PhD position in Machine Learning

Job description
The aim of the GMTaLe project is to develop a framework for analyzing task-relatedness based on an approach that combines graphs and non-parametric machine learning techniques. The framework will be used for improving generalization performance of multi-task learning algorithms as well as the interpretability of models generated by these algorithms.

The project involves one PhD student and one Post-Doctoral researcher. As a PhD student you will work on the following main tasks.

• Review of state-of-the-art approaches and techniques for similarity measure design in single and multi-task learning.
• Develop and analyze comparatively methods for learning task dependent similarity measures.
• Use the task-relatedness graph representation to discover task-relatedness properties and their correlation with task generalization performance.
• Improve the generalization performance of existing state-of-the-art multi-task learning algorithms by means of graph-based task transformations.
• Show the practical relevance of the proposed research by applying the approach to real-life case studies.

You should meet the following requirements:

• A master's degree (or equivalent) in Computer Science, Mathematics or a related field, with a strong interest in machine learning and graph theory;
• Commitment and a cooperative attitude;
• Excellent proficiency in written and spoken English.

The Radboud University Nijmegen is one of the leading academic communities in the Netherlands. Renowned for its green campus, modern buildings, and state-of-the-art equipment, it has nine faculties and enrols over 17.500 students in approximately 90 study programmes.

The university is situated in the oldest Dutch city, close to the German border, on the banks of the river Waal (a branch of the Rhine). The city has a rich history and one of the liveliest city centres in the Netherlands. The machine learning group of the section Intelligent Systems of the Institute for Computing and Information Sciences (iCIS) at the Radboud University Nijmegen conducts research in machine learning and artificial intelligence in general, with applications to (among others) neuroscience and bioinformatics.

Website: www.ru.nl/is/ml/

Conditions of employment

• Employment: 1,0 fte
• Maximum salary per month, based on a fulltime employment: € 2,612 gross/month
• Starting at € 2,042 per month, the salary will increase to € 2,612 per month in the fourth year.
• PhD scale.

• You will be appointed as a PhD student for a period of four years.
• Your performance will be evaluated after 18 months. If the evaluation is positive, the contract will be extended by 2.5 years.

Application deadline: before *30 April 2010*

_Contact_:
For more information please contact

Dr. Elena Marchiori Telephone: +31 24 36 52647 E-mail: elenam at cs.ru.nl