Logic List Mailing Archive

Two PhD student positions in concept invention theory, Magdeburg (Germany), Deadline: 28 Feb 2014

Two full-time PhD scholarships in the EU FP7 Project COINVENT 'Concept 
Invention Theory' - Otto-von-Guericke University of Magdeburg, Germany.

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The Institute of Knowledge and Language Engineering at Otto-von-Guericke 
University Magdeburg, Germany, offers two PhD scholarships until November 
2016 (with a possible extension subject to available funding) for students 
pursuing a full-time PhD degree in Artificial Intelligence in the area of 
knowledge representation and reasoning for computational creativity. The 
positions are offered within the context of COINVENT, a high-profile 
international research project funded under the European Commission?s 7th 
Framework Programme.

The Institute of Knowledge and Language Engineering conducts research 
within the areas of Knowledge-based Systems, Computational Intelligence, 
Theoretical Computer Science, and Intelligent Systems. Otto-von-Guericke 
University Magdeburg (OVGU) was founded in 1993 and is one of the youngest 
German public research universities. It was formed in a merger of three 
existing institutions to create a university with a distinctive profile, 
drawing in many areas on a considerably longer tradition. It is located in 
Magdeburg, the capital city of the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt, located 
about 1 hour from Berlin.

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The COINVENT project aims at advancing the formal understanding of 
creativity by developing a computationally feasible, cognitively-inspired 
formal model of concept invention. It is drawing on interdisciplinary 
research results from cognitive science, artificial intelligence, formal 
methods and computational creativity, and validating it for mathematical 
reasoning and melodic harmonisation. Partners in the COINVENT project 
include the Artificial Intelligence Research Institute Barcelona 
(IIIA-CSIC, co-ordinator), the University of Edinburgh, the University of 
Osnabrck, Goldsmiths University of London, Aristotle University of 
Thessaloniki, University of Dundee, and University of Magdeburg.

The COINVENT project at the University of Magdeburg is led by Dr Oliver 
Kutz and hosted by the Semantics and Formal Methods group headed by Prof 
Till Mossakowski. Further project team members at Magdeburg include Dr 
Fabian Neuhaus and Dr Mihai Codescu.

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REQUIREMENTS: Candidates are required to have a high-quality master?s 
degree in computer science or fields related to computational creativity 
(or have completed equivalent qualifications allowing PhD studies), have 
good communication skills in English, and be able to demonstrate strong 
motivation to conduct research. Both PhD positions require solid knowledge 
in logic and knowledge representation. Some experience in ontology 
engineering and languages such as OWL will be a plus. For one of the two 
positions we are looking for candidates with strong programming skills, 
with functional programming being particularly relevant.

SCHOLARSHIPS: PhD scholarships will comfortably cover cost of living in 
Magdeburg (up to 1500 Euros monthly). Note that there are no PhD tuition 
fees in Germany.

START DATE: 1st March 2014 at the earliest. It will be possible to start 
later than this depending on the candidates? circumstances.

APPLICATION: Please apply by email to Dr Oliver Kutz 
(okutz@iws.cs.ovgu.de) and include

+	a short motivation statement, in English, of why you are interested in pursuing a PhD in the area of computational creativity at the University of Magdeburg,
+	name and email address of at least one referee,
+	a copy of your master's thesis (or equivalent) in PDF format,
+	and your complete CV in PDF format.

The deadline for this application round is Friday, February 28. While 
applications will be possible until all positions are filled, your chances 
will be increased by applying before this deadline.

For further information please contact Dr Oliver Kutz 
(okutz@iws.cs.ovgu.de)