PhD position in CSAI (1.0 fte) Predicting and Influencing Prevention Behavior

Project information
This position is a collaboration between Tilburg University, a large insurance company, and the municipality of Tilburg. It aims to investigate prevention behavior in groups of people based on large and diverse datasets. In particular, the project will consider two questions:

1.    By applying principles of exploratory data analysis and predictive modelling to datasets collected by a large insurance company, is it possible to identify clusters of individuals that exhibit similar and predictable responses to diverse kinds of everyday risk?

2.    Using principles of risk communication and the study of risk literacy, how effectively can prevention behavior be influenced by targeting each cluster, and tailoring the information they receive to their characteristic perception of various kinds of risk?

This PhD position will be jointly supervised by dr. Henry Brighton and dr. Emmanuel Keuleers in the Department of Cognitive Science & Artificial Intelligence at Tilburg University.

Your tasks/responsibilities:

• Work with industry partners to develop data science algorithms based on multiple large datasets
• Perform scientific research at the intersection of behavioral science and data science;
• Be the central communication hub within the project, in close contact with all partners;
• Present results at (international) conferences;
• Publish results in scientific journals;
• Participate in all activities of the research project group, and collaborate with all other project partners.

To investigate these questions we aim to employ a strong PhD candidate. The successful candidate should:

• Have a (research) Master’s degree in a relevant area such as Cognitive Science, Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Machine Learning, Experimental Psychology, Behavioural Economics, Epidemiology and Medicine, or a Related discipline;
• With experience in two or more of the following: Experimental Design, Programming, Statistics, and Machine Learning. 

In addition, the candidate should have the following skills:

• Be highly analytical, motivated, and rigorous;
• Be a fast learner, autonomous and creative, show dedication and be hard working;
• Be enthusiastic about collaborating and participating in groups of academic and non-academic partners;
• Possess good communication skills and be an efficient team worker;
• Be fluent in English, both spoken and written.
• Be able and willing to participate in all activities of the research project group, and collaborate with the other project partners.

The PhD candidate will be employed at Tilburg University. We offer:

• A full-time position.
• The selected candidate will start with a contract for one year. Upon a positive outcome of the first-year evaluation, the candidate will be offered an employment contract for the remaining three years.
• A minimum gross salary of  € 2.325 per month up to a maximum of € 2.972 in the fourth year;
• A holiday allowance of 8% and an end-of-year bonus of 8.3% (annually);
• Researchers from outside the Netherlands may qualify for a tax-free allowance equal to 30% of their taxable salary (the 30% tax regulation). The University will apply for such an allowance on their behalf;
• Assistance in finding accommodation (for foreign employees);
• The opportunity to perform cutting edge research in a large-scale science project involving TiU and several commercial partners bringing together expertise of several senior researchers;
• Support for your personal development and career planning including participation in courses, summer schools, conference visits, research visits to other institutes (both academic and industrial), etc.;
• A broad package of fringe benefits (including excellent technical infrastructure, savings schemes and excellent sport facilities).
• The collective labor agreement of Dutch University applies.