University Assistant (predoc): Concept Drift in Geo-Knowledge Graphs

Supervision: Krzysztof Janowicz (Department of Geography and Regional Research), in collaboration with Grant McKenzie (McGill University, Canada), Bruno Martins (University of Lisbon, Portugal), Pascal Hitzler (Kansas State University, USA)

Project outline:

Web-scale knowledge graphs connect billions of statements about the world across highly heterogeneous datasets and their respective domains. Given their global and thematic coverage, the concepts used to semantically describe entities and relations in these graphs are not static but change through space and time. While such concept drift has been studied before, e.g., on the level of classes as they evolve over different versions of ontologies, geospatial aspects of such drifts have not been investigated. Furthermore, the availability of very-large, openly-available knowledge graphs enables different perspectives on concept drift, e.g., it becomes possible to detect and predict drifting concepts from actual data. Together with intentional partners in academia and industry, this project will study different types of conceptual change such as merges, shifts, radiation, and so on, with a particular focus on spatio-temporal and, more specifically, regional variability. The results of this research will improve (geographic) information retrieval using knowledge graphs. They will also answer important questions at the intersection of Cognitive Science and Geographic Information Science by investigating the spatio-temporal interaction among concepts given their regional footprints, thereby also contributing to a more nuanced and fair (conceptual) representation of the physical world around us instead of the current one-size-fits-all solutions.

Job Description:               

The position aims to deepen and extend the professional and scientific education targeting a doctoral degree. Tasks and responsibilities include:
●       Independent research and development of an academic profile targeting a doctoral degree. We expect the successful candidate to sign a doctoral thesis agreement within 12 months.
●        Participation in research, teaching and administration of the research group/department
●        Participation in publications / academic articles / presentations
●        Participation in teaching and independent teaching of courses as defined by the collective agreement
●        Supervision of students
●        Participation in evaluation activities and in quality assurance
●        Involvement in the organisation of conferences, workshops and (project) meetings

The candidate who is selected for this position joins VISESS as a PhD student member.

Profile:

●        Astronomy / Earth Sciences / Geography / Geoinformatics / Environmental Sciences: Master Degree or equivalent
●        Excellent command of written and spoken English
●        Experience with (geographic) knowledge graphs and knowledge representation, e.g., as it relates to geo-ontology engineering.
●        Strong GIScience/ Geoinformatics skills incl. programming skills.

Expected starting date: Ideally June 2022 or later

Duration of employment: 3 years with the possibility of extensions up to 4 years. The employment relationship is initially limited to 1.5 years and automatically extended to a total of 3 years unless the employer submits a declaration of non-renewal after a maximum of 12 months. In exceptional, well argumented cases and on the condition that budget is available, there is the possibility of extensions up to 4 years.

We offer:

●        Job grading in accordance with collective bargaining agreement: §48 VwGr. B1 Grundstufe (praedoc) with relevant work experience determining the assignment to a particular salary grade
●        An active and inspiring research environment, a vibrant PhD community and many ways to connect with peers from home and abroad on a social and professional level
●        A broad range of interdisciplinary training possibilities and school activities, such as leadership skill trainings, workshops, seminars, mobility and summer schools

Extent of employment: 30 hours/week

Application: Interested students can apply until the deadline of 15 April 2022 via: <https://visess.univie.ac.at/how-to-apply/>.

Further information: For further information, please contact <admin.visess@univie.ac.at>.

The University pursues a non-discriminatory employment policy and values equal opportunities, as well as diversity (http://diversity.univie.ac.at/). The University lays special emphasis on increasing the number of women in senior and in academic positions. Given equal qualifications, preference will be given to female applicants.