- Comp-neuro - lists.cnsorg.org

Call for Papers: NeurIPS2019 Workshop on Biological and Artificial Reinforcement Learning
by Sara Zannone 13 Aug '19

13 Aug '19

Call for Papers NeurIPS2019 Workshop Biological and Artificial Reinforcement Learning Workshop website: https://sites.google.com/view/biologicalandartificialrl Submission deadline: September 7, 11:59 PM Pacific Time, 2019 Contact: BiologicalArtificialRL(a)gmail.com We invite you to submit papers (up to 5 pages, excluding references and appendix) in the NeurIPS 2019 format. The focus of the work should relate to biological and/or artificial reinforcement learning. Potential topics include but are not limited to: - Benchmark tasks that can compare/contrast capabilities of artificial vs biological agents - Hierarchical RL/ skill learning - Inductive biases and priors - Representations for RL - Model-based/ Model-free learning - Lifelong learning - Intrinsic motivation/ learning in absence of extrinsic rewards - Role of memory in learning In line with the guidelines defined by the NeurIPS organising committee, we can only accept original work that is not published in the main NeurIPS conference. However, we welcome published work from other non-machine learning focused venues, particularly work that has previously appeared in Neuroscience or Cognitive Science venues such as Cosyne, RLDM, CogSci and CCN. Submission link: https://cmt3.research.microsoft.com/NeurIPSWSBARL2019/ For any enquiries please reach out to us at BiologicalArtificalRL(a)gmail.com . On behalf of the organizers, Raymond Chua, Feryal Behbahani, Sara Zannone, Rui Ponte Costa, Claudia Clopath, Blake Richards, Doina Precup

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Luminous Workshop on Consciousness - University of Oxford - Call for Abstracts
by Aureli Soria Frisch 08 Aug '19

08 Aug '19

————————————————— Luminous Workshop on Consciousness ————————————————— Dear Group members, If you are interested in research about the mind, and particularly on consciousness and how to measure and alter it, please read further. In the framework of the Luminous Project (http://www.luminous-project.eu/ <http://www.luminous-project.eu/>), a workshop will take place in November at the University of Oxford, around the following axes: consciousness, its measurement and modification, computational modelling of consciousness, and the related ethical issues and dilemmas arising from these matters. Book 21st November in your agenda now. To read more, find here the main page of the event with additional details: http://www.luminous-project.eu/index.php/workshop-studying-measuring-and-al… <http://www.luminous-project.eu/index.php/workshop-studying-measuring-and-al…> A Call for Abstracts has been issued requesting for contributions, see the specific information at: http://www.luminous-project.eu/index.php/call-for-abstracts-workshop-studyi… <http://www.luminous-project.eu/index.php/call-for-abstracts-workshop-studyi…> Note also that the day before the workshop itself, an open public lecture on these same subjects will take place in the evening (registration details for this lecture are to be provided as they become available). Hoping to see you in Oxford, we send you in the meantime our kindest greetings, Organising Committee: Katie Warnaby & Jostein Holmgren, University of Oxford; Aureli Soria-Frisch & Eleni Kroupi, Starlab; Julia Moser & Hubert Preissl, University of Tubingen ________________________________________ Aureli Soria-Frisch (Dr.-Ing.) Director of Neuroscience Starlab Consulting Division Barcelona Offices: Av. Tibidabo, 47 bis - 08035 Barcelona - Spain tel. +34 93 254 03 70, +34 93 254 03 66, Ext -02 skype aureli.soria-frisch twitter @aurelisofr linkedin es.linkedin.com/pub/aurelisoriafrisch <http://es.linkedin.com/pub/aureli-soria-frisch/6/b93/294/>________________________________________ Starlab, Living Science http://starlab.es <http://starlab.es/> Click here <http://www.starlab.es/email_confidentiality_and_data_protection_policy> to read our e-mail confidentiality and data protection policy

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call for papers: NeurIPS 2019 Workshop on ‘Context and Compositionality in biological and artificial neural systems’
by Alexander Huth 07 Aug '19

