PhD Scholarship in Knowledge-Based AI for Engineering Process Support

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: 

Knowledge Representation and Reasoning, Logic Programming and other logic-based methods have a long history in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Despite recent advances in data-based AI (e.g., deep learning and LLMs), knowledge-based methods are still state-of-the-art when it comes to building reliable and explainable decision support tools.

In this PhD position, you will investigate the use of logic-based methods to provide decision support for the process of designing electromechanical systems. Here, the focus is not on the system being designed, but rather on the different steps that the engineer follows during the design process. The decision support tool will help the engineer to ensure that all of the necessary steps have been followed so far, and to suggest appropriate next steps. The key technology for developing this tool will be the IDP-Z3 reasoning engine.

 

The research will be carried out within the Artificial Intelligence Lab of VUB university, where you will join a multidisciplinary team of AI researchers. In addition, you will also be part of Flanders Make, the Flemish research institute for the manufacturing industry, and collaborate with several other Flanders Make groups. This includes researchers from Ghent University who work on process mining, and researchers from KU Leuven university who work on knowledge graphs. The prototype you will develop using IDP-Z3 will be integrated with results from the other groups to deliver a tool that can benefit both from expert knowledge (your part) as well as from data (U Gent) from diverse sources (KU Leuven).

 

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, engineering or a related domain. You have a solid academic track record, at least at the cum laude level. Students who will obtain their master's degree in 2025 are also encouraged to apply.

 

• You are familiar with logic, knowledge representation, and/or 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 01/06/2025. 

The starting date will be chosen based on your availability, but will be no later then 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 30/04/2025, via jobs.vub.be, and upload the following documents:

• your CV;
• your motivation letter (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 prof. dr. Joost Vennekens at joost.vennekens@ai.vub.ac.be or on 0479807537.

 

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.