Two PhD studentships in Translation Technology

[Orasan, Constantin]

                     [Apologies for cross-posting]

             2 PhD studentships in Translation Technology
                      Closing date 5th January 2018


The Research Group in Computational Linguistics (http://rgcl.wlv.ac.uk)
at the University of Wolverhampton invites applications for TWO 3-year
PhD studentships in the area of translation technology. These two PhD
studentships are part of a larger university investment which includes
other PhD students and members of staff with the aim to strengthen the
existing research undertaken by members of the group in this area.
These funded student bursaries consist of a stipend towards living
expenses (£14,500 per year) and remission of fees.

We invite applications in the area of translation technology defined in
the broadest sense possible and ranging from advanced methods in
machine translation to user studies which involves using of technology
in the translation process. We welcome proposals focusing on Natural
Language Processing techniques for translation memory systems and
translation tools in general. Given the current research interests of
the group and its focus on computational approaches, we would be
interested in topics including but not limited to:

- Enhancing retrieval and matching from translation memories with
linguistic information
- The use of deep learning (and in general, statistical) techniques in
translation memories
- (Machine) translation of user generated content 
- The use of machine translation in cross-lingual applications (with
particular interest in sentiment analysis, automatic summarisation and
question answering)
- Phraseology and computational treatment of multi-word expressions in
machine translation and translation memory systems
- Quality estimation for translation professionals

Other topics will be also considered as long as they align with the
interests of the group. The appointed student is expected to work on a
project that has a significant computational component. For this reason
we expect that the successful candidate will have good background in
computer science and programming.

The application deadline is 5th January 2018 and Skype interviews with
the shortlisted candidates will be organised shortly after the
deadline. The starting date of the PhD positions is as soon as possible
after the offer is made.

A successful applicant must have:

- A good honours degree or equivalent in Computational Linguistics,
Computer Science, Translation studies or Linguistics
- A strong programming and statistical / Mathematical background or
closely related areas (if relevant to the proposed topic).      
- Experience in Computational Linguistics / Natural Language
Processing, including statistical, Machine Learning and Deep Learning,
applications to Natural Language Processing.
- Experience with translation technology
- Experience with programming languages such as Python, Java or R is a
plus
- An IELTS certificate with a score of 6.5 is required from candidates
whose native language is not English. If a certificate is not available
at the time of application, the successful candidate must be able to
obtain it within one month from the offer being made. 

Candidates from both UK/EU and non-EU can apply.

Applications must include:

1. A curriculum vitae indicating degrees obtained, courses covered,
publications, relevant work experience and names of two referees that
could be contacted if necessary
2. A research statement which outlines the topics of interest. More
information about the expected structure of the research statement can
be found at 
https://www.wlv.ac.uk/media/departments/star-office/documents/Guideline
s-for-completion-of-Research-Statement.doc 

These documents will have to be sent by email before the deadline to
Amanda Bloore (A.Bloore at wlv.ac.uk). Informal enquiries can be sent to
Constantin Orasan (C.Orasan at wlv.ac.uk) 

The shortlisted applicants will be interviewed by phone/Skype shortly
after the application deadline. 

Established by Prof Mitkov in 1998, the research group in Computational
Linguistics delivers cutting-edge research in a number of NLP areas.
The results from the latest Research Evaluation Framework confirm the
research group in Computational Linguistics as one of the top
performers in UK research with its research defined as ‘internationally
leading, internationally excellent and internationally recognised’. The
research group has recently completed successfully the coordination of
the EXPERT project a successful EC Marie Curie Initial Training Network
promoting research, development and use of data-driven technologies in
machine translation and translation technology (http://expert-itn.eu) 


-- 
Dr. Constantin Orasan <C.Orasan at wlv.ac.uk>
Reader in Computational Linguistics
Deputy Head of the Research Group in Computational Linguistics
Research Group in Computational Linguistics
http://dinel.org.uk 
University of Wolverhampton, UK