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<td>[DMANET] PostDoc positions on combining Combinatorial
Optimisation and Machine Learning at KUL - Belgium</td>
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<th valign="BASELINE" nowrap="nowrap" align="RIGHT">Date: </th>
<td>Thu, 25 Nov 2021 16:26:50 -0300</td>
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<th valign="BASELINE" nowrap="nowrap" align="RIGHT">From: </th>
<td>Víctor Bucarey via dmanet
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:dmanet@zpr.uni-koeln.de"><dmanet@zpr.uni-koeln.de></a></td>
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<th valign="BASELINE" nowrap="nowrap" align="RIGHT">Reply-To:
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<td>Víctor Bucarey <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:victor.bucarey@uoh.cl"><victor.bucarey@uoh.cl></a></td>
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<th valign="BASELINE" nowrap="nowrap" align="RIGHT">To: </th>
<td><a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:dmanet@zpr.uni-koeln.de">dmanet@zpr.uni-koeln.de</a></td>
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<br>
<br>
PostDoc positions on combining Combinatorial Optimisation and
Machine<br>
Learning<br>
<br>
The PostDoc positions are in the Machine Learning subgroup of the<br>
Section for Declarative Languages and Artificial Intelligence
(DTAI),<br>
part of the Department of Computer Science at KU Leuven. The DTAI
lab is<br>
one of the leading research groups for machine learning,
artificial<br>
intelligence and data mining. DTAI’s machine learning group
currently<br>
counts five faculty members ( Hendrik Blockeel, Jesse Davis, Luc
De<br>
Raedt, Tias Guns, Angelika Kimmig), one Fellow of KU Leuven’s
Industrial<br>
Research Fund (Wannes Meert), about 10 post-docs and over 30
doctoral<br>
students: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://dtai.cs.kuleuven.be/">https://dtai.cs.kuleuven.be/</a>><br>
The positions are part of Tias Guns' 5-year ERC Consolidator grant<br>
"Conversational Human-Aware Technology for Optimisation", which
aims to<br>
build next-generation constrained optimisation techniques that
learn from<br>
the user and the environment, and that allow for explainable,
interactive<br>
solving:
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://people.cs.kuleuven.be/~tias.guns/chat-opt.html">https://people.cs.kuleuven.be/~tias.guns/chat-opt.html</a>><br>
Project<br>
-------<br>
You will work in the team of Tias Guns on his ERC project. You
will be<br>
part of a dynamic team (currently 1 PostDoc, 6 PhDs and growing)
that<br>
performs cutting-edge research in artificial intelligence
combinatorial<br>
optimisation, and machine learning. You will play an active role
in the<br>
research team, publish papers, co-supevise PhD students, help with<br>
project writing when relevant, take part in workshops, public
events and<br>
other activities.<br>
<br>
Profile<br>
-------<br>
Candidate post-docs must have experience in at least one, but<br>
recommendably two, of the following topics:<br>
- Modeling and Reformulation in Constraint Solving<br>
- Stochastic Constrained Optimisation<br>
- Constraint acquisition / constraint learning<br>
- Bilevel Optimisation<br>
- Explainable Constraint Solving<br>
- Lazy Clause Generation solvers<br>
- Decision-focussed learning / Prediction + Optimisation<br>
- Neural combinatorial optimisation<br>
- Interactive or dynamic constraint solving<br>
- Preference learning<br>
- Structured output prediction<br>
- other forms of combining combinatorial optimisation and ML<br>
<br>
For the positions, combinatorial optimisation and constraint
solving are<br>
broadly interpreted and include CP/MIP/SAT/SMT/ASP. Tias' team is
an<br>
interdisciplinary team currently covering CP,ML,OR and with an AI
mindset.<br>
We mainly use Python and are building CPMpy, a modern python-based<br>
constraint<br>
modeling environment: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://github.com/CPMpy/cpmpy">http://github.com/CPMpy/cpmpy</a>><br>
Offer<br>
-----<br>
Starting dates are flexible, and preferably mid 2021 or early
2022.<br>
Contracts are evaluated and renewed on a yearly basis, with an
outlook<br>
of up to 5(!) years. The Belgian funding climate offers
opportunities to<br>
obtain personal post-doc grants as well as travel grants. You are<br>
expected to help co-supervise PhD students as well as master
students.<br>
Multiple opportunities for gaining teaching experience and other
career<br>
development exist.<br>
<br>
<br>
Please contact Prof Tias Guns <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:tias.guns@kuleuven.be"><tias.guns@kuleuven.be></a> for
more information.<br>
Personal webpage: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://people.cs.kuleuven.be/~tias.guns/">https://people.cs.kuleuven.be/~tias.guns/</a>><br>
<br>
Kind regards,<br>
Tias Guns<br>
<br>
Víctor Bucarey López<br>
Académico Instituto Ciencias de la Ingeniería<br>
Universidad de O'Higgins<br>
<br>
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