07 Aug '19

(Apologies for cross-post) NeurIPS 2019 - Workshop on ‘Context and Compositionality in biological and artificial neural systems’ Vancouver Convention Center, Vancouver CANADA Fri Dec 13th or Sat Dec 14th https://context-composition.github.io <https://context-composition.github.io/> Workshop abstract: The ability to integrate semantic information across narratives is fundamental to language understanding in both biological and artificial cognitive systems. There have been enormous strides in NLP and Machine Learning to develop architectures and techniques that effectively capture these effects. We have moved away from traditional bag-of-words approaches that ignore temporal ordering to RNNs, Temporal CNNs and Transformers that incorporate contextual information at varying timescales. While these architectures have lead to SoTA performance on many difficult language understanding tasks, it is unclear what representations these networks learn and how exactly they incorporate context. Interpreting these networks, systematically analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of different elements, such as gating or attention, and reflecting on the capacity of the networks across various timescales are open and important questions. On the biological side, recent work in neuroscience suggests that areas in the brain are organized into a temporal hierarchy in which different areas are not only sensitive to specific semantic information but also to the composition of information at different timescales. Computational neuroscience has moved in the direction of leveraging deep learning to gain insights about the brain. By answering questions on the underlying mechanisms and representational interpretability of these artificial networks, we can also expand our understanding of temporal hierarchies, memory and capacity effects in the brain. In this workshop we aim to bring together researchers from machine learning, NLP, and neuroscience to explore and discuss how computational models should effectively capture the multi-timescale, context-dependent effects that seem essential for processes such as language understanding. We believe that this will not only lead to a deeper understanding of biological language systems but also better artificial systems that can leverage these insights and understand language better. Call For Papers Paper submission deadline: Mon September 9th, 2019 22:00 PM UTC Decision Notification: Sun September 29th, 2019 22:00 PM UTC Submit at: https://cmt3.research.microsoft.com/CNTXTCOMP2019/ <https://cmt3.research.microsoft.com/CNTXTCOMP2019/> The site will start accepting submissions on August 7th. We invite paper submissions on the following topics, or any related or relevant work: • Contextual sequence processing in the human brain • Compositional representations in the human brain • Systematic generalization in deep learning • Compositionality in human intelligence • Compositionality in natural language • Understanding composition and temporal processing in neural network models • New approaches to compositionality and temporal processing in language • Hierarchical representations of temporal information • Datasets for contextual sequence processing • Applications of compositional neural networks to real-world problems Formatting Instructions: All submissions must be in PDF format. Submissions are limited to four content pages, including all figures and tables; additional pages containing only references are allowed. You must format your submission using the NeurIPS 2019 LaTeX style file. Submissions that violate the NeurIPS style (e.g., by decreasing margins or font sizes) or page limits may be rejected without further review. All submissions should be anonymous. Accepted papers will be presented during a poster session, with spotlight oral presentations for exceptional submissions. The accepted papers will be made publicly available as non-archival reports, allowing future submissions to archival conferences or journals. The review process is double-blind. We also welcome published papers that are within the scope of the workshop (without re-formatting, if the paper is already 4 pages or shorter). Already-published papers do not need to be anonymous. They are eligible for poster sessions and will only have a very light review process. Please redirect questions and all future correspondence to shaileejain(a)utexas.edu <mailto:shaileejain@utexas.edu>. Workshop Organizing Committee Javier Turek, Alexander Huth, Shailee Jain, Christopher Honey, Tal Linzen, Leila Wehbe, Emma Strubell, Kyunghyun Cho and Alan Yuille -- ALEXANDER G. HUTH, PhD | Assistant Professor The University of Texas at Austin Departments of Computer Science & Neuroscience

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Open Source Brain workshop 2019: Call for presentations/demos of open datasets and tools
by Gleeson, Padraig 07 Aug '19

