PhD position in Graph Algorithms and Parameterized Complexity, IT University of Copenhagen

The Algorithms group at the IT University of Copenhagen welcomes applications for a PhD position with focus on graph algorithms and parameterized complexity. The position is funded by the project “Unifying Theories for Graph Modification Problems” (UNITMOD) led by Dr. Paloma Thomé de Lima (http://itu.dk/~palt). The starting date is from 1st of October 2023 (negotiable). The IT University’s vision is to create and share knowledge that is profound and leads to groundbreaking information technology and services for the benefit of humanity. The Computer Science Department seeks to conduct research and education that are both foundational and have impact on industry and society.

Project
The project “Unifying Theories for Graph Modification Problems” (UNITMOD) is funded by the Independent Research Fund Denmark. Its main goal is to study the complexity of graph modification problems. In a graph modification problem, we are concerned with how close a graph is from satisfying a desired property, and how can we modify it to do so. The goal is to design efficient algorithms for these problems, or to provide a formal mathematical justification for why such algorithms are unlikely to exist.

The ideal candidate

• Has a solid background in algorithmic graph theory and some basic knowledge about parameterized algorithms and complexity.
• Is self-motivated and enthusiastic about carrying out research.
• Can work independently as well as in a group.
• Has good English communication skills.

The tasks associated with the position include

• To carry out research in the project.
• To publish scientific papers and present them at international venues.
• To attend courses for academic development and assist in teaching.
• To finalize the research training by writing and completing a PhD dissertation.

Research environment
The qualified applicant will join the Algorithm’s group at ITU and will be supervised by assistant professor Paloma Thomé de Lima and professor Thore Husfeldt. The algorithms group at ITU carries out research in theoretical computer science and algorithm engineering. We aim for academic excellence and collegial respect. Located in one of the most-livable cities in the world, we provide good working conditions, and a down-to-earth research environment. Copenhagen has a good educational system, a rich cultural life, universal healthcare, good childcare, and well-functioning infrastructure. Copenhagen is among the world’s most livable cities according to the Economist Global Livability Index.

General information
The IT University of Copenhagen (ITU) is a teaching and research-based tertiary institution concerned with information technology (IT) and the opportunities it offers. The IT University has more than 160 full-time Faculty members. Research and teaching in information technology span all academic activities which involve computers including computer science, information and media sciences, humanities and social sciences, business impact and the commercialization of IT.

Qualified applicants will be employed and enrolled at the ITU University for a period of 3 years.

Qualification Requirements
The following qualifications are required:

• 3 year programme: candidates should have an MSc (or equivalent)

Terms of employment
The employment and salary conditions will be in accordance with the Ministry of Taxation’s agreement with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC).

Application
The application should be in English and should include:

• A cover letter explaining your motivation, interest for the position, and how your profile fits (1 page) 
• A full CV (3 pages max), including name, address, phone number, e-mail, previous and present employment and academic background.
• Documentation of academic degrees (copy of degree certificates, transcripts from Bachelor and Master studies)
• Name and contact information of two references, one of which should be the MSc supervisor

Applications without the above-mentioned required documents will not be assessed.               

The applicant will be accessed according to the Appointment Order from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation of 13 March 2012.

The IT University may use shortlisting in connection to the recruitment process. In case of shortlisting, the Chair of the hiring committee selects applicants for assessment in consultation with the hiring committee after the application deadline. All applicants are notified whether their application has been passed for assessment. The shortlisting of candidates for assessment is based on the criteria in the job posting. 

Early contact with our faculty staff is encouraged.  

Questions about the positions can be directed to Assistant Professor, IT University of Copenhagen, Paloma Thomé de Lima at palt@itu.dk

Application procedure
You can only apply for this position through our e-recruitment system. Apply by pressing the button “Apply for position” in the job announcement on our website: http://en.itu.dk/About-ITU/Vacancies

Please read the guidelines for applicants carefully before filling in the application form. You can see the guidelines through this link: PhD Programme (itu.dk)

Applications should be written in English. All other documents, such as transcipts should be accompanied by a translation in English or Danish.

Please note that all application material will be deleted after the assessment. 

Application deadline: 9 June at 23:59 CEST.

Applications/enclosures received at ITU after the application deadline will not be taken into consideration. If you submit an application, it is your responsibility to ensure that it arrives before the deadline so please allow sufficient time for upload of publications and other documents.

The IT University invites all qualified researchers regardless of age, gender, religious affiliation or ethnic background to apply for the positions.

