Researcher in Semantic Interoperability and Explainable, Knowledge-driven AI for Smart Systems (SAREF4XAI)

The rising popularity of AI-powered smart environments for building automation and management raises concerns about interoperability, transparency, and trust. These environments often operate across heterogeneous domains, rely on various standards and protocols, and are tailored to different tasks. This makes it difficult to guarantee meaningful integration, explainable decision-making, and automated task execution. Combining semantic technologies with knowledge-driven AI can help alleviate many of these challenges.

Within the SAREF4XAI project, jointly conducted by the Semantics, Cybersecurity and Services (SCS) group at the University of Twente and the User-Centric Data Science (UCDS) group at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, we offer a 1-year, part-time research position focusing on semantic interoperability and explainable, knowledge-driven AI for smart environments.

The researcher will explore how ontologies, knowledge graphs, and knowledge-driven AI can be combined to support interoperable and explainable applications in the smart buildings domain. Building on open modelling standards and recent breakthroughs in (neuro-) symbolic learning methods, the researcher will investigate and evaluate conceptual and technical approaches for leveraging semantics and formal background knowledge to enhance explainability in downstream AI tasks for complex socio-technical systems.

The position involves close collaboration between both research groups, engagement with external stakeholders, and participation in joint research activities and dissemination efforts, thereby contributing to a broader research agenda on semantic interoperability and explainable, knowledge-driven AI. This project aims to lay the foundation for long-term collaboration and future funding opportunities in the area of trustworthy, transparent, and interoperable AI for smart societies.

Postdoctoral researcher (17 months): Ethics and Epistemology of LLMs4EU: Design, Data and Deployment

The LLMs4EU project, coordinated by the Alliance for Language Technologies (ALT-EDIC), aims to preserve European linguistic and cultural diversity in the digital age through cooperation between economic and academic actors. Indeed, some European languages are threatened to be left aside from generative AI development due to the lack of resources to train language models. Furthermore, the project intends to bring together some of Europe’s leading players in the field of generative AI to ensure that European companies and especially SMEs have access to the tools and resources to become competitive regarding language technologies and especially Large Language Models (LLMs), a market currently dominated by U.S. companies. The project builds on existing European initiatives to ensure LLMs, and their technical ecosystems are openly available in every EU language by capitalizing on existing European programs and competencies. The tools that will be made accessible to European companies will cover steps from training LLMs to ensuring their conformity to European legislation (AI Act, GDPR, etc.). The ALT-EDIC consortium includes organizations working in more than 20 countries, which ensures fair geographical and linguistic coverage. The project will develop different relevant use cases in five domains (telecommunications, science, tourism, public services, energy) to demonstrate the capacity of European actors to work together to create adapted tools for different economic sectors, and the coverage of all EU languages will be ensured through the creation and acquisition of the necessary datasets by the project.

Regarding AI development, LLMs4EU aims to create AI-based technologies that actively mitigate and manage associated risks. The tools developed by the project will be fully aligned with European values (i.e., privacy, non-discrimination, robustness in legal, ethical and technical terms, mitigation of possible bias, reliability and trustworthiness, interpretability and explainability, security and safety). The goal is to presenttechnologies that respect ethical and legal requirements, including the European Commission's Ethics guidelines for trustworthy AI.

About the position:
We are seeking a highly motivated Postdoctoral Researcher to join the University of Twente team of philosophers on tasks in WP 6 in the LLMs4EU dedicated to the comprehensive assessment of the ethical, legal and epistemological implications associated with the project's activities and outcomes including data collection and fine tuning, as well as their design processes and implementation. This includes:

• Deployment of a benchmarking framework for legal and ethical issues (T6.3).
• Requirements and guidelines for fine tuning and validation including sociolinguistic flattening and cultural heritage preservation in data curation (T6.4)
• Ethics compliance and ethics advisory board (T6.5)
• Framework for ethical and epistemological aspects of the LLM design process including data sourcing, applications and implementation (Ethics-by-Design).