07 Aug '19

[Apologies if you receive multiple copies of this due to cross-posting] The 2019 Open Source Brain workshop will be held in Alghero, Sardinia on 9-11th September 2019. There are a number of presentation slots still available for attendees to present open experimental data sets/databases/tools/simulators/libraries relevant to the goals of the meeting. Full details: http://www.opensourcebrain.org/docs/Help/Meetings#OSB_2019 Open Source Brain (http://www.opensourcebrain.org) is a platform for sharing and collaboratively developing models in computational neuroscience. Models of cells and circuits in standardised formats can be visualised, analysed and simulated through a standard web browser. A key driver for the development of this technology is to improve accessibility, scientific scrutiny, reproducibility and reuse of models of brain function. The platform is described in a recent paper in Neuron: https://www.cell.com/neuron/fulltext/S0896-6273(19)30444-1 The 2019 OSB Workshop will highlight the latest features of OSB and engage current and future users of the platform through invited talks, posters, hands on demonstrations, and user presentations. Since we are substantially expanding the functionality of Open Source Brain to enable sharing of standardized experimental data used to build and test the models of neurons and circuits, this year’s meeting will have two key themes: 1) Accessible sharing of cellular neuroscience data Through support for the Neurodata Without Borders (NWB) format, OSB will facilitate sharing of multiple types of experimental data used to constrain computational models, including electrophysiological recordings, Ca2+ fluorescence imaging, 2D, 3D and 4D imaging and behavioural data. Challenges, requirements and solutions to data standardization will be discussed. 2) Modelling cortical structures across scales Cortical networks are modelled at many scales from abstract representations of interacting populations (neural masses) to networks of biophysically and morphologically detailed cell models. NeuroML is being expanded to cover a greater range of these models, which will allow them to be shared and simulated on OSB, facilitating comparison of models and ideas between researchers. This ongoing work is taking place as part of the SIG on Standardised Representations of Network Structures<https://www.incf.org/activities/standards-and-best-practices/incf-special-i…>. Registration The registration fee for the meeting for 3 days will be £130. This will help cover organisation and speaker costs, meeting room hire, lunch, tea and coffee for 3 days and one workshop dinner. Please register here<https://onlinestore.ucl.ac.uk/conferences-and-events/faculty-of-life-scienc…>. Registration closes on 1st September 2019. Confirmed speakers Yazan Billeh (Allen Institute, USA) Matteo Cantarelli (MetaCell Ltd) Alex Cayco Gajic (UCL, UK & École Normale Supérieure, France) Sharon Crook (Arizona State University, USA) Jeffrey S. Diamond (NINDS, USA) Ian Duguid (University of Edinburgh, UK) Matt Earnshaw (University College London, UK) Jan Fousek (Aix Marseille Université, France) Padraig Gleeson (University College London, UK) Boris Marin (Universidade Federal do ABC, Brazil) Diego Restrepo (University of Colorado, USA) Oliver Reubel (Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, USA) Simon Schultz (Imperial College, UK) Angus Silver (University College London, UK) Sacha van Albada (Jülich Research Centre, Germany) For more details please see: http://www.opensourcebrain.org/docs/Help/Meetings#OSB_2019 The OSB 2019 organising committee Padraig Gleeson Matt Earnshaw Angus Silver

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Registration open for #ABC2019 & #MARR2019 | CAMBRIDGE | 11-13 SEPT 2019
by Máté Lengyel 06 Aug '19