Read the job description at the university homepage

Apply for position

Post expires on Friday June 9th, 2023

Postdoc position in machine learning and medical imaging

The DASYA (DAta-intensive SYstems and Applications) group at the Computer Science Department of the IT University of Copenhagen invites motivated individuals to apply for a postdoctoral position starting 1 September 2023, or soon thereafter, until August 31st 2025.

The project is funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation starting grant titled “CATS: Choosing A Transfer Source for medical image classification” and is led by Associate Professor Veronika Cheplygina.

Project

Medical imaging algorithms, e.g. for detection of abnormalities, are often trained via transfer learning – first on source (publicly available) images, and then on target (clinical) images. An important problem is how to choose the source data. A poor choice will impair the algorithm performance and waste computational resources. Our goal is to develop tools for choosing source data for given types of target data, by systematically studying transfer learning, and proposing dataset similarity measures that allow predicting good source datasets in advance.

The project investigates different ways of measuring dataset similarities types, from computational approaches based on divergences, to similarity judgments of experts.

The Candidate

The project aims to hire a postdoctoral researcher. The ideal candidate for position will have:

• A PhD (or close to completion) in computer science, mathematics, cognitive science, human-computer interaction, psychology, or another discipline with a strong computational component
• Experience with data management and reproducibility, programming in Python or similar
• Experience with machine learning for imaging data is an advantage, but not a requirement
• Experience with research involving human participants is an advantage, but not a requirement
• Experience with publishing in recognized journals, conferences or workshops
• Enthusiasm about interdisciplinary research in a diverse team

It is understood that even highly qualified applicants will satisfy these requirements to varying degrees, for example because of differences in countries and research fields. If you are in doubt about checking these boxes, please contact Veronika Cheplygina (vech@itu.dk) before applying.

Research Environment

The successful applicant will join DASYA group at ITU, and the PURRlab team consisting of Associate Professor Veronika Cheplygina, a postdoc and two PhD students working on this and related projects. There are also multiple opportunities for collaboration with other groups at ITU and a network of collaborations within and outside Denmark.

IT University and Copenhagen

Located at the intersection of the new Ørestad and the old Amager, the IT University (ITU) offers an informal working environment, a varied everyday life, and a highly motivated, ambitious, competent and diverse international faculty, with PhD degrees from 15+ different countries. ITU is a teaching and research-based tertiary institution concerned with information technology and the opportunities it offers. Research and teaching span all academic activities which involve computers including computer science, information and media sciences, humanities and social sciences, business impact and the commercialisation of information technology. Copenhagen has a strong educational system, a rich cultural life, universal healthcare, good childcare, an international environment, and well-functioning infrastructure. Copenhagen is among the world’s most livable cities according to the Economist Global Livability Index. Living and working in Copenhagen will be a good experience for you and your family.

Application

The application must be in English and must include:

• A full CV, including any previous positions, project experience, a list of publications (including preprints, but not including papers in preparation), and any additional skills (for example science communication)
• A cover letter (2-3 pages A4) which describes your
  • suitability for the position
  • motivation to work with the project team
  • initial research ideas for the project, showing evidence of independent thinking and a grasp of the research field
• Documentation of academic degrees. If the PhD is not completed yet, a statement from the supervisor about the expected graduation

Please do NOT include reference letters at this stage. We may ask for references later in the process. Early contact with the project leader (Dr. Veronika Cheplygina, vech@itu.dk) is strongly encouraged.

Application Procedure

You can only apply for this position through our e-recruitment system. Apply by pushing the button “Apply for position” in the job announcement on our website: http://en.itu.dk/About-ITU/Vacancies.

The deadline for applications is 31 May 2023 at 23:59 CEST.

The intended starting date for the position is 1 September 2023 and funding is available for 24 months. The starting date is negotiable, but this would shorten the duration of the project.

Applications must be in English, any non-English documents must be accompanied with a translation in English or Danish. Applications without the requirement documents above will not be assessed.

The IT University may use shortlisting in connection to the recruitment process. In case of shortlisting, the Chair of the hiring committee selects applicants for assessment in consultation with the hiring committee after the application deadline. All applicants are notified whether their application has been passed for assessment. The shortlisting of candidates for assessment is based on the criteria in the job posting.

The IT University seeks to reflect an international environment where diversity is acknowledged as a resource. We therefore encourage all qualified applicants to apply for the job position regardless of personal background.

