Ledig stilling på Universitetet i Oslo

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Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biologically inspired artificial intelligence

Deadline: 20.12.2019

Job description

Universitetet i Oslo

The University of Oslo is Norway’s oldest and highest rated institution of research and education with 28 000 students and 7000 employees. Its broad range of academic disciplines and internationally esteemed research communities make UiO an important contributor to society.


Department of Biosciences (IBV) is one of nine departments at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. Research in the department is organised in five sections covering topics within biochemistry, molecular biology, physiology, cell biology, genetics,

aquatic biology, toxicology, ecology, and evolutionary biology. Education across these topics is offered for around 380 bachelor, 170 master, and 75 PhD students. With 52 permanent professors/associate professors, post-docs, researchers, technical, and administrative personnel, the Department has a total staff of 340 from more than 30 different countries. The Department aims to maintain high international standards within both research and teaching. The new bachelor program in bioscience is the first of its kind to include programming and computational modelling as core elements.

Flere stillinger fra Universitetet i Oslo

Position as a post-doc fellow in Biologically inspired neural networks for artificial intelligence is available in the research group of Professors Anders Malthe-Sørenssen and Marianne Fyhn at CINPLA, the Center for Integrative Neuroplasticity at the Department of Biosciences, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Oslo.

The candidate for this position will work on a project funded by the Norwegian Research Council entitled “Bio-inspired neural networks for AI applications”. The project is a collaboration between computational physics, computational neuroscience and experimental neuroscience aiming to use insights from biological neural networks to improve methods and algorithms for artificial neural networks. The post-doc project will focus on developing bio-inspired methods for learning navigational tasks and transfer learning based on grid-cell-like representations, analyze and compare with relevant experimental data, build general representations and methods to analyze the internal states, dynamics, and connections in artificial neural networks. The project will open for research visits to collaborating groups at Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania and University of California San Diego.

More about the position

The fellowship will be for a period of 3 or 4 years, with 25% compulsory work in educational development for a 4 year position.

Postdoctoral fellows who are appointed for a period of four years are expected to acquire basic pedagogical competency in the course of their fellowship period within the duty component of 25 %.

It is expected that the successful candidate will be able to complete the project in the course of the period of employment.

The main purpose of a postdoctoral fellowship is to provide the candidates with enhanced skills to pursue a scientific top position within or beyond academia. To promote a strategic career path, all postdoctoral research fellows are required to submit a professional development plan no later than one month after commencement of the postdoctoral period.

Qualification requirements

The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences has a strategic ambition of being a leading research faculty. Candidates for these fellowships will be selected in accordance with this, and expected to be in the upper segment of their class with respect to academic credentials.

  • Applicants must hold a degree equivalent to a Norwegian doctoral degree in computational physics or computational neuroscience. Doctoral dissertation must be submitted for evaluation by the closing date. Appointment is dependent on the public defence of the doctoral thesis being approved.
  • The candidate must document experience with developing and applying methods for analysis of neurophysiological data with focus on systems neuroscience and document experience in computational neuroscience.
  • It is seen as an advantage to have first-hand experience with experimental animal physiology.
  • The candidate must document extensive experience with scientific programming and development.
  • Fluent oral and written communication skills in English.

Personal skills

We are seeking a highly motivated, enthusiastic and hard-working candidate with the ambition to gain new insights and publish papers in leading, international journals. The candidate must be able to document previous publications in top-level journals. Applicants must show good interpersonal skills and be willing to work in close collaboration with the project PIs and other members of the project team, as well as have the ability to work independently.

We offer

  • salary NOK 523 200 - 605 500 per annum depending on qualifications in position as Postdoctoral Research Fellow (position code 1352)
  • a professionally stimulating working environment
  • attractive welfare benefits and a generous pension agreement, in addition to Oslo’s family-friendly environment with its rich opportunities for culture and outdoor activities

How to apply

The application must include

  • Application cover letter
  • CV (summarizing education, positions, research experience, pedagogical experience, and other relevant activities)
  • A brief account (one page, as a separate file) of the applicant’s interest and motivation for applying for the position including a brief description on how the applicant envisions his/her experience could be used to address the project goal
  • Copies of educational certificates, academic transcript of records and letters of recommendation
  • A complete list of publications and unpublished work
  • Names and contact details of 2-3 references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail and telephone number).

The application with attachments must be delivered in our electronic recruiting system. Foreign applicants are advised to attach an explanation of their University's grading system. Please note that all documents should be in English (or a Scandinavian language).

In assessing the applications, special emphasis will be placed on the documented, academic qualifications required for this project, as well as the candidates' motivation and personal suitability. Interviews with the best qualified candidates will be arranged.

Formal regulations

Please see the guidelines and regulations for appointments to Postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Oslo.

No one can be appointed for more than one Postdoctoral Fellow period at the University of Oslo.

According to the Norwegian Freedom of Information Act (Offentleglova) information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure.

The University of Oslo has an agreement for all employees, aiming to secure rights to research results etc.

The University of Oslo aims to achieve a balanced gender composition in the workforce and to recruit people with ethnic minority backgrounds.

Contact information

For further information please contact:

For questions regarding the recruitment system, please contact: HR-officer Nina Holtan, e-mail: nina.holtan@mn.uio.no

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