PhD Felowship in Task-Oriented Performance Metrics for Causal Machine Learning
The Pioneer Centre for AI, the Copenhagen Causality Lab, and the Department of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Copenhagen invite applications for a fully-funded PhD position.
The project
Machine learning has shown that research on difficult problems can progress remarkably quickly if clear performance metrics are available. Causal ML and causal structure learning, however, lack a universally accepted performance metric in part because graphical models can be used for many distinct tasks and simply counting edge disagreements between graphs does not reflect how similar graphs are when used for one of these causal reasoning tasks. Recently, distances for two types of graphs, directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) and completed partially directed acyclic graphs (CPDAGs), that compare graphs for the task of causal inference (i.e., using the graph to make predictions about the effects of interventions) have been developed. However, DAGs and CPDAGs are causal graphical models that we arguably will never have access to for any real-world problem, since they do not allow for unobserved variables.
The starting point of this project is the need for a performance metric that reflects similarity of causal graphs when used for a causal reasoning task, while it aims to develop metrics for the more general and arguably practically relevant class of maximal ancestral causal graphs (MAGs) that allow for hidden variables and may be learned from data. The development of a meaningful task-oriented graph metric between MAGs is important as it can enable and accelerate the development of ML/DL solutions – "to find good solutions for a task, we require a clear performance metric for candidate solutions to the task".
The main focus of the project will be tailored to the applicant's profile and interests and discussed at a later stage of the interview process.
The project is supervised by Sebastian Weichwald (TT Assistant Professor, University of Copenhagen, Department of Mathematical Sciences).
The research environment
The candidate will be a member of the Pioneer Centre for Artificial Intelligence, a 5-university Danish research endeavor, and the Department of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Copenhagen as well as associated with the Copenhagen Causality Lab at the University of Copenhagen Department of Computer Science. Both the centre and lab are highly international and well-funded, working on a broad range of fundamental research topics.
Who are we looking for?
We are looking for candidates with knowledge and interest in the field(s) Machine Learning, Mathematical Modelling, Statistics. The project combines ideas from statistical causal modelling, graphical models, and analysis and implementation of efficient graphical algorithms. The main focus can be tailored to the applicant's profile and interests and discussed at a later stage of the interview process.
General qualifications
The PhD programme
Depending on your level of education, you can undertake the PhD programme as either:
Option A: Getting into a position on the regular PhD programme
Qualifications needed for the regular programme
To be eligible for the regular PhD programme, you must have completed a degree programme, equivalent to a Danish master's degree (180 ECTS/3 FTE BSc + 120 ECTS/2 FTE MSc) related to the subject area of the project, e.g. Computer Science, Human-Computer Interaction, or a related field. For information of eligibility of completed programmes, see General assessments for specific countries and Assessment database.
Terms of employment in the regular programme
Employment as PhD fellow is full time and for maximum 3 years.
Employment is conditional upon your successful enrolment as a PhD student at the PhD School at the Faculty of SCIENCE, University of Copenhagen. This requires submission and acceptance of an application for the specific project formulated by the applicant.
The terms of employment and salary are in accordance with the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State (AC). The position is covered by the Protocol on Job Structure.
Option B: Getting into a position on the integrated MSc and PhD programme
Qualifications needed for the integrated MSc and PhD programme
If you do not have an education equivalent to a relevant Danish master´s degree, you might be qualified for the integrated MSc and PhD programme, if you have an education equivalent to a relevant Danish bachelor´s degree. Here you can find out, if that is relevant for you: General assessments for specific countries and Assessment database.
Terms of the integrated programme
To be eligible for the integrated scholarship, you are (or are eligible to be) enrolled at one of the faculty's master programmes in Computer Science.
Students on the integrated programme will enroll as PhD students simultaneously with completing their enrollment in this MSc degree programme.
The duration of the integrated programme is up to five years, and depends on the amount of credits that you have passed on your MSc programme. For further information about the study programme, please see: www. science.ku.dk/phd, “Study Structures”.
Until the MSc degree is obtained, (when exactly two years of the full 3+5 programme remains), the grant will be paid partly in the form of 48 state education grant portions (in Danish: “SU-klip”) plus salary for work (teaching, supervision etc.) totalling a workload of at least 150 working hours per year.
When you have obtained the MSc degree, you will transfer to the salary-earning part of the scholarship for a period of two years. At that point, the terms of employment and payment will be according to the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State (AC). The position is covered by the Protocol on Job Structure.
Responsibilities and tasks in both PhD programmes
Application and Assessment Procedure
Your application including all attachments must be in English and submitted electronically by clicking APPLY NOW below. Please include:
Application deadline
The deadline for applications is 01 April 2024, 23:59 GMT +1.
We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline, and not to consider applications that do not live up to the abovementioned requirements.
The further process
After deadline, a number of applicants will be selected for academic assessment by an unbiased expert assessor. You are notified, whether you will be passed for assessment.
The assessor will assess the qualifications and experience of the shortlisted applicants with respect to the above mentioned research area, techniques, skills and other requirements. The assessor will conclude whether each applicant is qualified and, if so, for which of the two models. The assessed applicants will have the opportunity to comment on their assessment. You can read about the recruitment process at https: // employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/.
Interviews with selected candidates are expected to be held toward the end of April/early May.
Questions
For specific information about the PhD fellowship, please contact Sebastian Weichwald ([email protected]).
General information about PhD study at the Faculty of SCIENCE is available at the PhD School's website: https: // www. science.ku.dk/phd/.
The University of Copenhagen wishes to reflect the surrounding community and invites all regardless of personal background to apply for the position.
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