Organisation/Company: Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)- BarcelonaTECH
Research Field: Computer science Engineering » Computer engineering
Researcher Profile: Recognised Researcher (R2) Established Researcher (R3)
Positions: Postdoc Positions
Country: Spain
Application Deadline: 15 Jan 2025 - 17:00 (Europe/Madrid)
Type of Contract: Temporary
Job Status: Full-time
Offer Starting Date: 1 Feb 2025
Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme
Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No
Offer DescriptionUniversitat Politecnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC), School of Engineering in Manresa invites applications for a postdoctoral research position to investigate critical aspects of trustworthy AI in the domain of federated learning (FL). This project aims to address fundamental challenges in fairness and privacy, particularly in settings where data is distributed across multiple stakeholders with potentially diverse resources, access permissions, and computing power.
Federated learning, while offering a promising framework to harness decentralized data, also introduces complex challenges that are essential to building ethical and reliable AI systems:
Fairness: Federated learning systems typically lack access to a comprehensive dataset, which complicates the evaluation and enforcement of fairness standards. The inherent fragmentation of data across different sources limits the ability to detect or mitigate biases, creating a pressing need for novel techniques that can ensure fair model outcomes across diverse user groups.Privacy: As data is maintained in local databases under federated learning protocols, privacy becomes paramount, particularly with stakeholders having varied privacy requirements. This project will investigate mechanisms that safeguard data privacy across heterogeneous databases, exploring privacy-preserving methods that can still facilitate meaningful learning across datasets.Resource Disparity: In federated settings, stakeholders often possess vastly different computing capabilities, which can impact model performance and update consistency. A key component of this project will be to explore adaptive methods to address these resource disparities without compromising model performance or fairness.The selected postdoctoral researcher will have the freedom to delve into one or more of these challenges, developing novel frameworks and methodologies that enhance the trustworthiness of federated learning systems.
UPC is a leading research university in Spain with more than 5000 students studying on Information and Communication Technology related fields. It is among the top three Spanish universities in terms of participation in EU-funded research projects. According to QS World University Rankings in Computer Science and Information Systems, UPC is number one in Spain and number 79 in the World.
Where to applyE-mail: ******
RequirementsResearch Field: Computer science
Education Level: PhD or equivalent
Research Field: Engineering
Education Level: PhD or equivalent
Skills/Qualifications:
PhD degree in the area of Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Machine Learning, or a related field.Written and spoken proficiency in EnglishExpertise in the fields of AI, Machine LearningProven scientific publication recordAbility to perform independent scientific workExperience in formulating and implementing research projects, and the willingness and ability to lead research groups and to acquire third-party fundingExperience in federated learning and a background in trustworthy AI (including fairness, privacy, explainability) are a plusLanguages: ENGLISH, Level: Excellent
Additional InformationWhat we offer: A friendly working environmentHybrid work modality with up to 40% home office optionWide range of internal and external training opportunities, various career optionsNice climateInitial salary based on experienceSelection processApplications must be submitted to Dr. Andrea Aler via email to ****** with the reference [PostDoc-TAI] included in the subject line. The applicants should submit:
Curriculum vitae, including 2 references with contact infoList of scientific achievementsResearch plan that includes examples of prior work relevant to AI and MLCertificates of PhD, MSc, and BSc degreesThe positions will be open until filled and the applications are continuously evaluated.
Work Location(s)Number of offers available: 1
Company/Institute: UPC Dept. of Mining, Industrial and ICT Engineering
Country: Spain
State/Province: Barcelona
City: Manresa
Postal Code: 08242
Street: Av. de les Bases de Manresa, 61
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