PERSEUS - PhD Candidate in Natural Language Processing for Personalized Content Summarization
At the Department of Computer Science, we have a vacancy for a PhD candidate in Natural Language Processing for personalized content summarization.
Content summarization uses machine learning to extract the main ideas of individual texts or collections of text. It may also be used to explain recommendations and provide explanatory features in artificial intelligence in general. Central to the technique is the use of machine learning and language models to interpret text and contextualize content with respect to users or tasks at hand. Summarization is often combined with other NLP techniques to provide personalized summaries or build conversational systems that make use of external sources. The PhD student will develop new summarization techniques that are incorporated into generative conversational systems and personalized with respect to users and contexts. The research will address both English and Scandinavian languages. The expected results include industrial prototypes in collaboration with industry partners as well as high-quality publications in top NLP venues.
This PhD project is a part of the PERSEUS doctoral programme: A collaboration between NTNU- Norway's largest university, 11 top-level academic partners in 8 European countries, and 8 industrial partners within sectors of high societal relevance.
Within PERSEUS we will recruit 40 PhD candidates who want to contribute to a smart, safe and sustainable future. We are looking for highly skilled PhD candidates motivated to approach societal challenges within one of the following thematic areas:
The PERSEUS program is collaborating with the Norwegian Research Center for AI Innovation (NorwAI) for this fellowship. NorwAI is an 8-year long center for research-based innovation that was established in 2020 and include 15 partners from industry, universities and research institutes in Norway. Research areas cover competences that the Norwegian industry needs to develop cutting-edge theories, methods and technology, for efficient, effective and responsible exploitation of data-driven AI in innovative industrial solutions. The center has a particular focus on the domains of finance, media, telecom, and energy. As part of the NorwAI research center, the candidate is given a unique arena for collaboration and networking, also across disciplines and with industry.
All participants in the PERSEUS network bring unique and important qualities with them into the doctoral programme. The PERSEUS PhD candidates will have the opportunity to collaborate with researchers in the partner institutions and in other project consortia, and benefit from these collaborative research and education activities.
As part of the PERSEUS team you will work alongside other highly motivated and talented PhD candidates and researchers. You will also have access to the knowledge base, state-of-the-art research infrastructure, and impact orientation of the partners in the team.
In addition to your education and development within the thematic research area, you will gain transferable skills within project development and management, science communication, research ethics, innovation and entrepreneurial thinking, as well as basic university didactics.
As a PERSEUS PhD candidate, you will be employed by NTNU. During your stay, you will do a 2-3 month international stay and a 1-2 month national stay with one of the PERSEUS partners. This will allow you to extend your network within academia and industry, and to learn about your research area from an academic, innovation, and societal perspective.
The duration of the PhD employment is 36 months.
Starting gross salary is 491.200 NOK/year (equal to approx. 50.133 EUR/year by the exchange rate of May 2021).
We are looking for PhD candidates from all nationalities, who want to contribute to our quest to create knowledge for a better world. PERSEUS recruits candidates according to the EU's mobility rule, i.e. applicants cannot have spent more than 12 months in Norway during the last 3 years.
The number of women in this field needs to be increased to answer its demand for female researchers, and we strongly encourage women to apply.
We believe in fair and open processes. All applications will be considered through a transparent evaluation procedure, with independent observers involved.
The position's working place is NTNU campus in Trondheim. You will report to the Head of the Department.
We look forward to welcome you to the PERSEUS and NorwAI teams.
Duties of the position
The main supervisor will be Prof. Jon Atle Gulla and the candidate is also expected to work together with other researchers in his group and industrial partners of NorwAI. Other duties:
Required selection criteria
In addition, the candidate must have:
The appointment is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants and Regulations concerning the degrees of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) and Philosodophiae Doctor (PhD) in artistic research national guidelines for appointment as PhD, post doctor and research assistant
Preferred selection criteria
Personal characteristics
The applicant should:
We offer
Salary and conditions
PhD candidates are remunerated in code 1017 and are normally remunerated at gross from NOK 491 200 per annum before tax, however it may be negotiable (increased) depending on high level of qualifications and research experience of the candidate. From the salary, 2% is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.
The period of employment is 3 years.
Appointment to a PhD position requires that you are admitted to the PhD programme in Computer Science within three months of employment, and that you participate in an organized PhD programme during the employment period.
The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants, and the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and attachment are seen to conflict with the criteria in the latter law will be prohibited from recruitment to NTNU.
After the appointment you must assume that there may be changes in the area of work.
It is a prerequisite you can be present at and accessible to the institution on a daily basis.
About the application
The application and supporting documentation to be used as the basis for the assessment must be in English.
Publications and other scientific work must follow the application. Please note that applications are only evaluated based on the information available on the application deadline. You should ensure that your application shows clearly how your skills and experience meet the criteria which are set out above.
Please submit your application electronically via Jobbnorge website. Applications submitted elsewhere/incomplete applications will not be considered. Applicants must upload the following documents within the closing date:
In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal suitability.
NTNU is committed to following evaluation criteria for research quality according to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment - DORA.
If you have any questions about the position, please contact Jon Atle Gulla, email jon.atl...@ntnu.no, or the Head of the department Professor Heri Ramampiaro, email he...@ntnu.no.
Application deadline: 30.09.2021