PhD position in information retrieval and semantic data analysis

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The Institute of Information Systems of the HES-SO Valais in Sierre (Switzerland) invites applications for a

PhD position in information retrieval and semantic data analysis

Description
The Institute of Information Systems in Sierre is a research institute at the University of applied sciences Western Switzerland Valais. It is engaged in research and development in designing, building and deploying novel approaches in various domains ( http://www.hevs.ch/en/rad-instituts/institut-informatique-de-gestion/pages-instituts/presentation-1481 <http://www.hevs.ch/en/rad-instituts/institut-informatique-de-gestion/pages-instituts/presentation-1481> ). It is situated in Sierre, a town on the border between the French- and German speaking parts of Valais in the center of the Alps. Sierre is ideally situated and is almost equidistant from Milan, Geneva and Zürich, and just 20 minutes from the most famous winter destinations of Switzerland. It is home to higher education institutes in the fields of IT, economics, tourism and social work, creating a real breeding ground for young talent.

We are seeking a highly motivated PhD candidate to help shape the future of information extraction, exploration and visualization. The project will develop approaches and methods to support push-crowdsourcing for content missing contextual data and for interactive and dynamic interfaces to visualize and navigate through these data. The PhD candidate will integrate the Data Semantics Lab ( http://www.hevs.ch/datasemlab <http://www.hevs.ch/datasemlab> ), a multicultural research team active in semantics since 10 years, and will collaborate with two other PhD candidates’ working at the University of Fribourg and the University of Basel in the framework of a common research project.
Responsibilities

Applicants should have strong analytical skills, programming skills, and interest in designing, building and publishing innovative approaches and systems. Applicants should also have skills in the implementation of research projects, writing of research papers (workshops, conferences, journals) and an ability to work independently.
Requirements

Bachelor and Master degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics or a closely related field and a research interest in areas such as Linked Data, Semantic Web, Crowdsourcing, Knowledge Visualization, Social Media and eTourism. Experience in software development: Java and/or other relevant technologies; good understanding of semantic Web technologies and Linked Data (RDF, graph representations); willingness to combine formal research with practical applications in national and international projects; Fluent English is essential, knowledge in French and/or German are an advantage.
Application

Applicants should send their application to maria.sokhn@hevs.ch <mailto:maria.sokhn@hevs.ch> by December 20, 2015. It needs to contain a detailed curriculum vita including grades, a cover letter and the names of three references. Initial interviews can be carried out via Skype. The position can be filled quickly in case of an exceptional candidate. We expect the successful candidate to start ideally in January 2016 for 4 years.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/phd-position-information-retrieval-semantic-data-analysis-maria-sokhn-6069423227350904832?trk=prof-post <https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/phd-position-information-retrieval-semantic-data-analysis-maria-sokhn-6069423227350904832?trk=prof-post>