PhD Research Fellow in Knowledge Representation and Machine Learning

About the position

Position as PhD Research Fellow in Knowledge Representation and Machine Learning available at the Department of Informatics.

No one can be appointed for more than one PhD Research Fellowship period at the University of Oslo. Starting date no later than October 1, 2025.

The fellowship period is three (3) years.

An extension of the appointment by up to twelve months may be considered, which will be devoted to career-enhancing compulsory work duties, e.g. teaching or supervision. This will be dependent on the qualifications of the applicant and the specific teaching needs of the department.

All candidates and projects will have to undergo a check versus national export, sanctions and security regulations. Candidates may be excluded based on these checks. Primary checkpoints are the Export Control regulation, the Sanctions regulation, and the national security regulation.

Job description

This position is funded by the Department of Informatics and will be part the Data and Knowledge Management (DKM) research group, which works in various topics, including knowledge representation and sematic technologies. Various members of the DKM research group are particularly interested in combining logic and machine learning, and also work as principal investigators at the Norwegian Centre for Knowledge-driven Machine Learning (Integreat).

We are looking for a motivated and bright candidate to work on a project within the field of knowledge representation and machine learning. We are interested in the interplay between logic, uncertainty theory, and machine learning. We are looking for candidates willing to investigate the following topic.

Extracting description logic ontologies from large language models: the idea is to explore algorithmic approaches for efficiently exploring the space of possible description logic ontologies approximating the in-formation present in large language models and to provide theoretical guarantees regarding the fidelity of ontologies extracted. The extraction can be seen as an active learning task. See e.g. here for more details: https://ebooks.iospress.nl/volumearticle/69557

Qualification requirements

The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences has a strategic ambition to be among Europe’s leading communities for research, education and innovation. Candidates for these fellowships will be selected in accordance with this, and expected to be in the upper segment of their class with respect to academic credentials.

• Background/Experience in Computational Logic or Knowledge Representation
• Master’s degree or equivalent in Informatics/Computer Science/Mathematics
• Foreign completed degree (M.Sc.-level) corresponding to a minimum of four years in the Norwegian educational system
• Fluent oral and written English communication skills 

Candidates without a master’s degree have until 30 June 2025 to complete the final exam.

Desired qualifications:

• Background/Experience in Modal Logic or Description Logic is an advantage
• Programming Skills in Java or Python is a minor advantage
• Background/Experience in Language Models is a minor advantage

Grade requirements:

• The average grade point for courses included in the Bachelor’s degree must be C or better in the Norwegian educational system
• The average grade point for courses included in the Master’s degree must be B or better in the Norwegian educational system
• The Master’s thesis must have the grade B or better in the Norwegian educational system

Language requirements:

• Fluent oral and written communication skills in English

English requirements for applicants from outside of EU/EEA/EFTA countries and exemptions from the requirements:

• https://www.mn.uio.no/english/research/phd/regulations/regulations.html#toc8

The purpose of the fellowship is research training leading to the successful completion of a PhD degree. For more information see:

• http://www.mn.uio.no/english/research/phd/

Personal skills

• Reliability
• Communication skills
• Ability to work in a team

We offer

• Salary NOK 536 200 – 575 400 per year depending on qualifications and seniority as PhD Research Fellow (position code 1017). 
• Attractive welfare benefits and a generous pension agreement
• Vibrant international academic environment
• Career development programmes.
• Oslo’s family-friendly surroundings with their rich opportunities for culture and outdoor activities

Inclusive worklife and diversity at UiO

Inclusion and diversity are a strength. The University of Oslo has a personnel policy objective of achieving a balanced gender composition. Furthermore, we want employees with diverse professional expertise, life experience and perspectives.

If there are qualified applicants with disabilities, employment gaps or immigrant background, we will invite at least one applicant from each of these categories to an interview.

We hope that you will apply for the position. 

More information about gender equality initiatives at UiO can be found here.

How to apply

The application must include:

• Cover letter - statement of motivation and research interests
• An essay of one page with a literature review written by the candidate on extracting description logic ontologies from language models
• CV (summarizing education, positions and academic work - scientific publications)
• Copies of the original Bachelor and Master’s degree diploma, and transcripts of records
• Letters of recommendation
• Documentation of English proficiency
• List of publications and academic work that the applicant wishes to be considered by the evaluation committee
• Names and contact details of 2-3 references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail and telephone number)

When applying for the position, we ask you to retrieve your education results from Vitnemålsportalen.no. If your education results are not available through Vitnemålsportalen, we ask you to upload copies of your original transcripts or grades. Please note that all documentation must be in English or a Scandinavian language. Foreign applicants should attach an official explanation of their University's grading system.

The application with attachments must be delivered in our electronic recruiting system (please follow the link “Apply for this job”). 

General information

The best qualified candidates will invited for interviews. 

Applicant lists can be published in accordance with Norwegian Freedom of Information Act § 25. When you apply for a position with us, your name will appear on the public applicant list. It is possible to request to be excluded from this list. You must justify why you want an exemption from publication and we will then decide whether we can grant your request. If we can't, you will hear from us.

Please refer to Regulations for the Act on universities and colleges chapter 3 (Norwegian),  Guidelines concerning appointment to post doctoral and research posts at UiO (Norwegian) and Regulations for the degree of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) at the University of Oslo.

The University of Oslo has a transfer agreement with all employees that is intended to secure the rights to all research results etc.

Contact persons

For further information please contact Associate Professor Ana Ozaki, e-mail: anaoz@uio.no 

For questions regarding the recruitment system Jobbnorge, please contact HR Adviser Therese Ringvold,  e-mail: therese.ringvold@mn.uio.no