Stilling:
PhD research fellow in Reliable Machine Learning
Deadline: December 9, 2018
Western Norway University of Applied Sciences (HVL), Faculty of Engineering and Science has an open position for a PhD research fellow (PhD position) in Reliable Machine Learning for a period of 4 years.
The PhD research fellow will be part of the PhD programme in Computer Science: Software Engineering, Sensor Networks and Engineering Computing (http://ict.hvl.no). The research programme in Computer Science currently includes more than 20 professors and associate professors, 20 PhD students, and a large number of master’s students in software engineering.
About the PhD project
Machine learning is changing the landscape of engineering and its application is being still more widespread in society. In particular, software implementations of machine learning algorithms is playing an important role in safety critical systems, including autonomous vehicles, medical diagnostics, and smart software systems.
The correctness of machine learning approaches relies heavily the training data and the underlying stochastic optimization algorithms. Important elements in order to ensure that systems are based on reliable machine learning therefore includes: ability to control the uncertainty arising when a deployed system is exposed to real data that is far away from the testing data (generalisation problem); ability to obtain reliable prediction despite the stochastic nature of the optimization.
The research focus of the position will be to explore how modelling- and software verification techniques can be used to improve and assess the reliability of machine learning algorithms. The prospective PhD student will work in close cooperation with our current PhD students working in graph algorithms, software modelling and verification, applied mathematics, and in machine learning.
Research environment
The computer science research environment at HVL has a strong focus on use-inspired and applied research, and on ICT as an enabling technology. The research environment has cooperation with many national and international research groups, and with national and regional industry partners. The research programme includes the research themes of software engineering, engineering computing, communication systems and sensor networks, grid computing and physics data analysis, machine learning, and interactive and collaborative systems. The PhD research fellow position lies in the intersection of the software engineering and machine learning research groups.
Qualifications
The PhD research fellow should have a master's degree in computer science, applied mathematics, or in a closely related field, or have submitted the master's thesis before the application deadline. In the latter case, it is required that the master's degree must be awarded within 4 weeks after the applications deadline.
A solid background in statistics and machine learning combined with software verification and software development skills will be considered an advantage when the candidates are ranked.
In addition to the required educational background, the following criteria will be evaluated:
- Competence and grades on completed course work, quality of the master's thesis (excellent grade, equivalent of grade B or better on the ECTS grading system).
- Publications (if any).
- Research and teaching experience.
- Practical software engineering skills and experience.
- A possible outline of a research plan for a potential PhD project will also be taken into account.
The candidate must be diligent and display the ability to work independently, supplemented with regular guidance, and is expected to carry out high-quality research and to publish the results in international workshops, conferences, and journals.
The PhD research fellow must enroll in the PhD programme in Computer Science: Software Engineering, Sensor Networks and Engineering Computing at Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, and must meet the formal admission requirements for admission into the PhD programme. 25% of the 4-year period will be designated to duties such as teaching, development and administrative tasks. The employment period may be reduced if the successful applicant has held previous employment as a research fellow.
The PhD candidate will be assigned two academic supervisor(s) at Western Norway University of Applied Sciences. An application for enrolment should first be submitted after an appointment is made and the supervisor(s) will help with this procedure. The candidate must be enrolled as a PhD student within 3 months from the start of the employment.
Application procedure
Applications will be evaluated by an expert panel of three members. Applicants are asked to submit their application and CV online. Please use the link “Apply for this job” (“Søk stillingen”). The following documentation should be uploaded as an attachment to the online application:
- Master Thesis
- Copies of selected academic publications
- A CV with a complete list of academic publications (if any)
- Diplomas and certificates
Applicants should indicate which publications or parts of publications should be given special consideration in the evaluation. If the documents submitted are not in a Scandinavian language or in English, the applicants must submit certified translations of these. The transcripts must specify the topics, the course works, and the grades at the bachelor`s and master`s degree levels.
Applicants should note that the evaluation will be based on the documentation submitted electronically via Jobbnorge within the submission deadline. The applicants are responsible for ensuring that all the documentation is submitted before the closing date. It is of utmost importance that all publications to be considered in the evaluation are uploaded as an attachment with the application, since these are sent electronically to the expert panel. Applications cannot be sent by email or to individuals at the college.
Salary
Initial salaries will be offered at grade 51 (code 1017) in the Civil Service pay grade table scale. There
is a compulsory 2 % deduction to the pension fund. The successful applicant must comply with the guidelines that apply to the position at any time.
General information
The appointment will be made in accordance with the regulations for State Employees and Civil Servants in Norway. Organizational changes and changes in the duties and responsibilities associated with the position must be expected.
The Norwegian public service is committed to reflecting the social diversity in its workforce, and the personnel policy of the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences aims to achieve a balanced workforce. All qualified candidates are therefore encouraged to apply for the position, irrespective of cultural background, gender, age or disability.
In accordance with §25 (2) of the Freedom of Information Act, applicants may request that they are not identified in the open list of applicants. The University, however, reserves the right to publish the name of the applicants. Applicants will be informed if the University intends to exercise this right.
Home pages:
Contact:
- Associate Professor Volker Stolz, phone: 55 58 75 86, e-mail: volker.stolz@hvl.no
- Associate Professor Olivier Verdier, phone: 55 58 76 68, e-mail olivier.verdier@hvl.no
- Professor Håvard Helstrup, Coordinator of PhD Program on ICT Engineering, tlf: 47 55 58 75 61, e-mail: havard@helstrup@hvl.no