PhD position Digital Humanities, AI, and Citizen Science

Job description

We are looking for a talented and motivated PhD candidate in the field of Digital Humanities to research the motivation of citizen scientists to annotate textual and graphic patterns in digitized multimodal collections (e.g. handwritten archives). The candidate should also be able to evaluate and co-develop a web interface that ensures the appropriate division of labour between ‘humans in the loop’ and machines in the context of continuously learning Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven systems.

Your research will help to create innovative feedback loops between engaged volunteers and machine-generated  output: recurring textual/graphic patterns (e.g. headings, tables, marginalia) or visualizations of basic narrative components (e.g. place, circumstances of a historical event, thematic aspects) as can be found in many multimodal archive collections. Although there have been enormous developments in the field of automated handwriting recognition (HTR), problems at the level of layout analysis  still need to be addressed . In order to exploit deep learning in these areas, it is necessary to have ‘humans/citizens in the loop’, who not only label characters and words and transcribe lines but  also train machines to analyse images in a multifaceted manner.

Your work – together with the work of other researchers in Work Package 2 of the HAICu project (https://www.haicu.science/)  – will contribute to new ways of multimodal data mining on the basis of layout and graphical attributes. As a PhD researcher, you will work within the HAICu research project. The HAICu (digital Humanities - Artificial Intelligence - Cultural heritage) project is a large-scale Dutch research project jointly pursued by universities and cultural-heritage institutions. We study new forms of Artificial Intelligence-based access to multimodal cultural-heritage data, both contemporary and historical. Within HAICu, Digital Humanities researchers, AI researchers, and a wide range of public and private partners will co-develop scientific solutions to unlock the true societal potential of heterogeneous digital heritage collections. It will provide easier, richer, and more reliable data access to citizens, journalists, civic organisations, and various other stakeholders.

Within the HAICu team, you will participate in Work Package 2, titled Continual Machine Learning and Humans in the Loop. In this Work Package, we will collaborate with AI researchers from the University of Groningen and NHL Stenden, and partners from Dutch cultural heritage institutions, such as the Nationaal Archief (Dutch National Archives), Collectie Overijssel, and Groninger Archieven. As a PhD student in the TPS  department, you will collaborate with a team of supervisors, including Dr. Andreas Weber, Dr. Annemieke Romein, and Dr. Koray Karaca. At the UT, you will work in a vibrant environment with diverse research projects and opportunities for collaboration and exchange.

In addition to publishing scientific articles, the researcher is expected to make code available to academic and institutional project partners under open-access conditions.

For more information about HAICu, please see https://www.haicu.science/

Your profile

We are looking for a talented and motivated researcher who:

• has or will shortly acquire a (research) master’s degree or equivalent in digital humanities and/or neighbouring fields (for example, science and technology studies, digital history, philosophy of technology, computer science, psychology, human media interaction) 
• is motivated to pursue independent research and has the willingness to develop writing and publication skills
• has excellent communication skills, works well in a team and enjoys collaboration
• has basic programming skills and hands-on experience with evaluation of web (annotation) interfaces; demonstrated expertise  in UX design is of advantage
• has the skills and motivation to design and organize (together with cultural heritage stakeholders) sessions in which volunteers experiment with new forms of annotation
• fluent proficiency in English (written and oral) and, preferably, a good command of Dutch is an  advantage.

Our offer

We encourage you to develop into a responsible and independent researcher while collaborating with colleagues, researchers, other university staff,  and our societal partners. Our offer contains: a full-time  4-year PhD position (1.0 FTE) with a qualifier in the first year; excellent mentorship in a stimulating research environment with excellent facilities; the opportunity to work on a highly relevant topic; and a personal development program within the Twente Graduate School. The University of Twente (UT) offers a green and lively campus with many  sports facilities and an international scientific community! Our offer also includes:

• gross monthly salary of € 2.770 in the first year, increasing each year up to € 3.539 in the fourth year;
• excellent benefits including a holiday allowance of 8% of the gross annual salary, an end-of-year bonus of 8.3%, and a solid pension scheme;
• 29 holidays per year in case of full-time employment;
• a training program as part of the Twente Graduate School where you and your supervisors will determine a plan for a suitable education and supervision;
• free access to sports facilities on campus;
• a family-friendly institution that offers parental leave (both paid and unpaid);
• a full status as an employee at the UT, including pension, healthcare benefits and good secondary conditions are part of our collective labour agreement CAO-NU for Dutch universities.
• we provide a unique opportunity to work and interact with researchers from different academic backgrounds in the context of a national research project (HAICu) that is on the boundary between academic fields;
• a green campus with free access to sports facilities and an international scientific community.

Information and application

Are you interested in being part of our team? Please submit your application by clicking the ‘Apply now’ button below before December 13th, 2024. Please include:

• a cover letter (maximum 2 pages A4), emphasizing your specific interest, qualifications, and motivation to apply for this PhD position;
• a Curriculum Vitae, including a list of all courses attended and grades obtained, previous work experience, and, if applicable, a list of publications;
• transcripts from your Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees;
• a writing sample;
• contact information for two academic references (Please note, we will not contact these references before notifying the candidate that we intend to do so);
• applicants with a non-Dutch qualification and who have not had secondary and tertiary education in English can only be admitted with an IELTS-test showing a total band score of at least 6.5, internet. TOEFL test (TOEFL-iBT) showing a score of at least 90, or a Cambridge CAE-C (CPE).

The selection interviews will take place in January 2025. The position’s starting date is March 1, 2025.

For more information about this function, please contact Dr. A. Weber, email: a.weber@utwente.nl, phone: +31 53 489 5111. General information about the KiTeS section can be found here: https://www.utwente.nl/en/bms/kites/

About the department

As PhD in the KiTeS section, you will also be part of the Technology, Policy and Society (TPS) https://www.utwente.nl/en/bms/organisation/departments-institutes/department-tps/ department. The TPS Department engages in research and education on the interplay between technology, society and policy, helping society to manage the opportunities and tensions between (new) technologies and changing needs.

The TPS department is dedicated to encouraging a supportive and inclusive working culture. Our aim is that all job applicants are given equal opportunities, When we select candidates for employment, it will be on the basis of their competence and ability. To support workforce diversity, we are open to offering flexible working conditions on an individual basis to support work-life balance, which may include contract of employment, working hours and location, or childcare  arrangements.

About the organisation

The Faculty of Behavioral, Management and Social sciences (BMS) aims to play a key role in understanding, jointly developing and evaluating innovations in society. Technological developments are the engine of innovation. As a technical university that puts people first, we tailor them to human needs and behavior and use social engineering to integrate them into society. We also ensure adequate governance at public and private level, and robust, inclusive and fair organizational structures. We do this by developing, sharing and applying high-quality knowledge in Psychology, Business Administration, Public Administration, Communication Sciences, Philosophy, Educational Sciences and Health Sciences. Our research and education in these disciplines revolves around tackling and solving societal challenges. The research programs of BMS are closely linked to the research of the UT institutes Mesa+ Institute for Nanotechnology, TechMed Center and Digital Society Institute.

As an employer, the Faculty of BMS offers work that matters. We equip you to create new possibilities for yourself and for our society. With us, you will become part of a leading technical university with increasing, positive social impact. We offer an open, inclusive and entrepreneurial atmosphere, in which we encourage you to make healthy choices, for example through our flexible, adaptable benefits.