1 PhD position on norms in social simulations in Netherlands | Utrecht University

The PhD position is within the Artificial Intelligence division and is part of a European Training Network on Social Science Aspects of Fisheries for the 21st Century (SAF21). In total 10 PhD candidates will be appointed within SAF21. (See saf21.org for more information about the project and other vacancies.) It trains experts in analysis of human social behaviour for the better management of socio-ecological complex systems such as fisheries. Behaviour of fishers is complex as trust building and norms acceptance influence compliance with fishing regulations in unpredictable ways. The wide-ranging training in the network will offer a structured training in academic and transferable skills in addition to highly intersectoral non-academic mobility opportunities. Thus, the SAF21 candidates will have the necessary skills and experience to cross disciplines.

The PhD candidate in Utrecht will specifically perform research on the influence of existing social norms and culture on new policies and regulations by building new agent-based models representing norms, trust and values and performing social simulations with these models.

Requirements

An MSc in Artificial Intelligence or Computer Science with a strong background in formal methods (preferably (modal) logics) and experience in performing social simulations. Interest in interdisciplinary work and societal challenges is required. Willingness to relocate for some periods during the PhD training is a must. According to the EU regulations for these networks candidates for this position should not have resided in The Netherlands for more than twelve months in the last three years.

Conditions of employment

The candidate is offered a full-time position for 4 years. Salary starts at € 2,125.- and increases to € 2,717.- gross per month in the fourth year of the appointment.

The salary is supplemented with a holiday bonus of 8% and an end-of-year bonus of 8,3% per year. In addition we offer: a pension scheme, a partially paid parental leave, flexible employment conditions. Conditions are based on the Collective Labour Agreement Dutch Universities.

The renumeration package will be supplemented with a mobility allowance and top-up package according to family circumstances and EU regulations. The research group will provide the candidate with necessary support on all aspects of the project.

Organisation

Utrecht University has great ambitions for its teaching quality and study success rates. This also applies to its clear research profiles which are centred around four themes: Dynamics of Youth, Institutions, Life Sciences and Sustainability. Utrecht University plays a prominent role in our society and contributes to finding the answers to topical and future societal issues.

The Faculty of Science consists of six departments: Biology, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Information and Computing Sciences, Physics and Astronomy, Chemistry and Mathematics. The Faculty is home to 3500 students and nearly 2000 staff and is internationally renowned for the quality of its research. The Faculty's academic programmes reflect developments in today's society.

The Department of Information and Computing Sciences is nationally and internationally renowned for its research in computer science and information science. The research of the department is grouped into four divisions: Software Systems, Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Worlds, and Interaction Technology. Its research focus is on Game Technology, one of the four research focus areas of the Faculty of Science. Both the Department and the Faculty strive to strengthen the research in computer science and information science with applications in gaming technology.

The Department offers bachelor programs in computer science and information science, and four English-language research master-programs in Artificial Intelligence, Business Informatics, Computing Science, and Game and Media Technology. High enrollment figures and good student ratings make the education very successful.

The division Artificial Intelligence comprises the chairs Intelligent Systems, Decision Support Systems and Algorithmic Data Analysis. Together these groups cover a broad spectrum of subjects in Artificial Intelligence, ranging from symbolic logic approaches to sub-symbolic evolutionary approaches; from agent programming to machine learning; from knowledge discovery to knowledge representation; from Bayesian networks to applied algorithmics for AI.