PhD student in computational linguistics
We are looking for a PhD student in a new DFG-funded research project at the Department of Language Science and Technology at Saarland University. The project is led by Prof. Alexander Koller and Dr. Lucia Donatelli.
The position will be part of the new research project “Interactive Cookbook”. In this project, we will develop a dialogue system which interactively explains to a user how to cook a dish. The system will distill knowledge about recipes from large collections of recipe texts and use neurosymbolic methods to adapt the recipe to the current user.
This is a three-year position on the German TV-L E13 scale (75%). The salary of E13 75% starts at roughly EUR 38,000 per year and increases with experience. The position can be extended further if funding is available. The starting date should be in the second half of 2021, but is negotiable.
Requirements:
We are looking for candidates who have finished, or are about to complete, an excellent MSc degree in computational linguistics, computer science, or a related discipline. You should be familiar with neural methods in NLP and interested in combining them with symbolic methods, and you must be proficient in English (spoken and written).
About the department:
Saarland University is one of the leading centers for computational linguistics in Europe, and offers a dynamic and stimulating research environment. The Department of Language Science and Technology organizes about 100 research staff in eight research groups in the fields of computational linguistics, psycholinguistics, speech processing, and corpus linguistics (https://www.lst.uni-saarland.de/en/).
The department is the centerpiece of the Collaborative Research Center 1102 “Information Density and Linguistic Encoding” (http://www.sfb1102.uni-saarland.de). It is part of the Saarland Informatics Campus (https://saarland-informatics-campus.de/en), which brings together computer science research at the university with world-class research institutions on campus, such as the Max Planck Institute for Informatics, the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems, and the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI).
Saarland University is located in Saarbrücken, a mid-sized city in the tri-border area of Germany, France, and Luxembourg. Saarbrücken combines a lively culture scene with a relaxed atmosphere, and is quite an affordable place to live in. Our department maintains an international and diverse work environment. The primary working language is English; learning German while you are here will make it easier to connect with the local culture, but is not necessary for your work.
How to apply:
Please submit your application at http://apply.coli.uni-saarland.de/ak21_cookbook
Include a single PDF file with the following information:
(1) a statement of research interests that motivates why you are applying for this position;
(2) a full CV including your list of publications;
(3) scans of transcripts and academic degree certificates;
(4) the names, affiliations, and e-mail addresses of two people who can provide letters of reference for you.
Priority will be given to applications received by July 18, 2021. Saarland University especially welcomes applications from women and people with disabilities.
If you have further questions, please email Lucia Donatelli <donatelli@coli.uni-saarland.de>. Applications should _not_ be emailed to this address, but submitted through the online form.
Please see the official job ad for the legal fine print on http://www.coli.uni-saarland.de/~koller/page.php?id=jobs