06 Aug '19

<http://www.neuroscience.cam.ac.uk/events/ABC2019/> #ABC2019 & #MARR2019 | CAMBRIDGE | 11-13 SEPT 2019 <http://www.neuroscience.cam.ac.uk/events/ABC2019/> Cambridge Neuroscience invites you to #ABC2019 & #MARR2019 Updated programmes now online! THE 7TH CAMBRIDGE NEUROSCIENCE SYMPOSIUM ‘ARTIFICIAL AND BIOLOGICAL COGNITION’ IS AN INTERNATIONAL MEETING, WHICH WILL TAKE PLACE ON SEPTEMBER 12-13TH 2019 AT THE WEST ROAD CONCERT HALL AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE. Abstract submission extended until August 16th 2019! #ABC2019 <http://www.neuroscience.cam.ac.uk/events/ABC2019/> comprises seven sessions including ‘Reinforcement Learning’, ‘Navigation’, ‘Robotics’, ‘Communication’, ‘Vision’ ‘Mental Health’ and ‘Neuroethics of AI’. The programme features many distinguished national and international speakers. This is generally a very popular meeting, which attracts an international audience of up to 500 delegates. The Alan Hodgkin and Andrew Huxley plenary lectures are a major feature within the programme. We are delighted to welcome Demis Hassabis and Catherine Dulac to Cambridge. In addition to all of the refreshment breaks there are additional fun opportunities to network at a drinks reception, followed by a Gala dinner, at Trinity College in the evening on September 12th 2019; and a drinks reception following the close of the symposium on September 13th. #Marr2019 <http://www.neuroscience.cam.ac.uk/events/ABC2019/pages/about-marr.html>: In addition, we are hosting a special satellite meeting to celebrate David Marr, one of the founding fathers of computational neuroscience, on the 50th anniversary of his thesis. Come join us at St John’s College on Wednesday 11th September 2019 for ‘David Marr, 50 years on’. We will be raising a glass to David Marr on the stunning rooftop terrace of Newnham College following the meeting. <http://www.neuroscience.cam.ac.uk/events/ABC2019/> <http://www.neuroscience.cam.ac.uk/events/ABC2019/pages/abc-programme.html> <http://www.neuroscience.cam.ac.uk/events/ABC2019/pages/marr-programme.html> <http://www.neuroscience.cam.ac.uk/events/ABC2019/pages/registration.html> Contact: coordinator(a)neuroscience.cam.ac.uk <mailto:coordinator@neuroscience.cam.ac.uk> Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CamNeuro <https://twitter.com/CamNeuro> Cambridge Neuroscience: https://www.neuroscience.cam.ac.uk/ <mailto:coordinator@neuroscience.cam.ac.uk> -- Dr Dervila Glynn Cambridge Neuroscience IRC Coordinator Room 402, Department of Pharmacology, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge, CB2 1PD, United Kingdom Email: coordinator(a)neuroscience.cam.ac.uk <mailto:coordinator@neuroscience.cam.ac.uk> Phone: 00 44 (0)1223 334063 Web: http://www.neuroscience.cam.ac.uk/ <http://www.neuroscience.cam.ac.uk/> Join the conversation on @CamNeuro <https://twitter.com/CamNeuro>

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Postdoc and PhD student position using EEG & neural networks to investigate language (Potsdam, Germany)
by Milena Rabovsky 05 Aug '19

