Job description
The Jheronimus Academy of Data Science (JADS) is the joint Data Science Academy of Tilburg University and Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands.
JADS is seeking an enthusiastic colleague for the position of
PhD researcher in decision support systems to accelerate the energy transition and the use of sustainable technology for water desalination, recycling and purification,
as part of the ILUSTRE project that focusses on use-cases in the Caribbean region.
Are you fascinated by how clean water and sanitation can be provided to citizens in an energy-efficient and environmentally friendly way? Are you eager to work on developing advanced technology for optimizing the decisions to manage clean water production systems? Are you passionate about creating scientific breakthroughs in artificial intelligence for managing scarce water supplies? Then you might be our next PhD who will develop artificial intelligence systems to support the complex operational decisions needed to improve water desalination, recycling and purification processes.
Job Description
Clean water and sanitation is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of United Nations. Reaching these goals in an energy-efficient, environmentally friendly and sustainable way requires optimization and balancing of multiple decisions in a complex setting. For example, the recent trend to use renewable energy sources for desalination and wastewater treatment makes the decision process more complicated, due to the temporal variability of these sources. To deal with this complexity, AI systems that go beyond the current point solutions are needed, while also considering the broader perspective and a balanced interaction between the computerized systems and human experts, providing them with understandable explanations on the inner working of the AI system. The scientific challenge of this PhD project is to develop hybrid AI solutions that combine advanced prediction methods (e.g., deep learning algorithms), multi-objective optimization and adaptive models with explainable AI decision-making methods from computational intelligence to realize such a balance.
As the PhD working on this challenge, you will become part of the Computational Intelligence for Decision Support team at JADS and will collaborate with other PhDs working in the Data Analytics Unit.
ILUSTRE project
This position is linked to ILUSTRE, a new Innovation Center for Artificial Intelligence (ICAI) to be established in Curaçao. ILUSTRE will be a living lab in the Caribbean with the objective to develop, implement and test AI innovations that will accelerate the use of clean energy and advanced solutions in water treatment and wastewater recycling/purification. The innovation lab is one of the new ICAI labs that are part of the ROBUST program on Trustworthy AI-based Systems for Sustainable Growth which is financed under the NWO LTP funding scheme. ILUSTRE offers opportunities for PhD candidates who wish to support to the acceleration of the energy transition and who have an affinity with the Dutch Caribbean islands.
Job requirements
- A master’s degree in artificial intelligence, data science, computer science or an equivalent quantitative field.
- Provable affinity with the Caribbean region.
- Preparedness to perform a significant part of the research in the Caribbean region.
- A research-oriented attitude.
- Ability to work in a team while also taking a pro-active attitude to drive your own research in collaboration with industrial partners and other stakeholders.
- Fluent in spoken and written English (C1 level).
Conditions of employment
Being appointed at JADS provides a meaningful job in a dynamic and ambitious community of two universities and many startups. Based on the project, the candidate receives an appointment at TU/Eindhoven.
As a PhD Student at JADS you will have a full-time employment for a total of four years, with an intermediate evaluation after nine months. JADS offers excellent employment conditions with attention to flexibility and (personal) development and attractive fringe benefits. The gross monthly salary is in accordance with the Collective Labor Agreement for Dutch Universities. The minimum gross salary is € 2.541 per month up to a maximum of € 3.247 in the fourth year. You are entitled to a vacation allowance of 8% and a year-end bonus of 8.3% of your gross annual income. If you work 40 hours per week, you will receive 41 paid days of leave per year. PhD Students from outside the Netherlands may qualify for a tax-free allowance of 30% of their taxable salary if they meet the relevant conditions. The university applies for this allowance on their behalf. JADS will provide assistance in finding suitable accommodation.
The exact conditions of employment may vary depending on the percentage of time spent in Curaçao as part of your secondment.
Preferred starting date: September 1, 2023.
To develop your teaching skills, you will spend 10% of your employment on teaching tasks. To support you during your PhD and to prepare you for the rest of your career, you will make a Training and Supervision plan and you will have free access to a personal development program for PhD students.
Next to that we offer all kinds of facilities and arrangements to maintain an optimal balance between work and private life. All employees of the university are covered by the so-called General Pension Fund for Public Employers (Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP).
JADS values an open and inclusive culture. We embrace diversity and encourage the mutual integration of groups of employees and students. We focus on creating equal opportunities for all our employees and students so that everyone feels at home in our university community.
All researchers working in JADS have contracts at either Tilburg University or Eindhoven University of Technology. Please visit Working at Tilburg University and Working at Eindhoven University of Technology for more information on their respective employment conditions.
Information and application
More information
Do you recognize yourself in this profile and would you like to know more? Please contact
prof.dr.ir. U. Kaymak, u.kaymak[at]jads.nl or +31 40 247 2793.
For information about terms of employment, please contact HR[at]JADS.nl.
Application
We invite you to submit a complete application by using the ‘apply now’-button on this page. The application should include a:
- Cover letter in which you describe your motivation and qualifications for the position.
- Curriculum vitae, including a list of your publications and the contact information of three references.
- Brief description of your MSc thesis.
We look forward to receiving your application before June 30th, 2023. Interviews will be planned between July 3rd, 2023 and July 14th, 2023. The screening will continue until the position has been filled.
Note: CHECK OUT THE OTHER PhD vacancies at JADS: Vacancies – JADS – a great place to work
JADS
We do cool stuff that matters, with data. The Jheronimus Academy of Data Science (JADS) is a unique cooperation between Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) and Tilburg University (TiU). At JADS, we believe that data science can provide answers to society’s complex issues. We provide innovative educational programs, data science research, and support for business and society. With a team of lecturers, students, scientists and entrepreneurs – from a wide range of sectors and disciplines – we work on creating impact with data science. We do this by connecting people, sectors and industries: in the past 5 years we have been working with 300+ organizations on data-related projects. Our main drivers? Doing cool stuff that matters with data. Our location at the former monastery Mariënburg in Den Bosch houses a vibrant campus fully dedicated to data science.