Western Norway University of Applied Sciences (HVL), Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, has three open research fellow positions in physical Human-Robot Interaction (pHRI). The research fellows will be part of the Teknoløft Sogn og Fjordane project funded by the Norwegian Research Council for the period 2018-2023. One of the available research fellow positions will target human-robot cooperative learning as a post-doctoral or a PhD research fellowship depending on the qualifications of the hired candidate.

The aim of the Teknoløft-project is to educate PhD candidates in robotics and big data in close cooperation with local enterprises in the county Sogn og Fjordane in Norway. The 6-year project seeks to expand the role of research in the county business sector's innovation processes. In particular, the project seeks to facilitate gradual automation of processes and services in local businesses, by introducing robots and to increase the use of big data in innovation and restructuring.

The research fellows are expected to work closely together pursuing the overall goal of enabling more cooperative physical Human-Robot Interaction in production and services. The research fellows will work closely with researchers at HVL and the Western Norway Research Institute.

The research fellows will also be affiliated with the faculty's research environment in information and communication technology (http://ict.hvl.no) which includes more than 25 professors and associate professors, 20 PhD students, and a large number of master's students. Researchers at the Faculty are active in international, national and regional research, and research projects in collaboration with many universities and companies internationally and nationally.

Postdoctoral/PhD Research Fellow Position in Robotics: Human-Robot Cooperative Learning

The Human-Robot Cooperative Learning research project will develop a safe cooperative human-robot learning scheme for pHRI in a shared workspace. The goal of the research project is to enable the robot system to learn new operations and to handle new products through a cooperative human-robot exploration and learning process.

The candidate is expected to extend cooperative pHRI control schemes to adapt to individual human preferences and capabilities, and allow task execution performance to improve through learning strategies. One aspect of this problem is to allow impedance gains or feedforward torques to be adapted or learned during the interaction to improve robot capabilities. The candidate should also develop new strategies for cooperative human-robot exploration and learning of new tasks.

For employment as a post-doctoral research fellow:

The project is seeking candidates holding a PhD degree in cybernetics, electrical or mechanical engineering, computer science, or a closely related field for employment as a postdoctoral research fellow. Candidates who have submitted their PhD thesis before the application deadline may also apply for the postdoctoral research position. It will be required that the PhD degree is awarded prior to the undertaking of interviews with shortlisted candidates.

The post-doctoral researcher must undertake research in collaboration with permanent staff members and PhD students, and will be involved in supervision of PhD and lower-level students. In addition, the post-doctoral researcher may have some teaching and supervision duties at the Faculty. The successful applicant is also expected to contribute to the development of joint project applications for external funding in collaboration with the permanent research staff members.

Applicants will also be evaluated against their capacity for dissemination, their ability to collaborate, as well as their potential for establishing relevant national and international research contacts.

For employment as a PhD research fellow:

Applicants who do not hold a PhD may apply for a PhD research fellow position if they have a master's degree in cybernetics, electrical or mechanical engineering, computer science, or a closely related field. Candidates who will submit their master's thesis before the 30^thof June 2018 will also be considered for a PhD research fellow position.

In addition to the required educational background, the following criteria will be evaluated: competence and grades on completed course work, quality of the master's thesis (excellent grade, equivalent of grade B or better on the ECTS grading system), publications (if any), and research and teaching experience.

The candidate must be diligent and display the ability to work independently, supplemented with regular guidance, and is expected to carry out high-quality research and to publish the results in international workshops, conferences, and journals.

The PhD research fellow must enroll in the PhD programme Computer Science at HVL, and must meet the formal admission requirements for admission into the PhD programme. An application for enrolment should first be submitted after an appointment is made and the supervisor(s) will help with this procedure. The candidate must be enrolled as a PhD student within 3 months from the start of the employment. The PhD studies includes a compulsory 3-6 months visit to an international research group.

Allapplicants:

It is the aim of the project to interact extensively with industrial partners, and the candidate should have excellent collaboration skills. The candidate should be proficient in written and spoken English, and proficiency in Norwegian or a Scandinavian language will be considered an advantage.

The candidate is expected to have documented competence in robotics and control, learning strategies (reinforcement learning, imitation learning), and strong programming skills. Knowledge and experience with adaptive impedance control and cooperative control, neural networks and Markov models, semantic task structures, and human-robot communication methods will be considered an advantage when candidates are ranked.

The employment period may be reduced if the successful applicant has held previous employment as a research fellow.

Short-listed candidates might be required to give a lecture, in addition to an interview.

The Teknoløft-project is also seeking research fellows for additional positions:

PhD Research Fellow Position in Robotics:

PhD Research Fellow Position in Robotics:

PhD Research Fellow Position in Big Data at

Applying for the position
Applications will be evaluated by an expert panel. Applicants are asked to submit their application and CV online.

Please use the link "Apply for this job" ("Søk stillingen").

Applicants applying for two or more of the positions must indicate their order of preference for the positions in all applications.

The application letter should state the relevant qualifications for the position. The following documentation must be uploaded as an attachment to the online application:

• Master or PhD thesis
• Copies of selected academic publications (no more than 5)
• A CV with a complete list of academic publications
• Diplomas and certificates

Candidates seeking employment as a post-doctoral researcher should also submit at least two reference/recommendation letters.

Applicants should indicate which publications or parts of publications should be given special consideration in the evaluation. If the documents submitted are not in a Scandinavian language or in English, the applicants must submit certified translations of these. The transcripts must specify the topics, the course works, and the grades at the bachelor`s and master`s degree levels.

Applicants should note that the evaluation will be based on the documentation submitted electronically via Jobbnorge within the submission deadline. The applicants are responsible for ensuring that all the documentation is submitted before the closing date. It is of utmost importance that all publications to be considered in the evaluation are uploaded as an attachment with the application, since these are sent electronically to the expert panel.

Applications cannot be sent by e-mail or to individuals at HVL.

Salary
A position as a post-doctoral research fellow is remunerated according to the state salary scale, code 1352 Postdoctoral Fellow. A position as a PhD research fellow will offer initial salaries at NOK 436 900 / grade 50 (code 1017) in the Civil Service pay grade table scale. There is a compulsory 2 % deduction to the pension fund. The successful applicant must comply with the guidelines that apply to the position at any time.

The post-doctoral research position is for a period of three years. The PhD position is for a period of three years, with the opportunity for a fourth year. In the latter case, 25 percent of the work will be teaching and other relevant duties at the Faculty of Engineering and Science at HVL.

General information
The appointment will be made in accordance with the regulations for State Employees Law in Norway (Lov om statens ansatte). Organizational changes and changes in the duties and responsibilities associated with the position should be expected due to the ongoing merger. The place of work for the position is Campus Førde, but applicants should also expect to participate in activities at Campus Sogndal and Campus Bergen.

The Norwegian public service is committed to reflecting the social diversity in its workforce, and the personnel policy of the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences aims to achieve a balanced workforce. All qualified candidates are therefore encouraged to apply for the position, irrespective of cultural background, gender, age or disability.

Information about applicants can be made public even if applicants request not to be listed. If the request is not taken into account, the applicant will be notified.

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Contact:
Associate Professor Erik Kyrkjebø, tlf: Logg inn for å se kontaktinformasjon, e-mail: