Job University of Amsterdam (UvA) - Postdoc 'GNSS smartphone evaluation'

The Intelligent Systems Lab Amsterdam (ISLA) has a vacancy for a postdoctoral researcher in the area of experience-based mobile systems. The position is part of the Eurostars project SmartINSIDE, a collaboration between INSITEO SAS, Groupe SILICOM, INSITEO BV, VIPARIS, RAI Amsterdam, and UvA. The project is funded by Eurostar and AgentschapNL.

SmartINSIDE develops a GNSS-enabled standard smartphone. The proposed physical hardware infrastructure enables location-based services, namely by dealing with the specific unique source of information coming from the dedicated signals generated by the SmartINSIDE transmitters. The demonstrator to be developed will establish a potential service designed for the realm of large exhibition centers. The aim of the demonstrator is to facilitate visitors' navigation through an unknown indoor set-up which is usually designed specifically for the event. The demonstration will be tested in a real world environment of a fair. This provides valuable data of a large set of users, in terms of age, culture, interest, etc. The demonstration will comprise studies with qualitative as well as quantitative data that facilitate the distillation and hence better response to end-user requirements with respect to ergonomics as well as usability goals as established for interaction design, namely effectiveness, efficiency, utility, learnability and memorability.

We seek an enthusiastic candidate with a PhD in Computer Science or Human Computer Interaction (HCI). The ideal candidate should be experienced in mobile computing and have a thorough theoretical understanding of interaction design and relevant test methods. Knowledge about user modelling would be an asset.

The appointment is full-time (38 hours a week) for a total of 22 months. The salary is in accordance with the university regulations for academic personnel and will range from €2,379 (scale 10.1) up to a maximum of €3,530 (scale 10.10) before tax per month. Employees receive an 8% holiday bonus on top of the monthly salaries. The collective employment agreement of Dutch universities is applicable.

The Faculty of Science at the UvA is one of Europe's foremost institutions of higher education and research in its chosen fields of specialization. It plays an active role in international science networks and collaborates with universities and industry. The Faculty has approximately 2,500 students and 1,500 staff members spread over 4 departments and 10 research institutes.

Each institute has its own research programme, a substantial part of which is externally funded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), the Dutch government, the EU and various private partners.

In March 2009, a large part of the Faculty moved to new premises in the Science Park Amsterdam; the entire Faculty will be located there by the end of 2010. The move will make the Park one of the largest centres of academic research in the Netherlands.

Further information can be obtained from Dr Frank Nack, Informatics Institute, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 107, 1098 XG, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; +31 20 525 6377; nack@uva.nl.