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PhD position at Tilburg center for Cognition and Communication (TiCC)
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The Tilburg center for Cognition and Communication (TiCC) invites applications for a PhD position for the project “Learning Language through Dialogue”. The goal of the project is to study the influence of communicative interaction on language development, and to investigate how linguistic constructions are acquired through conversation. This will be pursued by applying a multi-disciplinary approach that combines analyzing child-adult interaction data and developing computational models that simulate the process of construction learning through interaction.

For more information about the project and the vacant PhD position, contact the project supervisors Afra Alishahi from Tilburg University (a.alishahi@tilburguniversity.com) and Raquel Fernandez from University of Amsterdam (raquel.fernandez@uva.nl).

You can apply for this position here: http://tinyurl.com/phd-position-afra-raquel

REQUIREMENTS

We seek enthusiastic candidates with a background in Computational Linguistics, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Computational Cognitive Science, or a related discipline.

General requirements: The successful candidate has a Master’s degree in one of the aforementioned areas, a strong interest in doing research, excellent writing skills and a good command of English. In addition, the candidate has proven experience with developing computational techniques and models for processing language. Given the multidisciplinary nature of the research project, the successful candidate is willing and able to work across disciplinary boundaries.

WHAT WE OFFER

Tilburg University is rated among the top Dutch employers, offering excellent terms of employment. The collective labour agreement of Tilburg University applies. The PhD project will be carried within the Tilburg center for Cognition and Communication (TiCC), one of the five centers of excellence at Tilburg University. TiCC combines two strong research programs: Creative Computing (CC), including research in Artificial Intelligence, Computational Linguistics, and Intelligent Systems, and Language, Communication and Cognition (LCC), including research in Cognitive Science, Communication and Discourse Studies. The unique combination of these two research programs enables TiCC to work on research projects in which computer-based techniques of modelling and processing (big) data are combined with experimentally elicited human data.

The project will be carried out in collaboration with the Dialogue Modelling Group at the Institute for Logic, Language and Computation (ILLC), University of Amsterdam. The ILLC is a world-class interdisciplinary research institute that aims at bringing together insights from various fields concerned with information encoding and processing, including logic, mathematics, computer science, linguistics and computational linguistics.

The PhD candidate will be ranked in the Dutch university job ranking system (UFO) as a PhD-student (promovendus) with a starting salary of ? 2.194.- gross per month in the first year, up to ? 2.801,- in the fourth year (amounts full time). The selected candidate will start with a contract for one year, concluded by an evaluation. Upon a positive outcome of the first-year evaluation, the candidate will be offered an employment contract for the remaining three years. It is also possible to work 80% instead of full time. The selected candidate is expected to have written a PhD thesis (which may be based on articles) by the end of the contract.

APPLICATIONS

Applications should include:
– A cover letter (maximum two pages),
– Curriculum Vitae,
– Copy of the university marks (grade list),
– Names of two references.

Applications should be sent before August 30, 2016. The project will start as soon as a suitable candidate is found.