1 – Working at the VUB
Freedom, equality and solidarity have been central to the Vrije Universiteit Brussel for over more than 50 years. These values are also very much alive on our campuses, among students and staff alike. Here you will find a colourful mix of personalities who all have one thing in common: they are innovators pur sang who are 100% their authentic selves. With some 4.000 employees spread over 4 campuses, we are the largest Dutch-speaking employer in Brussels, the vibrating international capital of the European Union.
The VUB is a humanist university. Teaching and research at the VUB are grounded in the principles of free inquiry with an eye to humanistic values. We consider each person to be free, equal, and connected. Free to form an opinion based on free research, without regard to arguments based purely on authority. Equal in the sense that no one is more or less than another, regardless of social or ethnic origin. And connected because we all live together, face the same challenges, and want to be treated with respect.
The VUB is autonomous and managed democratically. As such, we guarantee fundamental freedoms within our university, as well as the right of the university community to be involved in making and checking university policy.
2 – Position description
The Faculty of Engineering, Department Elektronica en informatica, is looking for a PhD-student with a doctoral grant.
More concretely your work package, for the preparation of a doctorate, contains:
You will take part in the project financed by the Belgian Science Policy Office (Belspo), titled “Development of innovative dynamical approaches for short-term PRECIPitation PREDICTion based on long-term radar datasets – PRECIP-PREDICT”. The project is a collaboration between the Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium (RMI) (coordinator: Dr. StĂ©phane Vannitsem) and ETRO – VUB (Prof. Dr. Lesley De Cruz).
Summary of the project:
Extreme precipitation is one of the most important natural hazards worldwide, both in terms of economic cost and number of people affected. Belgium is no exception, as portrayed by the July 2021 extreme precipitation event which killed 41 people and caused damage worth over 2 billion euros. As shown in a World Weather Attribution study to which RMI contributed, such events are expected to become more likely and more intense in a warmer climate. Therefore, improving the prediction of high-impact precipitation events is a high priority of the meteorological scientific community. The aim of this project is to improve our understanding of the short-term predictability of precipitation using novel techniques from dynamical systems theory and deep learning. Applying these techniques, inspired by new theoretical insights, will allow us to valorise the long-term archive of radar data of the RMI in a new and innovative way to determine the dynamical properties of the observed precipitation. These improvements will finally be used to improve precipitation predictions disseminated through the RMI App, and thus benefit the general public as well as other users of our forecasts, such as hydrological and civil protection services.
Research tasks:
Your research will help improve rainfall forecasting and nowcasting systems based on novel methodologies from dynamical systems theory, extreme value theory and deep learning. You will develop deep learning-based methodologies to create low-dimensional representations for high-dimensional radar rainfall data, and investigate dynamical systems and deep learning inspired methods to improve rainfall nowcasting and forecasting. You will work with meteorological observations and forecast datasets and collaborate closely with the RMI.
Teaching tasks:
You will have a limited set of teaching responsibilities. This includes the practical or exercise sessions for a course in the Master in Applied Computer Science (MACS) programme (e.g. Techniques of AI), and the co-supervision of a Master’s thesis related to your research. For this function, our Brussels Humanities, Sciences & Engineering Campus (Elsene) will serve as your home base
For this function, our Brussels Humanities, Sciences & Engineering Campus (Elsene) will serve as your home base.
3 – Profile
What do we expect from you?
- Master in mathematics, physics, engineering or computer science
- You have in-depth knowledge of either of these topics, and a strong interest and motivation to explore both:
- dynamical systems theory, especially applied to atmospheric dynamics
- machine learning and deep learning
- Good programming skills (Python and libraries such as Tensorflow/PyTorch) are a must.
- You are curious, you have a critical and scientific mindset, and can work both independently and as part of a team.
- Experience with meteorological model or observation data is a strong plus.
- You have excellent oral and written communication skills and are fluent in English.
- 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.
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 01/08/2023.
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’ll enjoy various benefits:
- Full reimbursement for your home-work commute with public transport according to VUB-policy, or compensation if you come by bike;
- Cost-free hospitalisation insurance;
- The space to form your job content and continuously learn via VUB LRN;
- Excellent facilities for sport and exercise;
- Ecocheques;
- Delicious meals at attractive prices in our campus restaurants;
- An open, family-friendly work environment where attention is paid to work-life balance, and exceptional holiday arrangements with 35 days of leave (based on a fulltime contract).
5 – Interested?
Is this the job you’ve been dreaming of?
Send us ONLINE and at the latest on 20/06/2023 your CV, letter of motivation and the highest degree you’ve attained (not applicable for VUB alumni).
Do you have questions about the job content? Contact Lesley De Cruz at Lesley.De.Cruz@vub.be or on +32 2 629 16 81.
Would you like to know what it’s like to work at the VUB? Go to www.vub.ac.be/vacatures and find all there is to know about our campuses, benefits, strategic goals and your future colleagues.