Read the job description at the university homepage

Apply for position

Post expires on Wednesday May 31st, 2023

PhD/Postdoc call DecouplingIT

The IT University of Copenhagen invites highly motivated individuals to apply for 2 fully funded PhD/postdoctoral positions starting 1 September 2023 or soon thereafter. PhD stipends are of a 3-year duration, whereas a postdoctoral position will be for 2 years.

We invite applicants who want to contribute to the IT University’s vision of creating and sharing knowledge that is profound and leads to groundbreaking information technology and services for the benefit of humanity; and to contribute to the Business IT Department’s research profile.

The applicants are expected to have a solid background in qualitative social science such as anthropology, science and technology studies (STS), geography, sociology or other relevant disciplines. Experience with ethnographic fieldwork is a prerequisite.

The selected candidates will be part of the Technologies in Practice (TiP) research group, and employed in the ITUʼs Dept. of Business IT. There they will work as part of the research project DecouplingIT funded by a Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council.

The DecouplingIT project consists of a committed team of researchers working to ethnographically explore how (economic) growth is decoupled from climate impacts within various IT enterprises around the world. The project approaches this by exploring the practices of IT enterprises and professionals who articulate climate change as a problem in need of IT-generated innovations, and in particular how they practically deploy IT with the climate in mind. Theoretically, the project will explore how sociocultural change is generated in the spaces between IT, climate change and capitalism.

Job description
The DecouplingIT works with pre-defined regions where the studies must take place.

The two PhDs/postdocs are expected to conduct independent ethnographic studies in either a European or an African climate/tech hub. That is, in ethnographic sites where climate and IT are in some form of interesting and/or problematic relationship. The ethnographic focus should be centred on how the climate becomes an object of attention and/or value within the world of IT organizations – broadly conceived as software developers or engineers, IT entrepreneurs, and so on. As an industry, IT is tasked with both reducing its own climate impacts while generating and facilitating ‘solutions’ for other industries. As such, the conjunction of climate and IT should be the central focus of the research proposal. The purpose of these sub-projects is to contribute to an understanding of how IT organizations and IT professionals in European or African countries mediate the complex set of relationships that arise at the nexus of climate and environmental concerns, narratives of entrepreneurial agency, and aspirations towards decoupled growth.

Possible examples include studying relations to environmental impacts and energy use within the Icelandic data and cryptocurrency industries fuelled by the extraction of cheap fossil free energy, or working in the Kenyan tech eco-system nick-named Silicon Savannah, which is an East African hub for innovation in IT solutions and digital entrepreneurship. An Icelandic case could address the conflicts and ambiguities produced within the Icelandic data and cryptocurrency industries as they grow their operations and extract value from digital landscapes through the extraction of cheap fossil free energy from Icelandic geothermal landscapes. A Kenyan case could focus on IT-based responses to local climate effects such as the drilling of ‘digital wells’ as a solution to water scarcity from frequent droughts, or the recent use of Internet of Things (IoT) concepts to reduce emissions and support circular economy approaches in handling different types of waste collection and management in Nairobi. The study could favourably be anchored in local incubator institutions, which are hailed as successful by development donors in driving local technological solutions to climate change, and in this way also approach how Kenya in relation to climate mitigation is implicated in a variety of North-South relationships.

As part of the application, the applicant must provide a brief (max 3 pages) research proposal indicating where they will do fieldwork, how they will do so, and how the site chosen can address the overall theme of decoupling. This proposal should present the specific literature the applicant is using to ground their project as well as how they imagine their study can be carried out and concretized with due attention to its analytical framework, methodology, language barriers, ethics, etc.

The successful candidates are expected to conduct independent ethnographic subprojects, while at the same time contributing to the general project’s overall purpose and aims. They must work within the practice- and process-oriented social science framework presented by the project while considering a series of cross-project research questions:

• how do actors within the IT sector think about their work in light of the climate crisis?
• how do these actors perceive or value ‘the climate’ or ‘the environment within their daily routines and practices?
• what role does growth play in such work, and how (if at all) is it articulated as an overarching value?

The core assessment criteria are the coherence and plausibility of the proposal’s key ideas, assumptions, and approach, how well the candidate demonstrates methodological, analytical, and theoretical capability, and how well the candidate is qualified to carry out the study they propose.

Candidates are welcome to take inspiration from the above to develop alternative subproject ideas under the overall academic approach and within the regions specified by the DecouplingIT project. 

