Studentships and Internships in Human Language Technology Research Group
CSIR’s Meraka Institute is currently running Studentship and Internships to research speech by enhance Language Technology.
The CSIR’s Meraka Institute is a national strategic initiative that contributes to enhancing quality of life and economic competitiveness in South Africa and the continent through ICT by –
researching and developing new technology that enables ICT access, inclusion and use;
researching, developing and transferring innovative ICT products, processes and services into the market;
researching, developing, building and operating world-class cyber infrastructure;
and contributing skills and outcomes that are changing the profile of our ICT landscape.
The Human Language Technology (HLT) research group within the Meraka Institute studies the way in which speech- and language-related technologies can be created and applied to benefit the people of southern Africa.
In collaboration with a network of partners, the research group is creating language technologies such as
speech recognition systems;
speech synthesis systems;
language analytics systems;
computer assisted language learning and literacy development systems;
mobile data collection systems;
and assistive human language technology systems.
Statistical pattern recognition, digital signal processing, machine learning and artificial intelligence research form the basis from which many of these technologies are developed.
These technologies are then applied and tested in real-world mobile and server-based applications with a strong emphasis on technology transfer to market.
The HLT research group operates in a youthful, energetic environment consisting of researchers and developers from backgrounds in engineering and computer science.
As part of the HLT human capital development strategy – aimed at growing scientific, engineering and technology skills – the unit is offering studentship and internship opportunities.
Studentships (2 Masters, 1 Doctoral)
Intended areas of research
Conduct basic and applied research into projects related to the following areas of research (subject to available supervisory capacity):
- Automatic speech recognition
- Speech synthesis
- Speaker verification
- Natural language processing
- Language analytics (language data mining)
- HLT-enabled mobile and/or server-based application development.
Additional responsibilities
Work in various project teams comprising researchers, developers, students, and interns.
General requirements
Within the first three to six months of appointment, the successful candidate must identify a suitable topic, find a match with a supervisor within the group, and register at a tertiary institution affiliated to the group and/or supervisor.
The successful candidate may be hosted at the Meraka Institute or may be hosted at his/her university of registration, subject to agreement with the Meraka Institute.
In the latter case, the candidate will be required to spend a specified amount of time at the Meraka Institute (to be determined based on project-related work).
Doctoral Studentships
Minimum qualifications required:
Master’s degree in one of the following disciplines: electronic engineering, computer engineering, computer science, computational linguistics, mathematics, applied mathematics
Minimum other competence required:
Technical: advanced programming skills in at least one programming language, as well as experience in working within the Linux OS and OpenSource environment
IT: advanced computer skills, specifically related to word-processing, spreadsheets and presentations
Interpersonal: the ability to work well in a creative scientific environment as part of a team, with a good fit with the culture of the organisation (working on various projects simultaneously; contributing to an innovative research and development environment; positively influencing team work etc.)
Language: full spoken and written proficiency in English
Preferred/recommended requirements:
Experience: good research profile and publication rate; 2-3 years’ experience in participating in a relevant project (see list of research areas above) from conception to completion, including management of all resources relating to the project
Technical: advanced programming skills in a variety of programming languages, especially C, C++, Python or Perl
IT: Experience in environments such as Matlab, Statistica, R etc.
Interpersonal: proven track record of mentorship skills
Language: knowledge of or fluency in any additional official South African language(s) and/or language(s) spoken in Africa.
Masters’ Studentships
Minimum qualifications required:
Honour’s degree (or equivalent) in one of the following disciplines: electronic engineering, computer engineering, computer science, computational linguistics, mathematics, applied mathematics or linguistics
Minimum other competence required:
Technical: programming skills in at least one programming language, as well as experience in working within the Linux OS and OpenSource environment
IT: good computer skills, specifically related to word-processing, spreadsheets and presentations
Interpersonal: the ability to work well in a creative scientific environment as part of a team, with a good fit with the culture of the organisation (working on various projects simultaneously; contributing to an innovative research and development environment; positively influencing team work etc.)
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Preferred/recommended requirements:Experience: good research profile and publication rate; 1-2 years’ experience in participating in a relevant project (see list of research areas above) from conception to completion, including management of all resources relating to the project
Technical: programming skills in a variety of programming languages, especially C, C++, Python or Perl
IT: Experience in environments like Matlab, Statistica, R etc.
Language: knowledge of or fluency in any additional official South African language(s) and/or language(s) spoken in Africa.
Internships (2)
Intended areas of research
Support basic and applied research into projects related to the following areas of research:
- Automatic speech recognition
- Speech synthesis
- Speaker verification
- Natural language processing
- HLT-enabled mobile and/or server-based application development
- Statistical pattern recognition, digital signal processing, artificial intelligence and machine learning
Gain work experience in the above research areas by – acting as a research assistant to more senior researchers and conducting research tasks related to the above topics;
applying expertise to projects and contributing to projects where possible;
or assisting with the development, testing, maintenance and support of systems and software including monitoring systems;
keeping systems up and running;
and conducting fault finding.
Work in various project teams comprising researchers, developers, students, and other interns.
Requirements for the positions:
Minimum qualifications required:
Bachelor’s degree in one of the following disciplines: electronic engineering, computer engineering, computer science, computational linguistics, mathematics, applied mathematics.
Minimum other competence required:
Technical: programming skills in at least one programming language, as well as experience in working within the Linux OS and OpenSource environment
IT: good computer skills, specifically related to word-processing, spreadsheets and presentations
Interpersonal: the ability to work well in a creative scientific environment as part of a team, with a good fit with the culture of the organisation (working on various projects simultaneously; contributing to an innovative research and development environment; positively influencing team work etc.)
Language: full spoken and written proficiency in English
Preferred/recommended requirements:
Experience: participation in a relevant project (see list of research areas above) from conception to completion with responsibility for ensuring allocated activities are completed on time, on brief and on budget
Technical: programming skills in a variety of programming languages, especially C, C++, Python or Perl
IT: Experience in environments like Matlab, Statistica, R etc.
Language: knowledge of or fluency in any official South African language(s) and/or language(s) spoken in Africa.
How to apply
Closing date: 31 August 2014
