In the context of the sector plan for the Humanities titled 'Tradition in transition', the faculty currently has a vacant Assistant Professor position as part of the research theme Humane AI. Within this research theme the focus is on data and platforms for social, cultural and economic innovation.
What are you going to do?You will provide education in a dynamic context with ample opportunities for the development of innovative teaching methods. Your research will be part of the
Amsterdam Center for Language and Communication (ACLC), one of the five research schools of the
Amsterdam Institute for Humanities Research.
The ACLC prioritises diversity (taken in a holistic sense, e.g., ethnicity, social and/or linguistic background, gender, sexuality)
and is committed to creating an inclusive research environment.It has been long acknowledged that current technological advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) can play an important role in breaking communication barriers between people using Sign Languages (SLs) and people using spoken languages. Progress in such applied AI, however, is only possible through a meticulous description and typology of sign language grammars. This knowledge will allow an informed collaboration with experts in AI and SL linguistics that can result in more accurate automatic extraction of the manual and non-manual components of sign language utterances and how these map onto meaning units. The latter is necessary to attain human-like sign language translations. We expect you to take up this challenge by developing a research line lying at the interface between studies on SLs and AI. You are a SL linguist with a broad knowledge of the typology and grammars of SLs, and well-positioned to connect the fields of theoretical linguistics and AI (e.g., computer vision, sign language recognition and sign language translation). You will develop and teach courses at all levels in the Sign Linguistics programme (such as introduction, transcription, phonology/morphology, and/or syntax of sign languages). You will also develop, implement and teach materials about the interface between (sign) linguistics, multimodal communication and AI in other relevant courses and, depending on your expertise, you will teach in courses that are part of programmes such as the
BA Linguistics,
BSc Cognition, Language & Communication, and/or the master programmes
Language and Society;
General Linguistics and the research master
Linguistics and communication. These programmes adopt an interdisciplinary approach and you are expected to be open to fields that might not be directly related to your research focus. We welcome your commitment to the development of a stimulating and collaborative educational atmosphere for teachers and students alike.
Tasks and responsibilities:
- Designing and conducting independent research on sign languages and applications thereof in AI resulting in academic publications in peer-reviewed international journals and/or books;
- Pursuing external funding for research, notably funding from research councils, national as well as European or international;
- Contributing to and developing (inter)national research networks and collaborative research initiatives;
- Contributing actively to the research activities of the Sign Lab within the Amsterdam Center for Language and Communication (ACLC) and the Institute of Logic, Language, and Computation (ILLC, https://www.illc.uva.nl/);
- Developing, coordinating and teaching courses in our international Bachelor and Master programmes in the areas of sign linguistics and the interface between (sign) language and AI, such as (among others) the BA Linguistics, the BSc Cognition, Language and Communication, the MA programmes Language & Society; General Linguistics and the RMA Linguistics and Communication;
- Supervising Bachelor and Master theses and tutoring students; co-supervising PhD theses;
- Taking part in committees and working groups, and carrying out departmental administrative tasks as directed;
- Actively contributing to the interdisciplinary collaboration of the sector plan research theme Humane AI;
- Actively engage in the training of signer academics to empower their role in science.