Department: Department of Engineering Management
Regime Full-time
Let’s shape the future – University of Antwerp
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The Department of Engineering Management in the Faculty of Business and Economics is looking for a full-time (100%) postdoctoral scholarship holder in the field of cognitive robotics.
The vacancy is situated within an international Human Frontier Science Project entitled “Mental 3D space-time travel in fission-fusion animal societies”.
Humans readily use and share information about each other’s past and present to plan for the future and coordinate their actions. By contrast, the extent to which animals think/communicate about the past or future to plan behaviors has yet to be elucidated. The university of Antwerp is a partner in an international consortium that will investigate the mental travel through space and time of animals through behavioral experiments on animals and robots. Our role in this project will be to propose and experimentally validate hypotheses of planning mechanisms as derived from behavioral experiments with bats, dolphins and parrots. The experimental platform consists of a group of 10 custom designed mobile robots programmed in Python. In the past, we have developed a biologically plausible navigation mechanism based on semi-metric maps of the environment that will be enriched to contain relevant time information as well. Combining reinforcement learning with these biomimetic memory structures, the robotic agents will attempt to model the behaviors observed in the animal experiments. The goal of the robotic work is to propose and test minimalist cognitive models for the mechanisms operating in the animals’ heads.
Position
- You will assist in ongoing research projects in the field of biomimetic robotics and the activities of the Active Perception Lab.
- You will help coordinate project proposals in the field of cognitive robotics and contribute to attracting external funding.
- You will assist in the supervision of PhD students and other team members.
- You will fulfil a limited number of teaching activities.
- You will participate in the provision of academic services: you will represent the research group both internally and externally and so on.
Profile
- You hold a PhD in Physics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Engineering from a non-Belgian institution (or you will have obtained it by the time you start work).
- Your research qualities are in line with the faculty and university research policies.
- Your teaching competences are in line with the University of Antwerp’s educational vision.
- You act with attention to quality, integrity, creativity and cooperation.
- You can speak and write fluently in English and also express yourself in Dutch.
- You have extensive experience programming in Python or C++
- Experience with reinforcement learning techniques and/or autonomous robots is a definite advantage.
What we offer
- We offer a full-time appointment as a postdoctoral scholarship holder for a period of three years;
- The planned start date is 1 December 2022.
- Your monthly scholarship amount is calculated according to the scholarship amounts for postdoctoral scholarship holders on the pay scales for Contract Research Staff (Dutch: Bijzonder Academisch Personeel, BAP).
- You will receive ecocheques, Internet-connectivity allowance and a bicycle allowance or a full reimbursement of public transport costs for commuting.
- You will do most of your work at the City Campus in a dynamic and stimulating working environment.
- Find out more about working at the University of Antwerp here.
Want to apply?
- You can apply for this vacancy through the University of Antwerp’s online job application platform up to and including 15 August 2022 (by midnight Brussels time). Click on the ‘Apply’ button, complete the online application form and be sure to include the following attachments: a motivation letter, your academic CV. Interested applicants are advised to contact Prof. Herbert Peremans (herbert.peremans@uantwerpen.be) before officially applying.
- The selection committee will review all of the applications as soon as possible after the application deadline. As soon as a decision has been made, we will inform you about the next steps in the selection procedure. Please make a note of the following dates: 29 August-2 September (interview).
- If you have any questions about the online application form, please check the frequently asked questions or send an email to jobs@uantwerpen.be. If you have any questions about the job itself, please contact Herbert Peremans, herbert.peremans@uantwerpen.be.
The University of Antwerp received the European Commission’s HR Excellence in Research Award for its HR policy. We are a sustainable, family-friendly organisation which invests in its employees’ growth. We encourage diversity and attach great importance to an inclusive working environment and equal opportunities, regardless of gender identity, disability, race, ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation or age. We encourage people from diverse backgrounds and with diverse characteristics to apply.