Postdoc in Sustainable Circular Business Models and Finance in Hubs for Circularity

The Challenge

As process industries transition to circular models, companies within Hubs for Circularity (H4C) need robust tools to navigate the financial complexities of industrial symbiosis. This project aims to bridge financial modelling, AI, simulation, and circular business model innovation, equipping decision-makers with practical, scientifically grounded tools to evaluate risks, cash flows, and long-term business viability.

Your Role
We are seeking a highly motivated and creative postdoctoral candidate to develop data-driven financial forecasting, planning, and scenario-analysis tools. You will work on three closely connected tasks in Horizon Europe funded “Sustainable Circular Economy Transition: from Industrial Symbiosis to Hubs for Circularity - IS2H4C” project. The project website is available here: IS2H4C PROJECT

• Financial Forecasting & AI: Use scenario case analysis, simulation, time series models, and/or AI-based approaches to forecast cash flows and support financial analysis for individual companies, co-financing arrangements, and hubs for circularity.
• • Business Model Planning: Contribute to financial plans and canvases for new circular business models, projecting revenues, expenses, risks, investments, and profitability.
• Simulation Design: Design and apply simulations that integrate financial and non-financial information. This will enable companies to explore future scenarios, assess the economic benefits of resource sharing/exchanging, and strengthen investment decisions.

About You
Are you eager to develop innovative financial models that support sustainable industrial transitions and help companies make better investment decisions in circular ecosystems? If you are ready to contribute to solutions that improve decision-making for industrial symbiosis, we look forward to your application!

Docent Psychologie & Technologie

De afdeling Psychologie, Gezondheid en Technologie (PGT) van de Universiteit Twente zoekt een enthousiaste docent Psychologie & Technologie (0,63 fte).

In deze veelzijdige rol geef je onderwijs in zowel de bachelor als master Psychologie. Je werkt met gemotiveerde studenten aan actuele vraagstukken, waarbij psychologie en technologie elkaar versterken. In de bachelor draag je bij aan onderwijs met een brede blik op het vakgebied, met speciale aandacht voor ontwerp-, onderzoeks- en academische vaardigheden.

Je maakt deel uit van een betrokken en ervaren team. Samen begeleiden jullie werkgroepen, verzorgen jullie onderwijs, nemen jullie assessments af en begeleid je studenten bij hun bachelor theses en onderzoeksprojecten. Daarnaast speel je een actieve rol in het leiden van werkgroepen in bachelor- en mastervakken en denk je mee over de verdere ontwikkeling en coördinatie van het onderwijs.

Wil je meer weten over onze opleidingen?

• Bachelor Psychologie: https://www.utwente.nl/en/education/bachelor/programmes/psychology/#bsc-psychology-at-the-university-of-twente
• Master Psychologie (PCPT en HPT): https://www.utwente.nl/en/education/master/programmes/psychology/specialisations/positive-clinical-psychology-technology/ https://www.utwente.nl/en/education/master/programmes/psychology/specialisations/health-psychology-technology/

Junior Docent Psychologie & Technologie

De afdeling Psychologie, Gezondheid en Technologie (PGT) van de Universiteit Twente zoekt een enthousiaste junior docent Psychologie & Technologie (0,84-1,0 fte).

In deze boeiende rol geef je onderwijs in de bachelor Psychologie. Je werkt met gemotiveerde studenten aan actuele vraagstukken, waarbij psychologie en technologie elkaar versterken. In de bachelor draag je bij aan onderwijs met een brede blik op het vakgebied, met speciale aandacht voor ontwerp-, onderzoeks- en academische vaardigheden.

Je maakt deel uit van een betrokken en ervaren team. Samen begeleiden jullie werkgroepen, verzorgen jullie onderwijs, nemen jullie assessments af en begeleid je studenten bij hun bachelor theses en onderzoeksprojecten.

Wil je meer weten over onze bachelor Psychologie

• https://www.utwente.nl/en/education/bachelor/programmes/psychology/#bsc-psychology-at-the-university-of-twente