PhD position “Natural Language Processing and Machine/Deep Learning for Digital History”

The University of Luxembourg is an international research university with a distinct multilingual and interdisciplinary character. Founded in 2003, the university has more than 6700 students and more than 2000 staff members from all over the world. The university's faculties and interdisciplinary centres focus on research in computer science and ICT security, materials science, European and international law, finance and financial innovation, education, contemporary history and digital history. In addition, the university focuses on cross-disciplinary research in data modelling and simulation, and health and systems biomedicine. According to Times Higher Education (THE), the University of Luxembourg is ranked 3rd in the world for its "international outlook", 20th in the Young University Ranking 2021 and among the top 250 universities worldwide.

The Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Intelligent and Adaptive Systems (ILIAS) is concerned with all aspects relating to Artificial Intelligence. In particularly, the theoretical foundations and the algorithmic realization of data and information processing systems, Big Data Analytics, Machine Learning Applications, Human-Computer Interaction, Natural Language Processing, and Reasoning in complex and dynamic environments given limited resources and incomplete or uncertain information. ILIAS supports an interdisciplinary working with the interdisciplinary centres and all other faculties of the university, the HPC, and national and European institutions.

As part of ILIAS and embedded in the Department of Computer Science (DCS) of the Faculty of Science, Technology and Medicine (FSTM), the research group of Prof. Dr. Christoph Schommer is looking for a PhD student in computer science within the framework of the FNR-funded research training group "Deep Data Science of Digital History". This is conducted jointly with historians, among others.

Your Role...

The selected applicant will be integrated into Prof. Schommer's research group. The applicant will be a member of the Doctoral School in Science and Engineering (DSSE), which offers a doctoral programme in computer science that aims to provide interdisciplinary and internationally competitive research training.

The candidate is one of 18 PhD students within D4H and will work within the FNR-funded research training group "Deep Data Science of Digital History". This interdisciplinary DTU focuses on various challenges at the interface between the disciplines of history, AI, data science and human-computer interaction. D4H involves the Centre for Contemporary and Digital History (C²DH) of the University of Luxembourg, the Department of Computer Science of the Faculty of Science, Technology and Medicine (FSTM), the Institute of History (IHIST) of the Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences (FHSE), the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) and the Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER).

For a detailed description of the conceptual framework of D4H, the training program, and the list of potential PhD topics see: https://dhh.uni.lu/d4h

Your Mission

• Write a PhD thesis in the field of Natural Language Processing and Machine/Deep Learning with an application focus on Digital History
• Participate at D4H training activities and research workshops
• Write research papers and publication of peer-reviewed journal articles
• Participate in public history and outreach activities
• Limited teaching activity of 2h per week

What we expect from you…

• Master’s degree in Computer Science, Digital Humanities, or an equivalent discipline
• Proven experience via academic publications or personal projects in the field of Natural Language - Processing and Machine Learning
• Communication skills that enable you to work across the D4H disciplines
• Languages: Excellent commandment of English is a must. Knowledge of French or German is considered as a plus

In Short...

• Contract Type: Fixed Term Contract 40 Month (extendable up to 48 months if required)
• Work Hours: Full Time 40.0 Hours per Week
• Location: Belval
• Employee and student status
• Job Reference: UOL05186
• The yearly gross salary for every PhD at the UL is EUR 38028 (full time)

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How to apply...**
Please send the following documents in PDF and in one file (points 1 – 4 in English language):

• Your research proposal (max. 2 pages, including references) of a multi-disciplinary research topic that fits into one of the three thematic research pillars of D4H; see https://dhh.uni.lu/d4h
• Motivation letter (max. 1 page)
• Curriculum Vitae
• List of publications and a 1 page summary of your Master Thesis
• Master’s diploma
• Name + email of 2 independent referees who could provide a letter of recommendation if needed

We ensure a full consideration for applications received by 22 September 2022.

Only complete applications will be considered. The University of Luxembourg is an equal opportunity employer. All applications will be treated in the strictest confidence.

In return you will get…

• Multilingual and international character. Modern institution with a personal atmosphere. Staff coming from 90 countries. Member of the “University of the Greater Region” (UniGR).
• A modern and dynamic university. High-quality equipment. Close ties to the business world and to the Luxembourg labour market. A unique urban site with excellent infrastructure.
• A partner for society and industry. Cooperation with European institutions, innovative companies, the Financial Centre and with numerous non-academic partners such as ministries, local governments, associations, NGOs …

Further information...

For more information please contact Prof. Dr. Christoph Schommer ([email protected] ; see https://ilias.uni.lu ).