05 Aug '19

Dear colleagues, I am looking for a Postdoc and a PhD student to join my newly established Cognitive Neurosciences Lab at the University of Potsdam (Germany) as described in more detail below, and would be very grateful if you forward this announcement to potentially interested candidates. Many thanks and best wishes, Milena Rabovsky --------------------------------------- Cognitive Neurosciences Lab at the University of Potsdam Postdoctoral and PhD student position The newly established Cognitive Neurosciences Lab at the University of Potsdam (PI Milena Rabovsky) is looking for a Postdoc to focus on neural network modeling of brain potentials during sentence comprehension and a PhD student to investigate prediction and adaptation during language comprehension using EEG. The positions are funded by an Emmy Noether grant from the German Research Foundation focused on investigating the processing of language and meaning in the brain using EEG and deep neural network models (see e.g., Rabovsky, Hansen, & McClelland, 2018, Nature Human Behaviour). Preferred starting date for both positions is November 1, 2019 (but can be discussed). Postdoc position The salary and benefits are determined by the collective bargaining agreement for public employees in Germany (TV-L 13 Ost, 100%). This is a temporary position initially limited to a term of 24 months (with possible extension). Project and responsibilities The goal of this project is to train a neural network model of sentence comprehension that has been successfully used to simulate language related brain potentials (Rabovsky, Hansen, & McClelland, 2018, Nature Human Behaviour) on a large-scale semantically labeled training corpus. Prospectively, the trained model will allow for (in collaborations with others in the lab) the simulation of language related brain potentials using stimulus materials from empirical experiments, and the comparison of representations in the model with representations in the brain via representational similarity analysis. Requirements - very good Master and PhD in relevant field (Cognitive Sciences, Computer Science, Computational Linguistics, Machine Learning, Data Science, Computational Neuroscience, etc.) - excellent computational skills (e.g., MATLAB, Python,…) - deep learning/ deep neural network modeling skills - capacity to work independently - excellent writing, communication, and presentation skills (in English) - strong interest in several aspects of the lab’s research focus, i.e., neural network models, cognitive neurosciences, language, meaning - high motivation and commitment In addition, the ideal candidate has - experience with deep neural network language models - excellent track record in a relevant field PhD student position The salary and benefits are determined by the collective bargaining agreement for public employees in Germany (TV-L 13 Ost, 65%; please note that 65% of full staff member positions are the current norm for PhD student positions in Germany). This is a temporary position initially limited to a term of 36 months (with possible extension). Project and responsibilities The goal of this project is to investigate the relation between prediction errors and adaptation/ learning during language comprehension, as reflected in event-related brain potentials (ERPs). Specific tasks include designing and programming the experiments, collecting and analyzing the data (behavioral and EEG), interpretation of the results as well as presentation of the results at international conferences and publication of the results in international peer-reviewed journals. Requirements - very good Master in relevant field (Cognitive Sciences, Cognitive Neurosciences, Psychology, etc.) - experience with and interest in neuroscientific methods (preferably EEG) - solid statistical skills - good programming skills (e.e., MATLAB, Python, R,…) - excellent writing, communication, and presentation skills (in English) - strong interest in several aspects of the lab’s research focus, i.e., cognitive neurosciences, prediction, adaptation, language, meaning, event-related brain potentials - high motivation and commitment In addition, the ideal candidate has - excellent skills in advanced statistical analyses - experience in research on language, prediction and/ or implicit memory The University strives to maintain gender balance among its staff. Severely disabled applicants shall receive preference in case of equal qualifications. We expressly invite applications from people with migration backgrounds. Please send your application (including letter of motivation, CV, at least 1 [PhD position] or 2 [Postdoc position] names of potential referees, copies of academic certificates) as a single pdf file to bewerbung(a)uni-potsdam.de until August 31 for full consideration (late applications may be considered until the position is filled). Please direct informal inquiries to Milena Rabovsky at milena.rabovsky(a)gmail.com. The official ads can be downloaded here (there are some aspects that relate to German laws and may be confusing for potential international applicants - please get in touch if you have questions!) Postdoc position: https://www.uni-potsdam.de/fileadmin01/projects/verwaltung/docs/Dezernat3/A… PhD student position: https://www.uni-potsdam.de/fileadmin01/projects/verwaltung/docs/Dezernat3/A…

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Job Opening: Research Assistant Professor in Data Science and Engineering at Hong Kong Baptist University
by COMP HKBU 05 Aug '19

05 Aug '19

The Department of Computer Science at Hong Kong Baptist University, presently offering BSc, MSc, MPhil, and PhD programmes, invites outstanding applicants for the following position. *Research Assistant Professor in Data Science and Engineering (PR0059/19-20)* The Research Assistant Professor position is created and funded as part of the strategic research development initiatives in the Department. The appointee will be provided with a conducive research environment, and will work within an established group of faculty in the Department. He/she is also expected to perform group-based high-impact research and to undertake some teaching duties. Applicants should possess a PhD degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Information Systems, or a related field, and demonstrate abilities to conduct high-quality research in one of the following areas: (i) data analytics and information management; (ii) data security and privacy. Initial appointment will be made on a fixed-term contract of two to three years. Re-appointment thereafter will be subject to mutual agreement. For enquiry, please contact Prof Jianliang Xu (email: xujl(a)comp.hkbu.edu.hk. More information about the Department can be found on its website ( http://www.comp.hkbu.edu.hk) *Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.* *Application Procedure:* Applicants are invited to submit their applications at the HKBU e-Recruitment System (jobs.hkbu.edu.hk) with samples of publications, preferably three best ones out of their most recent publications/works. Applicants should also request two referees to send in confidential letters of reference, with *PR* number (stated above) quoted on the letters, to the Personnel Office (Email: recruit(a)hkbu.edu.hk) direct. Those who are not invited for interview four months after the closing date may consider their applications unsuccessful. All application materials including publication samples, scholarly/creative works will be disposed of after completion of the recruitment exercise. Details of the University's Personal Information Collection Statement can be found at http://pers.hkbu.edu.hk/pics. The University reserves the right not to make an appointment for the post advertised, and the appointment will be made according to the terms and conditions then applicable at the time of offer. *Closing date: 30 August 2019 (or until the position is filled)* URL: https://www.comp.hkbu.edu.hk/v1/?page=job_vacancies&id=532

