[visionlist] PhD positions in DFG Research Training Group on "Neuroexplicit Models of Language, Vision, and Action"

[Christian Theobalt]

The Research Training Group 2853 “Neuroexplicit Models of Language, 
Vision, and Action” is looking for
Eight PhD Students - Fall 2025
Neuroexplicit models combine neural and human-interpretable (“explicit”) 
models in order to overcome the limitations that each model class has 
separately. They include neurosymbolic models, which combine neural and 
symbolic models, but also e.g. combinations of neural and physics-based 
models. In the RTG, we will improve the state of the art in natural 
language processing (“Language”), computer vision (“Vision”), and 
planning and reinforcement learning (“Action”). We also develop novel 
machine learning techniques for neuroexplicit models (“Foundations”). 
Our overarching aim is to contribute to a better understanding of the 
cross-cutting design principles of effective neuroexplicit models 
through interdisciplinary collaboration.
The RTG is scheduled to grow to a total of 24 PhD students by 2025. An 
excellent and international group of twelve PhD students and one postdoc 
have already joined the RTG. Through the inclusion of ~20 associated PhD 
students and postdocs funded from other sources, it will be one of the 
largest research centers on neuroexplicit or neurosymbolic models in the 
world.
The RTG brings together researchers at Saarland University, the Max 
Planck Institute for Informatics, the Max Planck Institute for Software 
Systems, the CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security, and the 
German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI). All of these 
institutions are collocated on the same campus in Saarbrücken, Germany.
The positions will be funded for four years at the TV-L E13 100% pay 
scale. They are intended to start in September 2025. You should have or 
be about to complete an MSc degree in computer science or a related 
field and have demonstrated expertise in one of the research areas of 
the RTG, e.g. through an excellent Master’s thesis or relevant publications.
The RTG is part of the Saarland Informatics Campus, one of the leading 
centers for research in computer science, artificial intelligence, and 
natural language processing in Europe. The Saarland Informatics Campus 
brings together 900 researchers and 2500 students from 81 countries. The 
CISPA Helmholtz Center, located on the same campus, is home to an 
additional 350 researchers and on track to grow to 800 by 2026. 
Researchers at SIC and CISPA are part of the ELLIS network and have been 
awarded more than 40 ERC grants.
Each PhD student in the RTG will be jointly supervised by two PhD 
advisors from the list of Principal Investigators below. Each student 
will freely define their own research topic; we encourage the choice of 
topics that cross the traditional boundaries of research fields. 
Students may be affiliated with Saarland University or with one of the 
participating institutes.
Vera Demberg, Saarland University - Computational Linguistics
Jörg Hoffmann, Saarland University - AI Planning
Dietrich Klakow, Saarland University - Natural Language Processing
Alexander Koller, Saarland University - Computational Linguistics
Bernt Schiele, MPI for Informatics - Computer Vision, Machine Learning
Philipp Slusallek, DFKI and Saarland University - Computer Graphics, 
Artificial Intelligence
Christian Theobalt, MPI for Informatics - Visual Computing, Machine Learning
Mariya Toneva, MPI for Software Systems - Computational Neuroscience, 
Machine Learning
Isabel Valera, Saarland University - Machine Learning
Jilles Vreeken, CISPA - Machine Learning, Causality
Joachim Weickert, Saarland University - Mathematical Data Analysis
Verena Wolf, DFKI and Saarland University - Modeling and Simulation, 
Reinforcement Learning
Ellie Pavlick, Brown University and Google AI, will join us regularly as 
a Mercator Fellow.
Please send your application by 24th March 2024 to 
apply at neuroexplicit.org <mailto:apply at neuroexplicit.org> and include the 
reference number W2616. We aim to conduct job interviews in April-May 2025.
For more details on the position, including what materials to submit 
with your application, please see our website 
https://www.neuroexplicit.org/jobs/ 
<https://www.neuroexplicit.org/jobs/#phd-2023>

-- 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prof. Dr. Christian Theobalt
Scientific Director
Visual Computing and Artificial Intelligence Department

Director
Saabruecken Research Center for Visual Computing, Interaction and Artificial Intelligence (VIA)

Max-Planck-Institute for Informatics
Saarland Informatics Campus
Campus E1.4, 66123 Saarbruecken, Germany
Phone +49 681 9325 4500        Fax +49 681 9325 4599
Email:theobalt at mpi-inf.mpg.de
Assistant Email:budde at mpi-inf.mpg.de  

URL:
https://www.mpi-inf.mpg.de/departments/visual-computing-and-artificial-intelligence
http://www.mpi-inf.mpg.de/~theobalt/
http://via-center.science
http://sic.saarland
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://visionscience.com/pipermail/visionlist_visionscience.com/attachments/20250305/bb946a40/attachment-0001.html>