Call for a PhD student at University of Amsterdam

Research at the Faculty of Humanities is carried out by six research schools under the aegis of the Amsterdam Institute for Humanities Research. The Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis, one of six research schools of the Faculty of Humanities, has a vacant PhD position as part of the Cross-lingual Event-centric Open Analytics Research Academy (CLEOPATRA ITN), led by Prof. dr. Richard Rogers.

ASCA is home to more than 110 scholars and 120 PhD candidates, and is a world-leading international research school in Cultural Analysis. ASCA members share a commitment to working in an interdisciplinary framework and to maintaining a close connection with contemporary cultural and political debates.

Project description
The PhD position is in digital methods and concerns ‘Wikipedia as first draft of history’. It is connected to the CLEOPATRA EU research project that aims to make sense of the massive digital coverage generated by the events of global importance in Europe over the past decade. CLEOPATRA offers a unique interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral research and training programme, which explores how we can begin to analyse and understand the major events that influence and shape our lives and our societies. It facilitates advanced cross-lingual processing of textual and visual information related to key contemporary events at scale, and develops innovative methods for efficient and intuitive user access to and interaction with multilingual information.

As a successful candidate, you will:

  • conduct research at University of Amsterdam in the context of the CLEOPATRA project;
  • provide important input to the development of integrated cross-lingual data analytics platforms;
  • actively participate in the training programme offered by the CLEOPATRA ITN;
  • engage with researchers at CLEOPATRA partner organisations across the EU;
  • conduct research visits and secondments according to the individual career development plan.

Your research will focus on selected topics in the area of multilingual information science in a challenging and unique research environment.

Requirements
To be eligible you must satisfy the mobility requirements of Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions. According to these guidelines, at the time of recruitment, the potential candidate “must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the recruiting beneficiary for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately before the recruitment date. Compulsory national service, short stays such as holidays, and time spent as part of a procedure for obtaining refugee status under the Geneva Convention (1951) are not taken into account.” Furthermore, according to the Marie Skłodowska-Curie rules, Early-Stage Researchers shall, at the time of recruitment by the host organisation, “be in the first four years (full-time equivalent research experience) of their research careers and have not been awarded a doctoral degree”.

Furthermore, as our successful applicant you must have:

  • a relevant Master’s degree in the Humanities or Social Sciences, focusing on digital methods or new media and digital culture;
  • outstanding research qualities, manifested in strong transcripts and a high-quality Master’s thesis;
  • demonstrable experience with research software and working in data sprint environments;
  • demonstrable experience working with theoretical frameworks and a keen interest in new media and digital culture;
  • excellent written and spoken English skills;
  • a keen interest in interdisciplinary research methods and approaches;
  • ability and willingness to work in a team;
  • willingness to travel abroad for research stays, conferences and project expert workshops;
  • strong organizational skills.

Successful candidates will have a strong background in Digital Methods (an outstanding MA or MSc degree in the corresponding discipline). Good proficiency in English is expected, knowledge of further European languages is an advantage. International experience during your studies or afterwards as well as good social and communication skills are helpful.

Further information
For further information, please contact:
Prof. Richard Rogers <mailto:R.A.Rogers@uva.nl?subject=19-018%20PhD%20candidate%20Digital%20Methods>

Appointment
As PhD candidate you will be appointed to the University of Amsterdam’s Faculty of Humanities, Department of Mediastudies. The appointment will be for 36 months, full-time, under the terms of employment currently valid for the Faculty. You will be a part of the Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis (ASCA). The first contract will be for 12 months, with an extension for the following 24 months, contingent on a positive performance evaluation. The intended starting date is 1 July 2019. The gross monthly salary will be € 2,325 during the first year to reach € 2,835 during the third, based on 38 hours per week. The Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities is applicable.

Job application
The UvA is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We value a spirit of enquiry and endurance, provide the space to keep asking questions and cherish a diverse atmosphere of curiosity and creativity.
Please submit your application in a single PDF file (not zipped). Your application must consist of the following:

  • a detailed letter of motivation, stating why you want to carry out this particular research project and why you are the right candidate for this position (no more than 1,000 words);
  • your Master’s thesis (if in a language other than English, a summary of 250-500 words);
  • a CV outlining all relevant experience;
  • transcripts of your Master (or equivalent) program;
  • the names and contact details of two referees familiar with your academic record and research skills.

Shortlisted candidates may be requested to provide additional materials.
Applications must be submitted to asca-fgw at uva.nl <mailto:asca-fgw@uva.nl?subject=19-018%20PhD%20candidate%20Digital%20Methods> no later than 14 February 2019, with the subject line ‘Application Rogers PhD ITN-CLEOPATRA’.

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