education Level

Bachelor Degree or equivalent

Additional Information
Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

University of Coimbra

Country

Portugal

Geofield

Where to apply

Website

https://apply.uc.pt/IT137-24-103

Contact

City

Coimbra

Website

https://apply.uc.pt/IT137-24-103

Street

Rua Larga

Postal Code

3004-504 Coimbra

STATUS: EXPIRED