Let’s shape the future - University of Antwerp
The University of Antwerp is a dynamic, forward-thinking, European university. We offer an innovative academic education to more than 20000 students, conduct pioneering scientific research and play an important service-providing role in society. We are one of the largest, most international and most innovative employers in the region. With more than 6000 employees from 100 different countries, we are helping to build tomorrow's world every day. Through top scientific research, we push back boundaries and set a course for the future – a future that you can help to shape.
The Department of Linguistics in the Faculty of Arts is looking for a full-time (100%) doctoral scholarship holder in the field of Linguistics (computational linguistics and webcare)
Position
- You will work actively on the preparation of a PhD thesis in the context of the research project ‘Webcare through the eyes of the bystander: A cross-linguistic comparison of pragmatic-rhetorical features in hotel review-response interactions’, funded by the FWO – Research Foundation Flanders. Your focus will be on the automatic analysis of multilingual online customer service communication. You will participate in a cross-linguistic study on a multilingual corpus of hotel reviews and the corresponding responses. You will investigate cross-linguistic features of hotel interactions in these languages, using computational methods. Furthermore, you will investigate possibilities to develop generative AI systems that can generate automatic responses, tailored to the linguistic and cultural context.
- You will publish scientific articles related to the research project.
Profile
- You have obtained a master's degree (at the latest at the time of appointment) in digital text analysis, linguistics and literature, digital humanities, applied linguistics, communication sciences, computer sciences or similar.
- You have a background and/or strong interest in computational linguistics and automatic text modeling.
- You have an affinity with the research topic.
- You are interested in and/or have experience with scientific research and you are motivated to obtain a PhD.
- You have a good knowledge of scripting languages (Python). Knowledge of machine learning is recommended.
- You have an excellent knowledge of English. Knowledge of one or more other languages from the corpus (Dutch, German, French, Italian or Spanish) is recommended.
- Your research qualities are in line with the faculty and university research policies.
- You act with attention to quality, integrity, creativity and cooperation.
- You are a fluent communicator who works well in an international setting.
- You are an organizational talent and you succeed in delivering quality output on time.
What we offer
- We offer a doctoral scholarship for a period of one year. Following a positive evaluation, the scholarship can be renewed for another three years.
- The planned start date is 1 October 2025.
- Your monthly scholarship amount is calculated according to the scholarship amounts for doctoral scholarship holders.
- You will receive ecocheques, Internet-connectivity allowance, and a bicycle allowance or a full reimbursement of public transport costs for commuting.
- You will do most of your work at the CLiPS research group on the City Campus in a dynamic and stimulating working environment. You will work closely with junior and senior researchers from both the CLiPS research group and GaP (Grammar and Pragmatics).
- Find out more about working at the University of Antwerp here.
Want to apply?
- You can apply for this vacancy through the University of Antwerp’s online job application platform up to and including 16 June 2025 (by midnight Brussels time). Click on the 'Apply' button and complete the online application form. Be sure to include the following attachments:
- a motivation letter
- a CV (please also add contact information of possible references),
- a copy of your master's degree,
- official study results from both the bachelor's years and the master's year,
- a copy of your master's thesis. If your master's thesis is submitted in the second examination period, a first version will certainly suffice.
- The selection committee reviews all applications as soon as possible after the application deadline. As soon as a decision is made, we will notify you. If you are still eligible after the pre-selection, you will be informed about the possible next step(s) in the selection procedure. The interview will take place between 7 and 10 July 2025, so please note these dates in your calendar.
- If you have any questions about the online application form, please check the frequently asked questions or send an email to [email protected]. If you have any questions about the job itself, please contact [email protected].
The University of Antwerp received the European Commission’s HR Excellence in Research Award for its HR policy. We are a sustainable, family-friendly organisation which invests in its employees’ growth. We encourage diversity and attach great importance to an inclusive working environment and equal opportunities, regardless of gender identity, disability, race, ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation or age. We encourage people from diverse backgrounds and with diverse characteristics to apply.
