Job Title: Doctoral Candidate (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Project)

Location: Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany

Contract Type: Full-time Employment Contract

Duration: 36 months

Gross Salary: €3.342 brutto per month

Application Deadline: 22nd of November 2024

About the Project

We are seeking a highly motivated Doctoral Candidate (DC) to join our research team as part of a prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Doctoral Network (DN) project: AlignAI. The AlignAI Doctoral Network aims to train doctoral candidates in the interdisciplinary Large Language Model (LLM) research field. It focuses on aligning these models with human values to ensure their development and deployment are ethically sound and socially beneficial. By integrating expertise from social sciences, humanities, and technical disciplines, the project will address critical issues such as explainability and fairness, ensuring LLMs contribute positively to education, mental health, and news consumption.

The research conducted by the doctoral candidate will implement the education use-case by explaining LLMs to children and young people through tangible manipulatives and turning insights from empirical research to inform digital tools to plug into LLMs to increase explainability. The candidate will work in collaboration with an interdisciplinary team of leading experts in the field to design and test tangible learning environments for explaining LLMs to children and young people and assessment for capturing learning about value aligned LLMs. Applying mixed methods (with focus on qualitative) research methods and analytical techniques, the candidate will capture and analyse empirical evidence of learning outcomes and processes toward improved knowledge of learning about LLMs. The PhD candidate will be able to carry out a dissertation project within the use case of LLMs in education supervised by Prof. Dr. Anna Keune (TUM).  

Eligibility Criteria

• Doctoral Status: Applicants must not own a doctoral degree at the date of recruitment.
• Mobility Rule: Candidates must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Germany for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before the recruitment date.
• Nationality: Open to all nationalities.
• Doctoral Programme Enrolment:  You must be willing to enrol in a doctoral programme at the TUM School of Social Sciences and Technology.
• Full-Time Commitment: The position requires full-time commitment with a physical presence at the recruiting institution. Teleworking is not permitted.
• Educational Background/Training: Candidates would preferably have a strong educational and design background with a great interest in emergent technologies and their societal and ethical impacts. A master's degree or equivalent in one of the following: Learning Sciences, Educational Psychology, Research on Teaching and Learning, HCI design, digital and interaction design, product design, communication design, or another relevant field is required.   

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct research as outlined in the project’s objectives under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Anna Keune. 
• Engage in secondments as part of the project’s training activities.  This secondment is currently planned under the supervision of Professor Stephan Wensveen.
• Contribute to academic publications, project reports, and other dissemination activities.
• Participate in structured training programs and network-wide events organised by the consortium.
• Collaborate with international partners and other Doctoral Candidates within the network.

Selection Process

• Application Submission: Applications must be submitted by November 22, 2024
• Selection Criteria: Candidates will be evaluated based on their academic background, research experience, and alignment with the project’s objectives. The selection process will be open, transparent, merit-based, impartial, and equitable.
• Interview: Shortlisted candidates will be invited for a structured interview with predefined questions and a scoring system.
• Reserve List: A reserve list of top candidates may be created for future opportunities.
• Selection Committee: The selection committee will comprise diverse experts ensuring gender balance, nationality diversity, and relevant experience.

Benefits

• Competitive Salary: The gross monthly salary is €3.342, subject to tax and social security deductions.
• Social Security & Pension: Full coverage under Germany’ social security and pension schemes.
• Mobility Allowance: Additional monthly allowance for living costs related to relocation.
• Other Allowances: Family allowance, long-term leave allowance, and special needs allowance will be available if needed. 
• Professional Development: Access to high-quality training, networking opportunities, and career development support.

Application Procedure

• How to Apply: Submit in a single document your degree certificate, CV, cover letter (e.g., why are you interested in this project and/or what will you bring to this project. Max. two pages), and contact information for two references to anna.keune@tum.de 
• Documentation: Candidates may be required to provide proof of residency history and eligibility criteria.
• Timeline: The successful candidates will be invited for interviews by November 30 and the final decision will be made by December 15.

Additional Information

• VISA Support: Where applicable, assistance with VISA and relocation procedures will be provided.

For more information about the project and the application process, please contact Prof. Dr. Anna Keune at anna.keune@tum.de.

Equal Opportunity: We are committed to diversity and inclusion in our recruitment process, and we encourage applications from underrepresented groups and all qualified individuals, regardless of nationality, gender, or background.

Note: The recruitment process will adhere strictly to the European Charter for Researchers principles and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers.