Connectionists: Ph.D. positions available

[Marcin Paprzycki]

Hello!

forwarding message from a friend

best,
Marcin

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The Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Information 
Technology (CETINIA) at University Rey Juan Carlos (URJC) offers six 
predoctoral research contracts in the context of a large Spanish 
national project on Value-Awareness Engineering (VAE). The project will 
be carried out in cooperation with the Artificial Intelligence Research 
Institute (IIIA) of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), and 
the Valencian Research Institute on Artificial Intelligence (VRAIN) at 
Technical University of Valencia (UPV).

The general aim of the VAE project is to develop tools and technologies 
for building value-aware systems. Here, value-aware refers to systems 
that understand our human values and ensure their behaviour to be 
aligned with those values. The project is centred in the context of 
trustworthy Artificial Intelligence and will build upon and advance 
works in the field of multiagent systems, especially related to 
normative systems, agreement technologies, machine learning, logic 
programming, individual and collective decision making and explanation 
mechanisms, as well as ethical foundations of agency.

Successful candidates will work closely with senior CETINIA researchers 
and other research associates in the project on modelling and 
implementation tasks, preparing research articles for publication in 
peer-reviewed journals, and presenting findings at conferences and 
workshops. Desired outcomes of the research contracts are PhD 
dissertations, possibly related to one or several of the aforementioned 
topics of the VAE project. Some positions include the opportunity of 
implementing cotutelle agreements with collaborating European Universities.


Requirements
------------
Candidates are required to hold a degree in Computer Science or related 
fields (Telecommunication Engineering, Applied Mathematics, Industrial 
Engineering, etc.), have good communication skills in English and/or 
Spanish, and be able to demonstrate strong motivation to conduct 
research. Having completed (or finishing) a Master’s Degree, 
preferably on Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, or similar topics, 
is a plus. Good programming skills (Python, Java, and/or Matlab) as well 
as a solid background in Artificial Intelligence (see the VAE topics 
above) are desirable. Qualified women are particularly encouraged to apply.


Benefits
--------
The annual salary is 24.000 EUR before taxes and includes Spanish Social 
Security. In addition, generous allowances are given to support 
presentation of work at international conferences and to attend seminars 
and tutorials. The expected duration of contracts is three years. 
Contracts are conditional on satisfactory progress, which is reviewed 
every year.


Start date
----------
The desirable start date is February 2023 although variations may be 
possible depending on the candidates’ circumstances.


Application
-----------
To apply for these contracts, you are kindly asked to send your (i) 
motivation letter describing your research interests and goals, (ii) CV, 
(iii) transcripts, (iv) certificates, (v) contacts for two references, 
and (vi) relevant publications (if any) in one PDF file to the following 
e-mail: vae.contracts.urjc at gmail.com preferably by January 7th 2023. 
Applications will be considered by the Principal Investigators of the 
VAE project at URJC (Prof. Billhardt and Prof. Ossowski) on a rolling basis.


About the CETINIA Research Centre at URJC
-----------------------------------------
The CETINIA research centre aims at promoting R&D&I in the field of 
Artificial Intelligence and IT at URJC. It currently comprises 6 
research groups and over 60 faculty members. To successfully carry out 
its research, technology transfer, and dissemination activities, CETINIA 
relies on a broad multinational team of researchers and practitioners in 
the field of Intelligent Systems, Machine Learning, Software 
Engineering, and Operations Research, among others. CETINIA is involved 
in research projects with industrial as well as public funding, from 
regional, national, and European sources.

University Rey Juan Carlos is a young public university with several 
campuses in the greater Madrid. In its 25 years of operation, it managed 
to grow to 46.000 students, being currently the second largest among the 
six public Universities in Madrid. CETINIA is located in the campus of 
Mostoles, where the Presidency of the University is located. Mostoles is 
the second-largest city in population belonging to the autonomous 
community of Madrid. It is located 18 kilometres southwest from central 
Madrid, which can be easily reached by metro, train, or bus.

For further information visit the websites at 
http://www.cetinia.urjc.es/ and http://www.ia.urjc.es/GIA/