PhD #15

Use of advanced AI Chat models for advising road authorities on Vulnerable

Road User safety improvements

Vacancy description

Within the IVORY doctoral network, this PhD position aims to investigate the adaptation of readily available AI chat models to provide recommendations and advice to road authorities on enhancing road safety for vulnerable road users (VRU) (cyclists, pedestrians) groups, based on inputs from national handbooks, infrastructure guidelines and the iRAP assessment methodology. The goal is to construct a comprehensive, fine-tuned AI chat model, capable of providing context-specific recommendations to road authorities on improving road safety for VRUs.

The position contributes to road safety research by establishing a framework for optimised interaction and communication between road authorities and AI systems for efficient AI-supported decision-making. The accuracy, relevance and timeliness of generated advice will be evaluated and optimized.

Project description

IVORY (www.ivory-network.eu) is a Horizon Europe MARIE SKLODOWSKA-CURIE ACTION Industrial Doctoral Network consisting of 22 partners (universities, industry, and non-governmental organizations). The project aims to develop a new framework for the integration of AI in road safety and train a new generation of leading researchers in the field, in order to address the UN Sustainable Development Goals target 3.6 (halving the number of traffic fatalities by 2030) and EC ‘Vision Zero’ strategy (eliminating traffic fatalities by 2050).

PhD students will obtain their PhD degree from the relevant academic partner, and spend at least 50% of their PhD time at the relevant non-academic partner.

Academic host

Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences

Months 1-9 and & 28-36 of recruitment

https://www.fpz.unizg.hr/en/naslovna/novosti/

Industry host

ABEONAconsult, Zonhoven, Belgium

Months 10-27 of recruitment

www.abeonaconsult.be

Secondment(s)

IRAP, United Kingdom, duration: 3 months (Month 25-27)

Research field(s)

Data science; Transport engineering; Safety science

Application deadline

31 January 2024

Type of contract

Fixed-term: 36 months total (9+18+9 months divided between academic and industry host)

Employment status

Full time (1.0 fte)

Eligibility criteria

·         A Master"s degree (or equivalent);

·         Not in possession of a doctoral degree at the date of the recruitment.

·         Recruited applicants can be of any nationality and must undertake trans-national mobility (i.e., move from one country to another) when taking up the appointment. In particular, at the time of selection, the recruited applicant for this position must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Croatia for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to their recruitment. Short stays, such as holidays, are not taken into account.

Required skills

·         A Master"s degree (or equivalent) in computer science, informatics, computer/electrical engineering; other Master"s degrees in any other relevant field (i.e. mathematics, physics, civil/transportation engineering) will also be considered

·         Familiarity with data science and machine learning

·         Familiarity with statistical analysis: candidates should be proficient in statistical tools and methodologies

·         The ability to work both independently and as part of a team

·         High level of proficiency in English 

·         Passion about AI and applying in specific transport use cases and about traffic safety 

Optional skills (preferred but not required)

·         Familiarity with Coding skills in appropriate programming languages

·         Excellent soft skills in communication and presentation, as well as networking while working with authorities  

·         Familiarity with some of the following (or similar) ML libraries: PyTorch, TensorFlow, scikit-learn

·         Familiarity with numpy, scipy, pandas, opencv

·         Familiarity with RESTful API communication protocols and JSON

·         Familiarity with iRAP protocols 

·         Familiarity with the use and integration of external APIs

·         Expertise in working with and harmonizing data from different sources 

·         Familiarity with research and academic writing

English requirement

High level of proficiency in English (CEFR level of C1) or native English speaker (will be tested at interview).

Salary

The successful candidate will receive an attractive salary following the MSCA regulations for doctoral candidates. The exact salary will vary depending on the country of the host partner and will be confirmed upon appointment. The salary includes a living allowance, a mobility allowance, and a family allowance (if the recruited doctoral candidate has or acquires family obligations during the duration of the fellowship).

Other benefits

In addition, the doctoral candidate will benefit from further training within the IVORY network, which includes internships/secondments in other laboratories, a variety of training courses (including transferable skills), and active participation in workshops and conferences.

Application process

·         Candidates should apply electronically using the link indicated in the PhD position(s) of their interest,

·         Candidates should provide the following documents:

o   Detailed CV, including information on the candidate’s proficiency in English

o   Motivation letter (1 page), describing why the position fits the applicant

o   Contact information of 2 references

o   Copy of Master’s degree diploma

o   Proof of citizenship

o   Copies of any other relevant certifications listed within CV

Candidates should apply electronically via e-mail address pisarnica@fpz.unizg.hr with the title of the PhD position in the e-mail subject. 

Academic host

Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences (FPZ), established in 1984, is a part of the University of Zagreb, and the leading high education as well as scientific and research institution in the field of transport and traffic engineering in Croatia. The mission of the Faculty is to provide quality undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate education, as well as to enable scientific research and professional work for successful participation in the effective and efficient development of transportation, logistics, and aeronautics.

Postgraduate studies of the Faculty provide three-year Doctoral Studies in the field of Transport and Traffic Engineering. A successful FPZ PhD candidate is qualified to work in scientific teaching and scientific research institutions, development institutes and research centres of industry companies, public sector as well as in transport companies of all sizes. Apart from teaching activities, employees actively participate in various scientific and consultancy projects around the world.

Industry host

ABEONAconsult is a young & dynamic company specialized in developing smart products, software and services in the domains of transportation & traffic safety. ABEONAconsult is a spin-off from the Transportation Research Institute (IMOB) at Hasselt University Belgium, which has over 20 years of experience in road safety and mobility research.

The mission of ABEONAconsult is to identify transportation problems and to provide suitable solutions through research. In its research, ABEONAconsult leverages knowledge and technology to tackle the transportation challenges of tomorrow. The company focuses on collecting data from the crowd (crowdsourcing), to create applications (mobile and web) and to provide innovative solutions in the domains of traffic safety, mobility and travel behaviour.

Additional information

For more information about this vacancy, please contact Asst. prof. Dario Babic, Ph.D. at dbabic2@fpz.unizg.hr or Prof. Davy Janssens at davy.janssens@abeonaconsult.be