About the department/BIT
Business IT is organized in three interdisciplinary research groups Technologies in Practice, Information Systems and Digital Innovation and REFLACT. The groups share an interest in the socio-technical fabric of digitalization and digital transformation and comprise more than 30 assistant, associate and full professors. Research at Business IT provides basis for reflecting on how digital technologies may be used mindfully and beneficially in the private and public sector. Business IT offers a BSc inGlobal BusinessInformatics, aMSc in Digital Innovation & Management, and a professional part-time masterprogramme in IT management. It hosts three research centers Center for Digital Welfare, Center for Climate IT and European Blockchain Centerin addition to two academic labs ETHOS lab and BUILD lab

General information
The IT University of Copenhagen (ITU) is a teaching and research-based tertiary institution concerned with information technology (IT) and the opportunities it offers. The IT University has more than 160 full-time Faculty members. Research and teaching in information technology span all academic activities which involve computers including computer science, information and media sciences, humanities and social sciences, business impact and the commercialization of IT.

The TiP research group is an internationally leading hub for ethnographically oriented STS-research. The group currently houses 16 research faculty, 3 postdocs and 9 PhD students. The members of contribute to 3 interdisciplinary degree programmes at the ITU – BSc in Global Business Informatics, MSc in Digital Innovation Management and a professional masters in IT Leadership.

Qualification Requirements
The following qualifications are required:

• PhD candidates must hold a two-year MA/MSc-degree (or equivalent) in a discipline such as those mentioned above.
• Postdoctoral candidates must hold a PhD degree (or equivalent) in a discipline such as those mentioned above.
• Documented competence with qualitative social science methods (preferably ethnographic).
• Fluency in academic English.

Highly Desired Qualifications:

• Familiarity with practice- and process-oriented social science theories and analysis
• Familiarity with social science discussions on climate change.
• Familiarity with social science studies of digital technologies and the IT-sector.
• Familiarity with regional literature pertaining to the fieldsite they wish to study.
• Familiarity with the language(s) spoken at the fieldsite they wish to study.

Salary
Appointment and salary will be in accordance with the Ministry of Finance’s agreement with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC).

Application
Applications should be in English and must include:

• A cover letter summarising the candidate’s background and qualifications, their motivation for working with academic research and for the DecouplingIT project.
• Curriculum Vitae including the names and addresses of two professional/academic references. A list of publications can be included if the candidate has any.
• A research proposal aimed at one of the three subprojects mentioned above. This should be max 3 pages.
• Documentation of academic degrees including grade transcripts.
• Up to 3 academic publications (incl. MA/MSc or PhD thesis) may be enclosed. The enclosed publications should be marked with an asterisk (*) in the list of publications.

Applications without the above-mentioned documents will not be assessed.

Selected candidates may be invited for an interview either at the ITU or via Zoom.

Early contact regarding the application is encouraged. Questions about the position, the DecouplingIT project, and its goals and research publications can be directed to Professor Steffen Dalsgaard (sdal@itu.dk).

Successful applicants will be employed and enrolled at the ITU University for a period of up to 3 years and are expected to relocate to Copenhagen for that same period, fieldwork time excepted.

Application procedure
You can only apply for this position through our e-recruitment system. Apply by pushing the button below  “Apply for position”. 

The IT University may use shortlisting in connection with the recruitment process. In case of shortlisting, the Hiring Committee selects applicants for assessment after the application deadline. All applicants are notified whether their application has been passed for assessment. The shortlisting of candidates for assessment is based on the criteria in the job posting.

Please read about the PhD program at ITU here. 

Please read the guidelines for applicants carefully before filling in the application form. You can see the guidelines through this link

Applications should be written in English. All other documents, such as transcripts should be accompanied by a translation in English or Danish.

Please note that all application material will be destroyed after the assessment.

Application deadline: 1 June 2023 at 23:59 CET/CEST.

Applications/enclosures received at ITU after the application deadline will not be taken into consideration. If you submit an application, it is your responsibility to ensure that it arrives before the deadline so please allow sufficient time for upload of publications and other documents.

The IT University invites all qualified researchers regardless of age, gender, religious affiliation, or ethnic background to apply for the positions.

Read the job description at the university homepage

Apply for position

Post expires on Thursday June 1st, 2023

PhD student or up to 2-year PostDoc position in distributed control and learning in soft modular robots at IT University of Copenhagen

The Computer Science Department at IT University of Copenhagen (ITU) invites highly motivated individuals to apply for a fully funded PhD position or an up to 2-year PostDoc position with possible extension in distributed control and learning in soft modular robots supervised by Associate Professor Andrés Faiña and Professor Kasper Stoy. The ideal starting date is October 2023 or soon thereafter.