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Lab manager position available in in the Max Planck Institute in Tuebingen Germany
by Zhaoping Li 03 Aug '19

03 Aug '19

*The Department for Sensory and Sensorimotor Systems of the **Max-Planck-Institute for Biological **Cybernetics*studies the processing of sensory information (visual, auditory, tactile, olfactoy) in the brain and the use of this information for directing body movements and making cognitive decisions. Theresearch is highly interdisciplinary, and usestheoretical and experimental approaches, including human psychophysics, and animal behavior, imaging, electrophysiology, and computational modelling. Department website:_https://www.kyb.tuebingen.mpg.de/sensory-and-sensorimotor-systems_ We are currently looking for a *Lab Manager (m/f/d) 100%* to join us at the next possible opportunity. *Responsibilities* You will support, coordinate, and/or manage * scientific equipment and purchases * IT/programming * website, wiki, and social media content * general administrative processes at the department * project planning and managing deadlines * internal and external workshops and other events *Requirements* * Completed university degree (Master’s level) in natural sciences (Mathematics, Computer Science, Physics, Biology or a similar field), ideally a PhD * Strong command of both English and German**(at least C1 level) * Good skills in IT/programming * The willingness and capability to learn about the research topics * Very strong management and organizational skills * Team player * Independent and responsible * A high level of resilience and professionalism *We offer:* We offer highly interesting, challenging and varied tasks; you will work closely and collaboratively with scientists, students, programmers, administrative staff, and IT support to help achieve the scientific goals of the department. A dedicated team awaits you in an international environment with regular opportunities for further education and training. The salary is paid in accordance with the collective agreement for the public sector (TVoeD Bund), according to your qualifications. This position is initially limited to two years, with the possibility of a permanent contract. The Max-Planck-Society seeks to employ more handicapped people and strongly encourages them to apply. Furthermore, we actively support the compatibility of work and family life. The Max-Planck-Society also seeks to increase the number of women in leadership positions and strongly encourages qualified women to apply. The Max-Planck-Society strives for gender equality and diversity. *Your application* Your application must contain a cover letter, a curriculum vitae, and relevant certificates. Please note that incomplete applications will not be considered. The position is available immediately and will be open until filled. Preference will be given to applications received by *August 31, 2019. *We look forward to receiving your online application by E-Mail in PDF format (in one file) to:_lizhaopinglab@tuebingen.mpg.de <mailto:lizhaopinglab@tuebingen.mpg.de>_, where also informal inquiries can be addressed.

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Postdoc position in modeling in vivo dendritic activity of cortical pyramidal neurons
by Erik De Schutter 03 Aug '19

03 Aug '19

The Computational Neuroscience Unit (https://groups.oist.jp/cnu) of Prof. Erik De Schutter at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) is starting a project on modeling behaviorally relevant dendritic activity in layer 5 cortical pyramidal neurons. This will be a collaboration with Prof. Wen-Biao Gan at the New York University School of Medicine (https://med.nyu.edu/faculty/wenbiao-gan) who will provide in vivo data to constrain the models. The goal is to build quantitative models that capture how synaptic input drives dendritic calcium spiking in the apical tuft, how this activity is transmitted down the apical dendrite and changes somatic output as demonstrated, for example, in Cichon and Gan, Nature 2015. Candidates should have a PhD in (computational) neuroscience with good knowledge of dendritic physiology and experience in using the NEURON software to simulate compartmental models of neurons. Previous experience in modeling pyramidal neurons is a plus but not required. OIST is a young, fast-growing research-oriented interdisciplinary graduate university, located on the subtropical paradise island of Okinawa (https://www.visitokinawa.jp/) Despite being a newcomer in the academic world, OIST was recently ranked as #10 in the world on the Normalized Nature Index (https://www.natureindex.com/annual-tables/2019/institution/academic-normali…) It offers attractive financial and working conditions in an English language graduate university. Starting date any time before begin 2020. Send curriculum vitae, summary of research interests and experience, and the names of three referees to Prof. Erik De Schutter at erik(a)oist.jp

