The Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at the University of Southern Denmark (Odense) invites applications for several Ph D scholarships in computer science under the umbrella of the Danish Foundation Models initiative .
The proposed starting date is 1 January 2025 or soon thereafter. The appointment will be made for a term of three years at a competitive salary and will follow the Ph D study programme at the Faculty of Science .
The ideal candidate has a background in or experience with one or more of the following topics:

• Natural Language Processing (NLP).
• Large Language Models (LLMs).
• Deep Learning and/or Reinforcement Learning.
• Model fine-tuning and/or preference alignment.
• Machine Learning Operations (MLOps).

The candidate is expected to hold a relevant MSc degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Physics, (Applied) Mathematics, Computational Statistics or another field that provides a sufficient degree of background in computer science, artificial intelligence, mathematics and/or data science.
Fluency in English and Python are required.
Experience working with real-world machine learning use cases, extensive software development experience, and knowledge of machine learning frameworks (such as transformers and torch) are pluses.
MSc candidates about to complete will also be considered and should attach a statement from their supervisors regarding their impending completion.
The successful candidate will contribute to the development of advanced language models and derived use cases by focusing on one or more of the following topics in their Ph D project:

• Pre-training multilingual language models that excel at Danish.
• Supervised fine-tuning, instruction-tuning, and preference alignment.
• Developing efficient and environmentally sound model architectures.
• Developing and tuning model training on large-scale GPU clusters.
• Use cases in psychiatry, primary education, and legal application.

The successful candidate will become part of the Centre for Machine Learning . The centre is part of the Data Science & Statistics section at the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science . The department offers an inclusive and international working environment with state-of-the-art facilities and strong traditions for collaboration across research groups, departments and faculties, and with other organisations like educational institutions, municipalities, and companies. The degrees offered by the department include BSc and MSc degrees in Computer Science, a BSc degree in Artificial Intelligence, and an MSc degree in Data Science.
Further information
For further information, please contact Professor Peter Schneider-Kamp ( petersk@imada.sdu.dk ).
Application deadline: 19 December 2024 at 23:59 hours local Danish time
The University of Southern Denmark (SDU) was founded in 1966 and now has more than 27.000 students, almost 20% of whom are from abroad. It has 3,800+ employees, and 115 different study programs in the fields of the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, health sciences, and engineering.
Its main campus is located in Odense, the third largest city in Denmark. Odense provides family-friendly living conditions, with the perfect combination of a historic city centre with an urban and vibrant feel and yet close proximity to beaches and recreational areas. Its location on the island of Funen is ideal with easy access to the larger cities and airports in Aarhus and Copenhagen.
Application, salary etc.
Appointment as a Ph D Research Fellow is for three years. Employment stops automatically at the end of the period. The holder of the scholarship is not allowed to have other paid employment during the three-year period.
The successful applicant will be employed in accordance with the agreement on salaried Ph D scholars between the Ministry of Finance and AC (the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations). Please check links for more information on salary (only available in Danish) and taxation .
The successful candidate will be enrolled at this university in accordance with faculty regulations and the Danish Ministerial Order on the Ph D Programme at the Universities (Ph D order).
Further information about the Ph D-study can be found at the homepage of the University .
The University wishes our staff to reflect the diversity of society and thus welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of personal background.
Application must be in English and made in the form of a Declaration of Interest including the following:

• A letter stating your specific interest, motivation, and qualifications for the project in question (max. two pages) .
• Detailed CV, including personal contact information.
• Copies of diplomas, Bachelor as well as Master’s degree, including transcript of notes/grades.
• At least two signed reference letters. Should your referees wish to send their letters directly to us, please have them use e-mail: solda@sdu.dk mentioning your name and the title of the position in the subject line. And please note that these also need to reach us before deadline.

Shortlisting may be used in the assessment process. Incomplete applications and applications received after the deadline will neither be considered nor evaluated. This also applies to reference letters.

Applications will be assessed by an expert assessor/committee. Applicants will be informed of their assessment by the university.
Applications should be sent electronically via the link " Apply now ". The faculty expects applicants to read the information " How to apply " before applying. Please note that the application documents should be in pdf-format and attached as three documents: motivation letter, CV and the remaining documents.
We recommend that as an international applicant you take the time to visit Work in Denmark where you will find information and facts about moving to, working and living in Denmark, as well as the International Staff Office at SDU .