The project

The position is funded by and takes place in the context of Mozart a large-scale interdisciplinary European project. The project aims to build a soft manipulation surface that through its deformation can manipulate soft objects positioned on the surface. The qualified candidate will explore distributed control and learning strategies for controlling this manipulation surface. The project is led by ITU with key scientific partners based at École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT).

Job tasks

The tasks include amongst others:

• To carry out research on the project
• To publish scientific papers and present them at international venues
• To attend courses for academic development and assist in teaching
• To collaborate with international project partners
• To finalize the research training by writing and completing a PhD dissertation in the case of the PhD position applicant

General information

The IT University of Copenhagen (ITU) is a teaching and research-based tertiary institution concerned with information technology (IT) and the opportunities it offers. The IT University has more than 160 full-time Faculty members. Research and teaching in information technology span all academic activities, which involve computers including computer science, information and media sciences, humanities and social sciences, business impact and the commercialization of IT.

Research environment

The qualified applicant will join the Robotics, Evolution, and Art Lab (REAL) at ITU and be supervised by Associate Professor Andrés Faiña and Professor Kasper Støy.

The Computer Science department at ITU is a strong, highly international institution.

The PhD student will also be part of the PhD School at ITU.

We aim at building a diverse team. All applications are welcome, especially those from members of underrepresented groups are encouraged.

Qualification Requirements

The following qualifications are required:

• If applied for the PhD position, an MSc degree in computer science, robotics, or similar (or submitting a statement signed by the supervisor with the expected delivery time for the MSc)
• If applied for the PostDoc position, a PhD degree in robotics preferably with an emphasis on distributed robot systems (or submits a statement signed by the supervisor with the expected delivery time for the PhD)

The ideal candidate

• Has experience in robotics in particular multi-robot systems, swarm robotics, or modular robots.
• Has experience in distributed control and artificial intelligence
• Has experience in programming microcontrollers
• Is motivated and enthusiastic about carrying out research related to robotics and artificial intelligence
• Has a background in computer science or similar.
• Has excellent English communication skills

Qualified applicants will be employed and enrolled at ITU for a period of 2 or 3 years depending on the university degree level of the applicant.

Salary

Appointment and salary will be in accordance with the Ministry of Taxation’s agreement with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC).

Application

The application should be in English and must include:

• A cover letter (max. 1 pages) mentioning whether you are applying for PhD or PostDoc and explaining why you are interested in the position and how your profile fits the position.
• Documentation of academic degree(s) including grade transcripts that documents high academic achievement;
• Curriculum Vitae, which must include two professional/academic references.

The application may also include:

• Relevant scientific publications written by the applicant
• A copy of the MSc or PhD thesis (or working draft)
• Letters of recommendation.

Applications without the above-mentioned required documents will not be assessed.

It is understood that even highly qualified applicants will satisfy these requirements to varying degrees, for example because of differences in publication cultures in various research fields.

Early contact with our faculty staff is highly encouraged.

Qualified applicants will be employed and enrolled at ITU for a period of 2 or 3 years depending on the university degree level of the applicant.

Application procedure

You can only apply for this position through our e-recruitment system. Apply by pushing the button “Apply for position” in the job announcement on our website.

Please, read the guidelines for applicants carefully before filling in the application form. You can see the guidelines through this link.

Applications should be written in English. All other documents, such as transcripts shold be accompanied by a translation in English.

Questions about the positions can be directed to Associate Professor Andrés Faiña, IT University of Copenhagen, email: anfv@itu.dk or Professor Kasper Støy, ITU, email: ksty@itu.dk.

The applicant will be assessed according to the Appointment Order from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation of 13 March 2012.

The IT University may use shortlisting in connection to the recruitment process. In case of shortlisting, the Chair of the hiring committee selects applicants for assessment in consultation with the hiring committee after the application deadline. All applicants are notified whether their application has been passed for assessment. The shortlisting of candidates for assessment is based on the criteria in the job posting.

Application deadline: June 1st, 2022 @ 23:59 CET

Interviews are planned for (tentatively): August 2023

Applications/enclosures received at ITU after the application deadline will not be taken into consideration. If you submit an application, it is your responsibility to ensure that it arrives before the deadline so please allow sufficient time for upload of publications and other documents.

ITU invites all qualified researchers regardless of age, gender, religious affiliation or ethnic background to apply for the positions.

Read the job description at the university homepage

Apply for position

Post expires on Thursday June 1st, 2023