Jobs

I am open for supervising your PhD or PostDoc project, if our research interests align (check my overview). In this case I am also happy to help you with your own proposal, for external funding that you are eligible to apply for. Some good sources are (many more exist):

• DDSA PhD Fellowship
• Innovation Fund Denmark - Industrial PhD
• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship

If you want to work with me, then please read my Lab Guide first.

Open RA, PhD, or PostDoc positions

Two full-time PhD positions in Natural Language Processing / Machine Learning (deadline April 1st) and Computational Modelling / Machine Learning (deadline March 20th) at IT University of Copenhagen, Denmark, starting in Summer-Autumn 2023. Feel free to contact me for more details!

Topic 1: Modelling compositional language structures across languages.

The origin of language development of human beings can at least be traced back to two sources: the survival needs for communication and the unique wiring of human brains. The two factors can co-develop with each other through life-span. Nevertheless, languages from the whole world are with tremendous diversity. Yet, given the fact that all human brains share very similar structures and connection patterns, which presumably afford for similar ways to encode and decode information from the external world, there likely exist some hidden common structures, like some word orders or numbers of phonemes in a language, that are shared at least within, or even across, language families. An important constraint for these similar structures comes from the theory that the brain is processing language embodied in all our senses and via processing streams that are also involved in a range of other cognitive functions from specific motor control up to general problem-solving. This suggests that language comprehension and production, in fact, developed on top of existing information processing schemes, which in turn might have similarly shaped how the different language families have developed. A particular mechanism that was recently hypothesized to give rise to the structure of the brain’s sequence processing is temporal compositionality and chunking, which seemingly operate on language sequences as well. With this PhD project, we want to identify and describe the specific, latent temporal encoding structures that may constrain the temporal features of spoken language. In this project, the candidate will study structure patterns in spoken language and investigate how to build a model that can extract temporal characteristics of speech across different languages.

Since the project is interdisciplinary, active collaboration within the AI Pioneer Centre as well as with experts in computational neuroscience and developmental psychology in Germany and Japan are planned.

Application details:

The ideal candidate should have a Masters in Computer Science, Computational Neuroscience, Computational Linguistics, Developmental Psychology, Cognitive Science or related fields, as well as a strong interest in interdisciplinary research, at the intersection of Natural Language Processing, Machine Learning, and Psycholinguistics.

As a PhD Student at the Pioneer Centre for AI you will have extraordinary access to computing resources, international researchers across disciplines, courses and events at the centre and meaning collaboration with industry, the public sector etc.

Candidates will work together with me (stehe@itu.dk) and Barbara Plank (bapl@itu.dk), and are encouraged to get in contact with me for further details.

Link to further application details: https://www.aicentre.dk/phd-openings

Application deadline: 01 April 2023, at 23:59 CET.

Topic 2: Modelling hierarchical learning of music and speech processing.

How does the human brain hierarchically process music or speech? It seems the brain is dynamically adapting to the timescales in the sensation in a way that components of music, such as melodies and low base lines are processed and integrated differently. Furthermore, it seems crucial that the brain is using a statistical learning scheme, thus learning this adaptation by how frequently these components occur. Despite a number of existing neuroimaging studies and scarce attempts to suggest underlying computational principles, research for detailed models is open. We plan modelling the learning of music by studying different computational mechanisms, both, more precise and w.r.t. its functionality close to specific biological neuron models, as well as more coarse, based on general computational principles such as hierarchical network structure, decoding schemes, and distributed activation. The computational research will be conducted side-by-side with a series of empirical EEG studies to verify the validity and further specify the models. The project is part of a cross-departmental initiative between the departments of computer science and digital design aimed at investigating machine-learning-based computational models of the human mind in relation to digital media interaction. Results from this project can enable understanding human information processing better, as well as applying derived computational principles in AI and machine learning approaches of the next generation.

Application details:

The ideal candidate should have a Masters in Computer Science, Computational Neuroscience, Developmental Psychology, Cognitive Science or related fields, as well as a strong interest in interdisciplinary research, at the intersection of Computational Modelling and Machine Learning.

Candidates will work together with me (stehe@itu.dk) and Paolo Burelli (pabu@itu.dk), and are encouraged to get in contact to develop the project details together.

Link to apply and further application details: https://candidate.hr-manager.net/ApplicationInit.aspx?cid=119&ProjectId=181523&DepartmentId=3439&MediaId=338

Application deadline: 20 March 2023, at 23:59 CET.

The salary scale will be in accordance with the Ministry of Finance’s agreement with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations for a full-time position.

ITU is a teaching and research-based tertiary institution concerned with information technology (IT) and the opportunities it offers. The University offers an informal working environment, a varied everyday life, and a highly motivated, competent, and diverse international faculty. Copenhagen has a strong educational system, a rich cultural life, universal healthcare, good childcare, and a well-functioning infrastructure. The city is also among the world’s most liveable cities according to the Economist Global Liveability Index.

Guidelines Applications

Sometimes the application requirements include to hand in a project proposal (statement of purpose). You can look into this proposal template for guidance.