Lead Ai Postdoctoral Research Fellow Position Within Digital Narrative

UiB - Knowledge that shapes society

At the Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies, there is a vacancy for a postdoctoral research fellow position within Digital Narrative (computational narrative systems).

The position is for a fixed term of 3 years and is associated with The Center for Digital Narrative (CDN). The Center focuses on algorithmic narrativity, interactive environments, materialities, and shifting cultural contexts in which digital narratives are received and processed. The CDN investigates the ways that the interactions of human authors and non-human agents renew narrative forms, how digital narratives have changed over time, and how textual materialities and cultural contexts are now reshaping the use and function of digital narrative. The activities of the Center include research group meetings, interactions with international research leaders in digital narrative, researcher training, PhD summer schools, frequent symposia and exhibitions.

The position is open to an incoming candidate, see the LEAD AI mobility rules. The successful candidate will move to Norway and the regular workplace will be the Center.

The applicant must propose an individual project in computational narrative systems that will be the focus of the postdoctoral work. The Center for Digital Narrative’s Computational Narrative Systems node, led by Nick Montfort, studies and researches the computational modeling of narrative, which includes developing new computational models of narrative and re-implementing historical models (also known as “storytelling systems”) so that they can be easily studied and used.

The successful applicant will collaborate with researchers within the Center’s Computational Narrative Systems node and from MIT to achieve jointly authored research results. As part of the position, the applicant is also expected to re-implement historical narrative systems in Python and help determine the course of a larger collaborative CNS project dealing with such systems.

LEAD AI is the University of Bergen's career and mobility fellowship program for training 19 postdoctoral fellows in artificial intelligence.

The program has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Grant Agreement No. 101126560.

The LEAD AI programme offers high-quality inter- and transdisciplinary research and training opportunities in the area of artificial intelligence supported by a dedicated supervision and mentoring, encouraging inter-sectoral exposure, in particular:

• academic freedom
• benefits from knowledge and skills transfer between disciplines, organisations and sectors
• structured, skill-based training
• high-quality working conditions
• personal career support
• equal opportunities

For more information see the LEAD AI webpage or send an email to leadai@uib.no.

• The position as postdoctoral research fellow requires a Norwegian doctoral degree or an equivalent foreign doctoral degree in digital culture, digital humanities, computational media, or a related field, including computer science if the dissertation project had a significant humanistic component. The doctoral dissertation must have been submitted for evaluation within the closing date of the application. The PhD degree must be obtained prior to appointment.
• The applicant must both be able to work independently in a structured manner and have good cooperation skills.
• The applicant must be capable of programming in Python in a research context.
• The applicant must be proficient in both written and oral English.
• The applicant cannot previously have been employed as a postdoctoral fellow at UiB and they cannot be employed by any other institution for the time of the fellowship.
• The applicant should have a genuine interest in AI, and the research proposal must be related to computational narrative systems.
• The LEAD AI mobility rules must be followed.

Experience in any of the following areas is considered an advantage:

• Experience with narrative theory, computational creativity with narrative as the domain, and/or cognitive science approaches to narrative.
• Familiarity with the history of story generation and related areas of computing.
• Experience in software development and programming as inquiry particularly situated in a humanities research context.
• Having released and maintained software for the use of researchers, educators, and/or students.

Personal and relational qualities will be emphasized. Appropriate career stage, research experience, ambitions and potential will also be considered during candidate evaluation.

The University of Bergen is subjected to the regulation for export control system. The regulation will be applied in the processing of the applications.

The postdoctoral position is a fixed term position with the primary objective of qualifying the appointee for work in top academic positions. The position may be extended by up to one year (maximum 4 years in total) if the appointee is granted externally financed research stays abroad. Individuals may not be hired for more than one fixed-term period as a postdoctoral research fellow at the same institution.

For all LEAD AI fellows, a Personal Career Development Plan (PCDP) will be developed jointly by the fellow, supervisor, and co-supervisor by the end of Month 3 of the fellowship, including a plan for the individual research budget, and information on additional funding where applicable.

It is a requirement that the project is completed during the period of employment.

• An engaged and professionally stimulating working environment.
• Welfare benefits* and social benefits including pension-saving in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund, occupational injury insurance, full salary during sick leave for 52 weeks, and paid parental leave**.
• Extension of the position term (work contract) due to sick leave and parental leave.
• position as postdoctoral fellow (code 1352 in the basic collective agreement) and a gross annual salary of NOK 645 000 upon appointment. Further increases in salary are made according to length of service in the position. A higher salary may be considered for a particularly well-qualified applicant.
• High standards for working hours, holidays, place of work, health, and safety.
• Access to specific training activities exclusively provided within the framework of the LEAD AI programme.
• Norwegian language courses free of charge.

• ) Subject to membership in the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme. For non-EU outgoing fellows, an individual benefits agreement must be considered.

**) Right to paid parental leave requires 6 months of paid work before the first day of leave. See full requirements.

Before starting the online application process, please familiarise yourself carefully with our application requirements in the Guide for Applicants and the Application templates. It is essential that all required attachments (see next section) are uploaded via our electronic recruiting system JobbNorge. Before uploading any documents in the portal (to minimise repetition of information):

• In the ‘JobbNorge-application field’: Only write your name.
• In the ‘JobbNorge-CV form’: Only fill in your 1) personal details, 2) information about your PhD-degree (in the field ‘Academic qualifications’) and 3) recent relevant work experience.
• You do not need to fill in any other sections in the JobbNorge form, as all the information we need will be provided by you when attaching the mandatory elements listed in the next section.

• Research proposal (5 pages, using a template based on the evaluation criteria), must be relevant to the AI-related research themes defined by LEAD AI host research groups in the call. It is essential that you discuss the details of the project idea with your potential UiB supervisor at an early stage in the application process, to ensure that there is a match between resources and expertise needed to implement the project.
• A motivation letter.
• A CV, including publication list, detailing the full scientific track record, relevant other achievements and career breaks (e.g., parental, and long-term sick leave, compulsory military service, and non-academic work)
• Mobility declaration with supporting documentation (e.g., employment contract, rental agreement. etc.).
• Table of potential ethics and security issues that might apply to the research proposal (self-assessment).
• An initial self-assessment of opportunities for mandatory and recommended open science practices.
• Scanned copy of the PhD diploma or documentation of formally delivered doctoral thesis (translated to English if necessary; Scandinavian languages are accepted).
• References. Letters of recommendation from the graduating university or previous employers are encouraged.

The application and appendices with certified translations into English must be uploaded at JobbNorge.

We anticipate the whole evaluation procedure to take approximately 4 months from the application deadline. Eligible applicants will be evaluated by three internationally renowned experts and assessed against criteria addressing excellence, impact, implementation, and the quality of the researcher and training. Details are stated in the Guide for applicants.

Detailed information about the position can be obtained by contacting: Professor Jill Walker Rettberg, Co-director Center for Digital Narrative, jill.walker.rettberg@uib.no

For HR related questions, contact: HR Consultant Turid Høyland, turid.hoyland@uib.no.

The public sector shall reflect the diversity of Norwegian society to the greatest extent possible. Age and gender balance among employees is therefore a goal. People with immigrant backgrounds and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply for the position. If multiple applicants have approximately equivalent qualifications, the rules pertaining to moderate gender quotas shall apply.

The University of Bergen applies the principle of public access to information when recruiting staff for academic positions.

Information about applicants may be made public even if the applicant has asked not to be named on the list of people who have applied. The applicant must be notified if the request to be omitted is not met.

Further information about our employment process can be found here.

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