2 PhD and 1 postdoc positions in NLP at CENTAL (UCLouvain, Belgium)
for Autumn 2025 (flexible start)
The CENTAL (Center for Natural Language Processing) at UCLouvain (Belgium) has three openings, two PhD fellowships and one postdoctoral position, in Linguistics under the supervision of Marie-Catherine de Marneffe. The start date is flexible (see details below).
Project summary
This research project investigates the linguistic and cognitive factors that contribute to human variation in interpreting natural language inference (NLI) items.
Key objectives are: (1) Develop a comprehensive taxonomy of reasoning patterns and linguistic factors that influence human NLI judgments; (2) Build a new dataset of NLI examples annotated with human-provided explanations and reasoning patterns; (3) Train and evaluate machine learning models that can predict multiple possible NLI labels and generate explanations for their predictions, incorporating both linguistic and cognitive factors.
The methodology will be as follows: (1) Analyse existing NLI datasets with human explanations (LiveNLI, VariErr, AmbiEnt) to identify key reasoning patterns; (2) Conduct new annotation experiments to collect high-quality data with ecologically valid explanations; (3) Explore correlations between cognitive factors (e.g., AQ scores, reasoning types) and NLI judgments; (4) Develop and evaluate novel machine learning models that incorporate reasoning patterns and linguistic features to improve NLI prediction and explanation generation.
PhD fellowships: Qualifications and expected profile
Master’s degree in (Applied) Linguistics, Natural Language Processing, or Computer Science
Excellent record of BA and MA level study
Excellent oral and written English (minimum level: C1)
Excellent analytic skills
Strong proficiency in programming, LLMs and GPTs, and statistics
Autonomy, sense of teamwork, ability to listen and analyse needs, responsiveness
Willingness to live in Belgium and to travel abroad (to attend international academic conferences)
Some knowledge of French is a plus (but not mandatory)
Postdoctoral position: Qualifications and expected profile
PhD degree in Computational Linguistics, Natural Language Processing, or Computer Science
Excellent oral and written English (minimum level: C1)
Strong proficiency in programming (Python, scikit-learn, pandas, TensorFlow/PyTorch)
In-depth knowledge of supervised learning algorithms and deep neural networks
Excellent research and academic profile (publications, conferences, etc.)
Autonomy, sense of teamwork, ability to listen and analyse needs, responsiveness
Willingness to live in Belgium and to travel abroad (to attend international academic conferences)
Some knowledge of French is a plus (but not mandatory)
Conditions of engagement
All positions require residence in Belgium for the duration of the mandate. Applicants from outside the EU are responsible for obtaining the necessary visa or permits, with the assistance of UCLouvain staff department.
One of the doctoral fellowships is subject to the following conditions:
The contract will initially be for one year (full-time), one time renewable, with a possible 2-year extension (4 years max.)
The start date is any time between May 1, 2025 and October 1, 2025.
The extension is subject to the candidate applying for follow-up funding to two Belgian agencies (with the help of the supervisor of course).
The candidate receives a doctoral fellowship grant (~EUR 2,400 net per month) and full medical insurance.
The other doctoral fellowship is subject to the following conditions:
Full-time position for 2 years, one time renewable (4 years max.)
The start date is any time between May 1, 2025 and December 31, 2025.
The candidate receives a doctoral fellowship grant (~EUR 2,400 net per month) and full medical insurance.
The postdoctoral fellowship is subject to the following conditions:
Full-time position for 1 year, two times renewable (3 years max.)
The start date is any time between May 1, 2025 and December 31, 2025.
The candidate receives a postdoctoral fellowship grant (~EUR 3,000 net per month depending on years of experience) and full medical insurance.
Application deadline: March 31, 2025
The application file should include:
a cover letter in English, in which you specify why you are interested in this position, how you meet the job requirements outlined above and the desired start date;
a curriculum vitae in English;
a concise academic statement in English, in which you outline your expectations about and plans for graduate study/postdoctoral position and career goals;
a copy of BA and MA/PhD diplomas (and transcripts for the candidates applying to the PhD positions);
Shortlisted candidates will be invited for an interview (via video conferencing) in the second or third week of April 2025.
Applications (as an email attachment in one file) and inquiries should be addressed to Dr. Marie-Catherine de Marneffe.