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Fwd: [Job][Postdoc]: 4yrs senior researcher position and Phd scholarship on Modelling beliefs dynamics of social media users with machine learning methodologies at University of Essex funded by VolkswagenStiftung (Volkswagen Foundation)
by Dimitri Ognibene 01 Aug '19

01 Aug '19

** Apologies for cross-postings ** Dear Colleagues, I would be very grateful if you could forward this job advert to anybody who could be interested. The highlight is on machine learning for user interaction modelling. Here are some information for the positions. ** Application deadline 14th of August** To apply https://vacancies.essex.ac.uk/tlive_webrecruitment/wrd/run/ETREC107GF.open?… <https://vacancies.essex.ac.uk/tlive_webrecruitment/wrd/run/ETREC107GF.open?…> https://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/BTV423/senior-research-officer-in-social-media-m… <https://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/BTV423/senior-research-officer-in-social-media-m…> A PhD scholarship on the same topics is also out with deadline on the 30th of August Check <http://sites.google.com/site/dimitriognibenehomepage/jobs>http://sites.google.com/site/dimitriognibenehomepage/ <http://sites.google.com/site/dimitriognibenehomepage/>jobs Kind regards, Dimitri *Postdoc and Phd Positions in: Modelling beliefs dynamics of social media users with machine learning methodologies at University of Essex funded by VolkswagenStiftung (Volkswagen Foundation)* Project: Courage Applications are invited for a 4 years position of Senior Postdoctoral Research Officer and a PhD shcolarship on ht project “COURAGE: A Social Media Companion Safeguarding and Educating Students”. This project is an international collaboration funded by VolkswagenStiftung (Volkswagen Foundation) as part of the Artificial Intelligence and the Society of the Future funding initiative. The project partners include the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Spain), the Istituto per le Tecnologie Didattiche of the National Council of Research ITD-CNR (Italy), Hochschule Ruhr West (Germany) and the Rhine-Ruhr Institute for System Innovation (Germany). The project aims to develop a Virtual Social Media Companion that educates and supports teenage school students facing the threats of social media such as discrimination and biases as well as hate speech, bullying, fake news and other toxic content. The project involves a substantial experimentation aspect in collaboration with multiple schools around Europe. It will thus provide a unique chance to perform interventions to test the validity of social interaction theories and governance methods. The Essex team will drive two strands of this work, the machine-learning-based user beliefs dynamics modelling aspect and the process of analysing visual and textual content. More specifically, we aim at developing Bayesian computational models of beliefs dynamics of social media users to support governance and educational strategies. These models will also be applied to evaluate socially relevant variables, such as trust and inclusion. We will build on and implement state-of-the-art CV, NLP & AI methods to provide measurements of sentiment, bias, hatefulness, veracity, polarization, and sensationalism of social media content. In addition, we will drive forward the state of the art in detecting hate speech and biased content. The companion will actively counteract this kind of content, balancing it with opposite perspectives and proposing specifically themed challenges adopting ideas used in games. The successful candidate will be based in the School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering at Colchester Campus of The University of Essex. The post is available for four years with a start date from September 2019. To apply: https://vacancies.essex.ac.uk/tlive_webrecruitment/wrd/run/ETREC107GF.open?… <https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jobs.ac.uk%2Fjob%2FBSW396%2F…> For more information: https://sites.google.com/site/dimitriognibenehomepage/jobs?authuser=0 <https://sites.google.com/site/dimitriognibenehomepage/jobs?authuser=0> Applicants are encouraged to contact Dr. Dimitri Ognibene <mailto:dimitri.ognibene@essex.ac.uk> (dimitri.ognibene(a)essex.ac.uk <mailto:dimitri.ognibene@essex.ac.uk>) for informal enquiries and further information on research objectives. -- Dimitri Ognibene, PhD Lecturer in Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Department of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering, University of Essex, UK http://sites.google.com/site/dimitriognibenehomepage/ <http://sites.google.com/site/dimitriognibenehomepage/> Skype: dimitri.ognibene

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