PhD student in Machine Learning with a focus on Vision-Language Models - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Are you interested in working with language models and computer vision, with the support of competent and friendly colleagues in an international environment? Are you looking for an employer that invests in sustainable employeeship and offers safe, favorable working conditions? We welcome you to apply for a PhD position at Uppsala University. 

The Department of Information Technology holds a leading position in both research and education at all levels. We are currently Uppsala University's third largest department, have around 350 employees, including 120 teachers and 120 PhD students. Approximately 5,000 undergraduate students take one or more courses at the department each year. You can find more information about us on the Department of Information Technology website.

At the Division of Systems and Control, we develop both theory and concrete tools to design systems that learn, reason, and act in the real world based on a seamless combination of data, mathematical models, and algorithms. Our research integrates expertise from machine learning, optimization, control theory, and applied mathematics, spanning diverse application domains such as medicine, energy systems, biomedical systems, neuroscience, and safety and security.
The Division of Systems and Control enjoys a wide network of strong international collaborators all around the world, for example at the University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, Imperial College, University of British Columbia, University of Sydney, University of Newcastle and Aalto University. We strive for all PhD students to get a solid international experience during their PhD.

The position is a part of the Beijer Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence Research, funded by Kjell and Märta Beijer Foundation. The Beijer Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence Research was established in 2023 at Uppsala University with an ambition to grow activities within the subject of AI, focusing on applications in the life sciences and questions related to societal development.

Project description
Vision-language models integrate computer vision and natural language processing techniques to process and generate information that combines both visual and textual modalities, enabling a more profound understanding of the content within images and videos. While vision-language models exhibit promising potential, they are currently in early stages of development. Effective integration of both modalities (vision and language), and aligning visual and text embeddings into a cohesive embedding space, continues to pose significant challenges.

In this project, the successful candidate will conduct basic research and methods development towards designing efficient vision-language models, exploring their applications in computer vision and analysing the consequential societal impact. Through our research, we aim to contribute significantly towards learning effective representations combining text, image and video data, potentially benefiting fields including surveillance and healthcare.

Duties
A Ph.D. student is expected to devote their time to graduate education mainly. The rest of the duties may involve teaching at the Department, including also some administration, to at most 20%.

Requirements
To meet the entry requirements for doctoral studies, you must

• hold a Master’s (second-cycle) degree in computer science, applied mathematics, engineering physics, electrical engineering, machine learning, data science, image analysis, language technology, or in a similar field, or
• have completed at least 240 credits in higher education, with at least 60 credits at Master’s level including an independent project worth at least 15 credits, or
• have acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way.

We are looking for candidates with

• a strong interest in machine learning, language modeling, image analysis and computer vision,
• good communication skills with sufficient proficiency in oral and written English,
• excellent study results, 
• good working knowledge in programming (preferably in Python),
• personal characteristics, such as a high level of creativity, thoroughness, and/or a structured approach to problem-solving are essential.

Additional qualifications
Experience and courses in one or more subjects are valued: statistical machine learning, optimisation, linear algebra, deep learning, natural language processing, image analysis and computer vision.

Rules governing PhD students are set out in the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5, §§ 1-7 and in Uppsala University's rules and guidelines.

Application
The application must include: 
1) a statement (at most 2 pages) of the applicant’s motivation for applying for this position, including a self-assessment on why you would be the right candidate for this position; 
2) a CV;
3) degrees and transcript of records with grades (translated to English or Swedish); 
4) the Master’s thesis (or a draft thereof, and/or some other self-produced technical or scientific text), publications, and other relevant documents; 
5) references with contact information (names, emails and telephone number) and up to two letters of recommendation.

Applicants who meet at least one of the entry requirements are strongly encouraged to apply. All applicants should state their earliest possible starting date.

About the employment
The employment is a temporary position according to the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5 § 7. Scope of employment 100 %. Starting date 19 August 2024 or as agreed. Placement: Uppsala. 

For further information about the position, please contact: Assistant Professor Ekta Vats, ekta.vats@it.uu.se; Professor Thomas Schön, thomas.schon@it.uu.se

Please submit your application by 28 March 2024, UFV-PA 2024/605.

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