PhD at University of Zurich
Join the University of Zurich and contribute to groundbreaking advancements in automatic sign language processing.
We are actively looking for an exceptionally driven and skilled individual to become a PhD student in our research team. Your focus will be on natural language processing for sign languages, with a particular emphasis on neural machine translation. Your work will involve developing essential technologies specifically tailored to sign languages, ultimately enhancing the performance and effectiveness of machine translation systems for sign languages.
The Department of Computational Linguistics engages in research and education in various fields such as computational linguistics, language technology, phonetics, speech signal processing, and digital linguistics. Those involved in the SIGMA project will be associated with the "Language Technology for Accessibility" group, led by Dr. Sarah Ebling. This group specifically emphasizes the role of language technology in enhancing accessibility for individuals with disabilities and special educational requirements.
PhD Description
The PhD position forms a crucial part of an innovative research initiative called "SIGMA" within the Digital Society Initiative and the Department for Computational Linguistics at the University of Zurich. The primary objective of SIGMA is to develop fundamental linguistic tools for the automated processing of sign languages, ultimately leading to significant advancements in sign language machine translation. The improvement of machine translation for sign languages holds great importance for both Swiss and international communities. While translation technology is readily available for hearing individuals in their daily lives, such tools are currently unavailable for Deaf sign language users. In order for Deaf individuals to fully participate in a digital society, it is essential that they have access to translation technology. The project operates at the intersection of computer science, linguistics, and accessibility studies, resulting in a highly interdisciplinary approach. As a PhD student involved in this project, you will be part of a dynamic and supportive research environment that highly values the research and professional growth of young scholars.
Your responsibilities are:
- Develop and improve key language technologies for sign language processing, spefically automatic evaluation metrics for sign language machine translation, segmentation or alignment algorithms, machine translation systems.
- Write a cumulative doctoral dissertation describing the results, composed of at least three scientific articles.
- Collaborate with team members and other researchers and institutions.
- Participate in international conferences and public outreach activities.
PhD Requirements
- Excellent Master's degree in computational linguistics, computer vision, computer science, AI, or a related discipline
- Strong programming skills (Python)
- Theoretical and practical knowledge of machine learning (deep learning) methods, as demonstrated by familiarity with at least one major deep learning framework
- Experience in computer vision (e.g., image recognition, image segmentation, image generation, video generation); experience in NLP (specifically, machine translation) a plus
- Proficiency in English (oral and written)
- Interest in sign languages and sign language linguistics; willingness to engage with the sign language community and to learn at least one sign language
- Very good communication, interpersonal, and organizational skills
What We Offer
- Four-year PhD funding
- Excellent research conditions (including access to state-of-the-art equipment, infrastructure, and shared facilities) in a highly attractive city
- Option to apply for the DSI PhD Excellence Program - a highly successful PhD program with graduates at top-rated institutions worldwide
- Friendly working environment in an enthusiastic team
- The opportunity to participate in international conferences and workshops
- Salary in accordance with the regulations of the Swiss National Science Foundation (salary starts at CHF 48'686 per year)
How to Apply
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis starting from May 2023 until the position is filled. Please submit your application via the link to the online application tool only. The earliest start date is October 2023.
Your application should contain a cover letter with your motivation and research interests, CV, academic records, contact information for at least two references, optionally programming samples, optionally writing samples, optionally list of publications.
Job position: Dr. Mathias Müller (main contact) and Dr. Sarah Ebling.
PhD Program: Dr. Sascha Völlmin
Department manager: Alexandra Bünzli, lic. phil.
For further information related to the scholarship, please visit this Scholarship Link, and for application process, please click apply below.
