PhD position on Knowledge Representation & Responsible Design for Inclusive Employment Matching Algorithms
University of Twente is looking for an enthusiastic and open-minded PhD researcher to develop knowledge representation and reasoning techniques for inclusive employment of workers with a disability. You will work with disabled people and their employers to develop computational models that meaningfully represent what is important to them in their work for the purpose of AI-supported matchmaking. This research is part of an interdisciplinary project that aims to foster the sustainable employment of workers with disabilities by driving technological and social innovations.
This fully-funded, 4-year PhD research position is part of the project "Don't Forget the Forgotten! Towards a Platform-Based Approach for Sustainable Employment of Workers with a Disability". This project, funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO), addresses the challenge of limited sustainable employment opportunities for workers with disabilities (i.e., a healthy, productive, and meaningful career). By developing online platform cooperatives and algorithms for matching disabled workers and employers, you address this urgent challenge while contributing to broader societal issues such as labor market shortages, budget strains, and the energy transition.
PhD project
This PhD project builds on the notion that existing matching algorithms and domain models insufficiently address the characteristics of workers with a disability. The project aims to develop novel knowledge representations (ontologies) that better capture these aspects. We will employ an empirical and participatory approach to elicit requirements for the knowledge representation frameworks via data collection from relevant stakeholders. The requirements are used to design a novel domain-specific ontology that mathematically captures relevant worker characteristics and their relations regarding employee competencies, interests, values, and vulnerabilities. The ontology is the basis for building a novel matching algorithm that emphasizes the inclusion of workers with a disability. A prototype implementation of the matching algorithm will be developed as a proof of concept that demonstrates how an inclusive algorithm fosters a better person-environment fit for workers with a disability and facilitates sustainable employment.
The prospective candidate is expected to:
- Perform and publish high quality and internationally visible research, and be involved in teaching and student supervision to a limited extent.
- Study and address the challenges associated with modeling employee-employer characteristics;
- Develop a matching algorithm and software prototype that foster inclusion and person-environment fit for workers with a disability;
- Collaborate with societal partners;
- Work in a team with two other PhD researchers from the engineering and social sciences;
You will receive mentorship by an experienced, international team of senior scholars with expertise in online platforms, labor markets, and AI systems at work.
Information and application
Are you interested in this position? Please send your application via the 'Apply now' button below by July 5th 2024, and include:
- A letter of application in which you explain both your motivation and the relevance of your skills and experience for the research project. The motivational letter should be on-topic.
- A full Curriculum Vitae including your publications (if any) and working experience. Your CV should demonstrate the scope of your work and education and indicate a good fit with the stated requirements for the position.
- An academic transcript of BSc and MSc education (or equivalent), including grades.
- Your MSc thesis or the latest draft in English (or alternatively if your MSc thesis is not in English, a 5-page summary of your MSc thesis in English).
- References (contact information) of two scientific staff members (one of whom would preferably be the supervisor of your MSc thesis/final project) who are willing to be contacted by us.
Preferred starting date of position: before November 15th, 2024.
For more information regarding this position, you are welcome to contact Dr. Birna van Riemsdijk (m.b.vanriemsdijk@utwente.nl).
About the department
This position is embedded in the Human Media Interaction (HMI) department at University of Twente. HMI is a multidisciplinary group in which computer science meets social science to investigate, design and evaluate novel forms of human-computer interaction. We develop and use (logic-based) AI techniques to support meaningful interactions between people and digital technologies. We are socially engaged researchers, with a particular interest and expertise in research with vulnerable and marginalized groups. The group has a very friendly, collaborative and welcoming atmosphere, centring wellbeing and work-life balance.
About the organisation
The faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science (EEMCS) uses mathematics, electronics and computer technology to contribute to the development of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). With ICT present in almost every device and product we use nowadays, we embrace our role as contributors to a broad range of societal activities and as pioneers of tomorrow's digital society. As part of a people-first tech university that aims to shape society, individuals and connections, our faculty works together intensively with industrial partners and researchers in the Netherlands and abroad, and conducts extensive research for external commissioning parties and funders. Our research has a high profile both in the Netherlands and internationally. It has been accommodated in three multidisciplinary UT research institutes: Mesa+ Institute, TechMed Centre and Digital Society Institute.
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