Hi all,

this is a really cool opportunity, and the last chance to apply. I look forward to receiving your applications!

Best, Alexander.

The Research Training Group 2853 “Neuroexplicit Models of Language, Vision, and Action” is looking for

Multiple PhD Students - Fall 2025

Neuroexplicit models combine neural and human-interpretable (“explicit”) models in order to overcome the limitations that each model class has separately. They include neurosymbolic models, which combine neural and symbolic models, but also e.g. combinations of neural and physics-based models. In the RTG, we will improve the state of the art in natural language processing (“Language”), computer vision (“Vision”), and planning and reinforcement learning (“Action”). We also develop novel machine learning techniques for neuroexplicit models (“Foundations”). Our overarching aim is to contribute to a better understanding of the cross-cutting design principles of effective neuroexplicit models through interdisciplinary collaboration.

We are now filling the last few remaining positions to grow to a total of 24 PhD students by the end of 2025. You will join a very international crowd of sixteen PhD students and one postdoc who are already being funded by the RTG. Through the inclusion of ~15 associated PhD students and postdocs funded from other sources, it will be one of the largest research centers on neuroexplicit or neurosymbolic models in the world.

The RTG brings together researchers at Saarland University, the Max Planck Institute for Informatics, the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems, the CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security, and the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI). All of these institutions are collocated on the same campus in Saarbrücken, Germany.

The positions will be funded for four years at the TV-L E13 100% pay scale. They are intended to start in September 2025, but could start a little earlier or later depending on the student’s availability. You should have or be about to complete an MSc degree in computer science or a related field and have demonstrated expertise in one of the research areas of the RTG, e.g. through an excellent Master’s thesis or relevant publications.

The RTG is part of the Saarland Informatics Campus, one of the leading centers for research in computer science, artificial intelligence, and natural language processing in Europe. The Saarland Informatics Campus brings together 900 researchers and 2500 students from 81 countries. The CISPA Helmholtz Center, located on the same campus, is home to an additional 350 researchers and on track to grow to 800 by 2026. Researchers at SIC and CISPA are part of the ELLIS network and have been awarded more than 40 ERC grants.

Each PhD student in the RTG will be jointly supervised by two PhD advisors from the list of Principal Investigators below. Each student will freely define their own research topic; we encourage the choice of topics that cross the traditional boundaries of research fields. Students may be affiliated with Saarland University or with one of the participating institutes.

Vera Demberg, Saarland University - Computational Linguistics Dietrich Klakow, Saarland University - Natural Language Processing Alexander Koller, Saarland University - Computational Linguistics Mariya Toneva, MPI for Software Systems - Computational Neuroscience, Machine Learning Jörg Hoffmann, Saarland University - AI Planning Bernt Schiele, MPI for Informatics - Computer Vision, Machine Learning Philipp Slusallek, DFKI and Saarland University - Computer Graphics, Artificial Intelligence Christian Theobalt, MPI for Informatics - Visual Computing, Machine Learning Isabel Valera, Saarland University - Machine Learning Jilles Vreeken, CISPA - Machine Learning, Causality Joachim Weickert, Saarland University - Mathematical Data Analysis Verena Wolf, DFKI and Saarland University - Modeling and Simulation, Reinforcement Learning

Ellie Pavlick, Brown University and Google AI, is joining us regularly as a Mercator Fellow.

Please send your application by May 7th 2025 to apply@neuroexplicit.org and include the reference number W2639. We aim to conduct job interviews in June 2025.

For more details on the position, including what materials to submit with your application, please see our website: https://www.neuroexplicit.org/jobs/