Fully-Funded PhD Position in Neurosymbolic AI for Social Cognition

1 - Working at the VUB

For more than 50 years, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel has stood for freedom, equality and solidarity, and this is very much alive on our campuses among students and staff alike. 

At the VUB, you will find a diverse collection of personalities: innovators pur sang, but above all people who are 100% their authentic selves. With some 4,000 employees, we are the largest Dutch-speaking employer, in the private sector, in Brussels; an international city with which we are only too happy to connect and where (around) our 4 campuses are located. 

Add to this our principle of free research - in which self-reflection, a critical attitude and an open, creative mind around scientific and social issues are central - and you have a university that is fundamentally groundbreaking and pioneering in education and research. In short: the VUB all over again. 

Moreover, the VUB is a member of EUTOPIA, an alliance of like-minded European universities, all ready to reinvent themselves.

2 - Position description

The Faculty of Sciences and Bioengineering Sciences, Department Computer Science, Research Group Federated labs AI and Robotics is looking for a PhD-student with a doctoral grant. 

More concretely your work package, for the preparation of a doctorate, contains: 

Are you a computer sciencist with an interest in psychology? Do you want to advance the state-of-the-art in Artificial Intelligence while also improving our understanding of the human brain? Does interdisciplinary research spark your interest?

The Artificial Intelligence Lab at VUB university is looking for an enthusiastic and motivated PhD-student to work on an interdisciplinary research project, which combines computer science and medical neuroscience to study the topic of social cognition.

Understanding the emotional content of interactions between people in a social context can be a challenging task, both for humans and computers. From a computer science perspective, our project aims to use Neurosymbolic Artificial Intelligence to improve on the current state-of-the-art in articifial models of social cognition and emotion recognition. In Neurosymbolic AI, logic and symbolic AI methods are used to improve the performance and explainability of Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs). In collaboration with our medical project partners, we hope to leverage the results of this ANN-based study to better understand social cognition in humans, in particular people with autism and frontotemporal dementia. 

For this function, our Brussels Humanities, Sciences & Engineering Campus (Elsene) will serve as your home base. 

3 - Profile

What do we expect from you?

• You have obtained a master’s degree in artificial intelligence, computer science, mathematics or a related domain. You have a solid academic track record, at least at the cum laude level.

• You are interested in both Machine Learning and Symbolic/Logic-based AI methods.
• You strive for excellence and have a scientific mindset. 
• You are a loyal team player, who can work autonomously and deliver solid scientific work. 
• You have strong communication skills in English. Proficiency in (or willingness to learn) Dutch is considered an asset.

• You have not performed any works in the execution of a mandate as an assistant, paid from operating resources, over a total (cumulated) period of more than 12 months.

The VUB wants to be a reflection of the society where everyone's talent is valued, regardless of gender, age, religion, skin color, migration background, disability and neurodiversity.

4 - Offer

Are you going to be our new colleague?

You’ll be offered a full-time PhD-scholarship, for 12 months (extendable up to max. 48 months, on condition of the positive evaluation of the PhD activities), with planned starting date between April and October 2025. 

You’ll receive a grant linked to one of the scales set by the government.

IMPORTANT: The effective result of the doctorate scholarship is subject to the condition precedent of your enrolment as a doctorate student at the university.

At the VUB, you’re guaranteed an open, involved and diverse workplace where you are offered opportunities to (further) build on your career.

As well as this, you will also enjoy various other benefits:

• Extensive homeworking options, a telework allowance of 50 euros per month OR an internet fee of 20 euros per month;
• An open and informal working environment where attention is paid to work-life balance, and exceptional holiday arrangements with 35 days of leave (based on a fulltime contract), closure between Christmas and New Year and 3 extra leave days;
• Cost-free hospitalisation insurance;
• Full reimbursement of your home-to-work commute with public transport according to VUB-policy, and/or compensation if you come by bike; 
• A wide selection of meals in our campus restaurants at attractive prices;
• Excellent and affordable facilities for sport and exercise, a range of discounts via Benefits@Work (in  all kinds of shops, on flights, in petrol stations, amusement parks...) and Ecocheques; 
• Nursery near campus, discount on holiday camps; 
• The space to form your job content and to continuously learn through our VUB learning platforms and training courses;
• And finally: great colleagues with a healthy drive.

5 - Interested?

Is this the job you’ve been dreaming of?

Then apply, at the latest on 31/03/2025, via jobs.vub.be, and upload the following documents:

• your CV;
• your motivation letter with contact information (max. 2 pages);
• your diploma (not applicable for VUB alumni);
• name and contact details of two references who would be willing to write a recommendation letter if asked (you do not need to contact them yourself);
• a writing sample (such as your master's thesis).

Do you have questions about the job content? Contact Joost Vennekens at 0479807537 or on joost.vennekens@vub.be.

Would you like to know what it’s like to work at the VUB? Go to jobs.vub.be, and find all there is to know about our campuses, benefits, strategic goals and your future colleagues.

Would you like more information about EUTOPIA? Go to eutopia-university.eu, and read more about the role of the VUB in the development of the EUTOPIA alliance.