PhD Candidate in Predictive Models of Change and Inattentional Blindness for Multimedia Application

About the job

An exciting three-year PhD position in the field of psychophysics and visual perception is available, with a focus on understanding and predicting change and inattentional blindness our common yet fascinating failures to detect alterations in visual scenes or notice unexpected stimuli due to focussed attention. Understanding these perceptual phenomena can significantly enhance multimedia applications. For example, by identifying areas of an image or video frame where viewers typically exhibit change blindness, we can target these areas for data compression, thereby reducing file sizes without noticeably degrading the perceived quality. Similarly, inattentional blindness can be utilised in computer graphics to strategically draw attention to or away from certain elements, enhancing user experience or guiding narrative in gaming and virtual environments. Depending on your background, the project is set to concentrate on creating models to understand, predict, and potentially exploit these phenomena.

For a position as a PhD Candidate, the goal is a completed doctoral education up to an obtained doctoral degree.

The position is complementing the state-of-the-art research performed at the Colourlab (www.colourlab.no).

You will report to the Head of Department.

Duties of the position

• Conduct a stand-alone research project on visual perception.
• Participate in the general activities of the Colourlab.
• Participate in the general activities of the department.
• Complete a training component as part of the PhD of a minimum of 30 ECTS.
• Participate in international activities such as conference attendance and research stays at educational institutions abroad. 

Required selection criteria

• You must have a professionally relevant background in psychophysics, visual computing, image/video processing, computer graphics or related.
• Your education must correspond to a five-year Norwegian degree program, where 120 credits are obtained at master's level.
• Master's students can apply, but the master's degree must be obtained and documented before the agreed starting date, which is negotiable.
• You must have a strong academic background from your previous studies and an average grade from the master's degree program, or equivalent education, which is equal to B or better compared with NTNU's grading scale. If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic basis. If you have a weaker grade background, you may be assessed if you can document that you are particularly suitable for a PhD education.
• You must meet the requirements for admission to the faculty's doctoral program.
• You must have good programming skills (Python and/or Matlab).
• You must have very good oral and written communication skills in English and an ability to communicate effectively.

The appointment is to be made in accordance with Regulations on terms of employment for positions such as postdoctoral fellow, Phd candidate, research assistant and specialist candidate and Regulations concerning the degrees of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) and Philosodophiae Doctor (PhD) in artistic research national guidelines for appointment as PhD, post doctor and research assistant 

Preferred selection criteria

• Experience with psychophysical studies or user studies in general.
• Experience with statistical analysis.
• Experience with signal processing or computer graphics.

Personal characteristics

• High motivation for research work and ability to work independently.
• Good sense of organisation.
• Ability to work both individually and in a (virtual) team environment with a high level of personal responsibility, initiative, and leadership skills.
• Ability to meet deadlines and produce work of a consistently high standard.
• Eagerness to disseminate research results through publications and presentations at international conferences.

Emphasis will be placed on personal and interpersonal qualities.

We offer

• exciting and stimulating tasks in a strong international academic environment
• an open and inclusive work environment with dedicated colleagues
• favourable terms in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• employee benefits

Salary and conditions

As a PhD candidate (code 1017) you are normally paid from gross NOK 532 200 per annum before tax, depending on qualifications and seniority. From the salary, 2% is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

The period of employment is 3 years. 

Appointment to a PhD position requires that you are admitted to the PhD programme in Computer Science  within three months of employment, and that you participate in an organized PhD programme during the employment period. 

The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants, and the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and attachment are seen to conflict with the criteria in the latter law will be prohibited from recruitment to NTNU.

After the appointment you must assume that there may be changes in the area of work.

It is a prerequisite you can be present at and accessible to the institution daily.

About the application

The application and supporting documentation to be used as the basis for the assessment must be in English.

Publications and other scientific work must follow the application. Please note that your application will be considered based solely on information submitted by the application deadline. You must therefore ensure that your application clearly demonstrates how your skills and experience fulfil the criteria specified above.

The applications must include:

• A cover letter where the applicant describes his/her personal motivation and relevance with respect to the requirements of the advertisement.
• CV and certificates.
• Transcripts and diplomas for bachelor's and master's degrees. If you have not completed the master's degree, you must submit a confirmation that the master's thesis has been submitted. Documentation of a completed master's degree must be presented before taking up the position.
• Name and contact information of three referees.

If all, or parts, of your education has been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education, both bachelor's and master's education, in addition to other higher education. Description of the documentation required can be found here. If you already have a statement from NOKUT, please attach this as well.

We will take joint work into account. If it is difficult to identify your efforts in the joint work, you must enclose a short description of your participation.

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal and interpersonal qualities. Motivation, ambitions, and potential will also count in the assessment of the candidates. 

NTNU is committed to following evaluation criteria for research quality according to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment - DORA.

General information

Working at NTNU

NTNU believes that inclusion and diversity is our strength. We want to recruit people with different competencies, educational backgrounds, life experiences and perspectives to contribute to solving our social responsibilities within education and research. We will facilitate for our employees’ needs.

NTNU is working actively to increase the number of women employed in scientific positions and has a number of resources to promote equality. 

The city of Gjøvik has a population of 30 000 and is a town known for its rich music and cultural life. The beautiful nature surrounding the city is ideal for an active outdoor life! The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world.

As an employee at NTNU, you must at all times adhere to the changes that the development in the subject entails and the organizational changes that are adopted.

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you want to reserve yourself from entry on the public applicant list, this must be justified. Assessment will be made in accordance with current legislation. You will be notified if the reservation is not accepted.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Associate Professor Steven Le Moan, telephone +47 459 14 826, email steven.lemoan@ntnu.no. If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR at IDI, e-mail: hr@idi.ntnu.no.

If you think this looks interesting and in line with your qualifications, please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no with your CV, diplomas and certificates attached. Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered. Upon request, you must be able to obtain certified copies of your documentation.  

Application deadline: 25.06.23

NTNU - knowledge for a better world

The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) creates knowledge for a better world and solutions that can change everyday life.

Department of Computer Science 

We are the leading academic IT environment in Norway, and offer a wide range of theoretical and applied IT programmes of study at all levels. Our subject areas include hardware, algorithms, visual computing, AI, databases, software engineering, information systems, learning technology, HCI, CSCW, IT operations and applied data processing. The Department has groups in both Trondheim and Gjøvik. The Department of Computer Science is one of seven departments in the Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering .

Deadline 25th June 2023
Employer NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Municipality Gjøvik
Scope Fulltime
Duration Temporary
Place of service Campus Gjøvik