3 PhD positions on evolution of speech
Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
Deadline: July first 2012
Envisaged starting date: September 2012
The AI-lab of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel is looking for three PhD students that will work on Bart de Boer’s European Research Council project “ABACUS”. The ABACUS project investigates (evolution of) cognitive mechanisms for dealing with combinatorial speech. It uses a combination of iterated learning experiments, individual learning experiments and computational modeling. For each of these lines of research, a PhD position is available. The PhDs of the different projects are expected to cooperate closely with each other.
The iterated learning project
The work consists of designing, performing and describing iterated learning experiments based on learning and reproduction of continuous, speech-like signals.
A candidate must have (or be about to obtain) a master’s degree in psycholinguistics, cognitive science or equivalent and have experience in doing experiments with human participants. Experience with speech/language research as well as affinity with computational models are a plus.
The individual learning project
The work consists of designing, performing and describing individual learning experiments based on learning and reproduction of continuous, speech-like signals. A candidate must have (or be about to obtain) a master’s degree in psycholinguistics, cognitive science or equivalent experience in doing experiments with human participants. Experience with speech/language research as well as affinity with computational models are a plus.
The computational project
The work consists of designing, implementing, investigating and describing computer models for learning and reproducing continuous, speech-like signals.
A candidate must have (or be about to obtain) a master’s degree in computer science, artificial intelligence or equivalent and have experience in building learning systems. Experience with speech/language research as well as affinity with experimental work are a plus.
The PhD candidates will be remunerated with a scholarship (ca. 36000 euros per year before taxes), and money for travel and hiring research assistants is available. We are looking for candidates with a serious interest in a scientific career and with good writing skills. For details on the projects, on conditions and on how to apply, see:
https://ai.vub.ac.be/members/bart
under “vacancies”