-- Dr. Antje Schweitzer IMS Uni Stuttgart 0711-685 81376 https://www.ims.uni-stuttgart.de/~schweitz Researcher position (Full-Time) in the area of AI in Education Researcher (m/f/d, E 13 TV-L, 100%) Project MEKI, Topic: AI in Education from now until Dec 31, 2027 University of Stuttgart Institute of Natural Language Processing Principal Investigators: Prof. Dr. Thang Vu, https://www.ims.uni-stuttgart.de/en/institute/team/Vu-00002/, and Dr. Antje Schweitzer, https://www.ims.uni-stuttgart.de/en/institute/team/Schweitzer/ According to current projections, Germany will face a shortage of 7 million workers by 2035. This dramatic shortage of skilled workers is aggravated by the fact that an increasing number of young adults do not have a vocational qualification. In addition, up to 28% of apprentices drop out of their training programs early. We want to change this! The MEKI project (“Mehr erreichen mit KI”), is developing an AI-powered (open-source) educational software designed primarily to help struggling students in vocational schools to successfully complete their training. The project focuses on industrial and commercial fields, but is developing concepts that can be applied to other areas. The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth within the InnoVET PLUS program. To realise this goal, we are working with four partners (two Chambers of Commerce and Industry (IHKs) as well as the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich (LMU)). The IHKs and LMU are primarily responsible for identifying the requirements and for scientific evaluation; the software is being developed jointly by TUM and our group, with our main focus being on the AI features. The project currently has an opening for a full-time position (m/f/d, E 13 TV-L, 100%) through to the end of the project term at the end of December 2027. Part-time employment (for the same duration) can also be negotiated. We are looking for a motivated colleague who is interested in getting involved in vocational education and tackling a social issue using AI methods. The use of AI in education opens up innovative possibilities such as personalized and multimodal learning, or gamification to boost motivation. Desired Profile: • Very good knowledge of written and spoken German • Excellent communication skills and teamwork • Diligence and analytical thinking • A degree in natural language processing, computational linguistics, digital humanities, data science, software development, or a related field • Extensive experience using LLM agents • Strong programming skills, particularly in Python • Experience in multimodal generation • Experience with deep learning is a plus, but not required • Experience with Git • Experience in front-end development, e.g., React/TypeScript is a plus Responsibilities: • Design and implementation of new AI-based software features, particularly in the area of multimodal learning • Participation in the ongoing evaluation of the software’s AI features • Joint testing of the software as part of user studies with project partners • Documentation and publication of project results • Active collaboration with network partners and active participation in internal network meetings What we offer: • A diverse, dedicated team and a pleasant work environment with excellent research facilities in an international and interdisciplinary setting • Cutting-edge topics with societal relevance in the field of education • Opportunities for collaboration and contact with other interdisciplinary projects in the fields of deep learning and setting at the Institute of Natural Language Processing • Support from student assistants Application Process Please submit a PDF file containing: • a brief motivation letter outlining your fit to the project, • your resume, • your degree certificate including grades Applications should be sent to: Antje Schweitzer, antje.schweitzer@ims.uni-stuttgart.de mailto:antje.schweitzer@ims.uni-stuttgart.de Applications received before 11th April 2026 will be given full consideration. The position will remain open until filled, so do not hesitate to get in touch when you find this opening later. The University of Stuttgart stands for diversity and equal opportunities, as well as for the compatibility of work and family life. Women applicants with the same qualifications, skills, and professional achievements will be given preference in areas where women are underrepresented. Applicants with disabilities with the same qualifications will be given priority. We expressly welcome applications from people of other nationalities or with a migration background. Further information The University of Stuttgart is a technically oriented university. It is especially known for engineering and related topics, with its computer science department being ranked highly, both nationally and internationally. As part of this department, IMS aims at bridging the gap between foundational research into language and the development of technologies for society. With 6 professors, over 50 scientists and 200 students in the study programs B.Sc. and M.Sc. Computational Linguistics, IMS is one of the largest hubs of computational linguistics in Germany and Europe. The city of Stuttgart is known for its strong economy and diverse cultural scene, all within a manageable size. Its location amidst numerous hills and vineyards is also worth seeing. Stuttgart is a lively city with a vibrant bar and club scene and an extensive public transportation network. By train, Stuttgart is well connected to many other interesting destinations, such as Munich and Cologne (about 2 hours), Paris (about 3.5 hours), Berlin (about 5.5 hours), Strasbourg (1 hour), and Lake Constance (2 hours). InnoVET PLUS program https://www.inno-vet.de/innovet/de/innovet_plus/innovet-plus_node.html MEKI project description from website of project partner IHK Reutlingen https://www.reutlingen.ihk.de/ausbildung/azubis-hier-lang/digitale-lernangeb... Institute of Natural Language processing https://www.ims.uni-stuttgart.de https://www.ims.uni-stuttgart.de/ Digital Phonetics group https://www.ims.uni-stuttgart.de/institut/arbeitsgruppen/dp/