PhD and Postdoc Opportunities
1. Postdoctoral Opportunities
Ramon Llull - AIRA (closes 20 Feb 2025)
The MSCA COFUND Ramon Llull - AIRA Postdoctoral Programme is open to applicants of any age, nationality, or background. Universitat Pompeu Fabra offers three potential themes, and theme RLA-UPF-03 ("Fellowship in AI for
Cultural Heritage and Inclusive Societies") includes topics that the postdoctoral fellow can develop within our research group:
- Ethical AI Systems: Research fairness, accountability, transparency, and non-discrimination in high-risk decision-support systems, particularly those impacting access to essential services, criminal justice, and education.
- Algorithmic Auditing: Develop methodologies for assessing and mitigating risks of bias in AI systems, including discrimination risk assessments and post-deployment monitoring for equity.
Interested candidates may apply through the Ramon Llull - AIRA portal.
2. PhD Opportunities
2.1. Funded positions to start a PhD in September 2025 with Carlos Castillo
Excellent candidates satisfying the admission requirements of DTIC are welcome to apply for any of the following positions, which are PhD studies under the supervision of Prof. Carlos Castillo.
2.1.1. PhD in algorithmic fairness (expressions of interest received until Feb 7th 2025)
Candidates having previous experience, interest, and/or publications in algorithmic fairness are welcome to apply. Please check this page for example publications from the supervisor. The PhD thesis will be in an empirical, data-driven topic of algorithmic fairness chosen jointly by the supervisor and the student.
This position is funded by a PIF1/PRC fellowship offered by the Department of Engineering. The gross monthly salary (approximate, and to be confirmed before the contract) is as follows:
- 1st year - 1.470 € gross per month
- 2nd year - 1.470 € gross per month
- 3rd year - 1.570 € gross per month
- 4th year - 1.970 € gross per month
2.1.2. PhD in fairness and non-discrimination in large language models (expressions of interest received until Feb 7th 2025)
Candidates having previous experience, interest, and/or publications in algorithmic fairness or large language models (LLMs) are welcome to apply. The PhD thesis will be about ensuring fairness and non-discrimination in LLMs, and in providing robust protections against "jail breaking" of LLMs, and will be conducted in collaboration with researchers from NeuralTrust. More details about this collaboration can be provided upon request; in short, they provide a general theme for the development of the work, but leave ample freedom for the PhD candidate to find a specific research direction.
This position is partially funded by a Public-Private Partnership with NeuralTrust plus a partial fellowship offered by the Department of Engineering plus own group funds. The gross monthly salary (approximate, and to be confirmed before the contract) is as follows:
- 1st year - 2,000 € gross per month
- 2nd year - 2,000 € gross per month
- 3rd year - 2,125 € gross per month
- 4th year - 2,585 € gross per month
2.2. "Dorcas Muthoni" PhD Fellowship (opens every year in May)
This PhD fellowship seeks doctoral applications from talented African women with a strong interest in research. Candidates must hold an M.Sc. degree or equivalent. More information »
2.3. External funding brought by the candidate
If you have an external source of funding, please check carefully the admission requirements of DTIC, which can be summarized as:
- Holding a master's degree in a relevant field.
- Being proficient in English.
- Have previous experience, interest, and/or publications in the topics of our group.
If you fulfil the above requirements and have an external source of funding, you are welcome to apply.
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To express your interest in the position, please send me an e-mail indicating explicitly that you have checked the admission requirements, that you satisfy those requirements, and which position(s) you are applying for. Include your CV. Contact information for Carlos Castillo.