Faculty of Technology, Art and Design

Oslo Metropolitan University is Norway's third largest university with almost 22,000 students and over 2,500 employees. We have campuses in central Oslo and at Romerike. OsloMet educates students and conducts research that contributes to the sustainability of the Norwegian welfare state and the metropolitan region.

The Faculty of Technology, Art and Design (TKD) offers higher education and research and development (R&D) activities within technical subjects, arts and design. The Faculty has approximately 4.000 students and 400 staff members and is situated at Pilestredet Campus in downtown Oslo and at Kjeller Campus in Viken.

The Department of Computer Science offers bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes in computer science, qualifying candidates for further studies within engineering, international semester and other further education programmes. The department has good results and high ambitions in research and development. The department has approximately 85 staff members and 750 students.

Position

The faculty of Technology, Art and Design at OsloMet is hiring 2 PhD fellows (100%) at the Department of Computer Science. The appointments are for a term of 4 years, with 25% duties associated with education tasks (teaching, lab, supervision, etc.). The expected start date is January 2020. The fellowship requires admission to the new PhD program “Engineering Science” at the TKD faculty.

Area of research

Modeling and implementation of self-organising computing systems based on biological neural networks, artificial neural networks, and cellular automata.

Keywords: artificial neural networks, biological neural networks, cellular automata, evolutionary algorithms, reservoir computing.

The PhD fellows will contribute to the DeepCA (Hybrid Deep Learning Cellular Automata Reservoir) research project, funded by the Norwegian Research Council (NFR). DeepCA is a multidisciplinary project including computer science and neuroscience, seeking radical breakthroughs toward the integration of biological and artificial neural systems. The project aims at creating a theoretical and experimental foundation of a novel deep learning paradigm based on biological neural networks and cellular automata, by exploiting the computing substrates through evolutionary algorithms. In the DeepCA project, the candidates will do research in the following areas:

  • modelling of self-organizing systems, such as neuron-based and cellular systems;
  • unconventional computing architectures, such as cellular automata and neural networks;
  • investigating learning in self-organizing neural cultures (biological neural networks) and integration with artificial learning systems;
  • exploration of computational capabilities of the targeted biological and artificial substrates through artificial evolution (evolution-in-materio).

The candidates will work mainly in the areas of Artificial Life, Artificial Intelligence, Complex Systems and Bio-inspired methods (e.g. artificial development, evolutionary algorithms) and Computational Neuroscience. The candidates will be associated to the Living Technology Lab (part of OsloMet’s Artificial Intelligence Lab), and will be members of the Applied Artificial Intelligence research group.

 

Required qualifications and skills

  • Master’s degree in Computer Science or Engineering or relevant field with 120 ECTS or equivalent with an average grade of A (best grade) or B within a scale of A-E passing of grades, and Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or Engineering with an average grade of C or higher.
  • Some knowledge/experience in one or more of the following topics: artificial life, artificial intelligence, complex systems, bio-inspired methods.
  • Excellent written and spoken English.

 

Desired skills

  • Proficiency in programming in Python and other languages such as C++.
  • Knowledge of artificial neural networks and machine learning frameworks (for example TensorFlow, Keras, or others) will be beneficial.
  • Strong analytical skills.
  • Ability to work independently, take initiative, plan and direct own work, and be goal-oriented.
  • Excellent communication skills and ability to collaborate in interdisciplinary teams.
  • Experience in publishing academic works.
  • High motivation for the research work described above.
  • Experience and good results in teaching and supervising students.

We can offer you

  • An exciting job opportunity at Norway’s third largest and most urban university.
  • A dynamic professional working environment with challenging tasks in an area of substantial development.
  • A unique academic and research collaboration across different research groups.
  • Beneficial pension arrangements with the Norwegian State Pension Fund.
  • Good employee welfare arrangements.
  • Free Norwegian classes to employees and their partners.
  • Cultural seminars.
  • Working location in downtown Oslo with multiple cultural offers. 

OsloMet’s International Career Site gives information on living and working in Oslo.

 

Other information

If you would like more information about the positon, feel free to contact:

 

If you have technical questions about uploading the application please contact:

 

Remuneration

Salary is set in accordance with the Norwegian State Salary Scale, job code 1017 NOK 449 400. By law 2% of the salary is deducted as to the Norwegian State Pension Fund.

The appointment of the PhD will be made according to Norwegian guidelines for universities and university colleges and to the general regulations regarding university employees. All applicants must be able to communicate fluently in English (oral and written). The position adheres to the Norwegian Government’s policy that the national labour force should to the greatest possible extent reflect the diversity of the population. Therefore, we encourage qualified candidates with immigrant background or reduced functional ability to apply for this position.

 

General

The Faculty Technology, Art and Design and Consumption Research Norway want to attract outstanding and creative candidates who can contribute to our ongoing research activities.

Under Section 25 of the Freedom of Information Act, information about the applicant may be made public even if the applicant has requested not to have his or her name entered on the list of applicants. Applicants are kindly requested to send a diploma supplement or a similar document, which describes in detail the study and grading system and the rights for further studies associated with the obtained degree. The application with a CV and certified copies of diplomas and certificates must be sent electronically via this page, with information about education and relevant experience (all in one combined PDF file).

 

Required documentation

In addition to the online application, you must upload the following documents:

  • Application letter, describing your motivations for applying to this fellowship as well as a short overview of the qualifications, technical skills, experience, and personal skills that make you an attractive candidate for a successful and productive completion of this work.
  • CV and copies of diplomas/certificates including all grades.
  • Copy of MSc thesis and any other papers or publications you wish to be considered, including a full list of any publications you may have.
  • Scientific publications are not required of a PhD candidate, however, any publications will be an advantage.
  • Names and contact details of 2-3 references (name, relation to candidate, email, and telephone number).
  • Candidates from universities outside Norway are kindly requested to include a Diploma Supplement or a similar document, which describes in detail the study and grade system and the rights for further studies associated with the obtained degree: http://ec.europa.eu/education/tools/diploma- supplement_en.htm
  • Applicants from non-European countries where English is not the official language must present an official language test report. The following tests can be used as such documentation: TOEFL, IELTS or Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English (CAE) or Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE). Minimum scores are:
    • TOEFL: 600 (paper-based test), 92 (Internet-based test)
    • IELTS: 6.5, with no section lower than 5.5 (only Academic IELTS test accepted)
    • CAE: Grade A or B

 

You must upload all of these documents. Original documents and valid passport must be presented if you are invited for an interview. OsloMet performs document inspections in order to give you as a candidate a proper evaluation and ensure fair competition.

Please apply electronically to this position by clicking on the button «login and apply». All the documents must be in either English or a Scandinavian language. Any translations must be government authorized.

 

Final project plan shall be completed and approved within 3 months after being offered the position.

Please note that incomplete applications will not be considered. The application must state your reasons for applying to the project and what makes you particularly qualified to carry out this PhD work.

 

Deadline for applications:      6th May 2019

Ref.:                                      19/03455       

 

OsloMet has implemented the Charter & Code and been certified by the EU Commission with HR Excellence in Research (HRS4R) and is part of the EU network for mobility of Researchers Euraxess.

Type of employment FELLOW
Contract type Full time
First day of employment 1st January 2020
Salary NOK 449 400
Number of positions 2
Full-time equivalent 100 %
City Pilestredet
County Oslo
Country Norway
Reference number 19/03455
Contact
  • Stefano Nichele, Associate Professor , +47 45134015
Published 08.Apr.2019
Last application date 06.May.2019 11:59 PM CEST

Return to job vacancies