Internship in Natural Language Processing: DNN-based coreference models

NLP Group, Idiap Research Institute, Martigny, Switzerland


Applications are invited for a 6-month internship at the Master level in
the field of natural language processing with neural networks, in the
NLP group of the Idiap Research Institute (www.idiap.ch/nlp).

The goal of this internship is to explore new data structures that would 
enable a better modeling of co-reference by using (deep) neural networks 
(DNNs).  Co-reference is the relation between words or phrases in a text 
that refer to the same entity.  DNNs have been successfully applied to a 
variety of NLP tasks, but for coreference resolution such approaches 
have shown limited improvement and a suitable model remains to be found. 
  The goal of this internship is to go beyond classifiers that decide 
whether a pair of phrases is co-referent or not, and instead learn to 
represent, in the output layer, each of the entities of a text.  In 
collaboration with a PhD student and a postdoc, the model will be 
applied to document-level machine translation.  The work will thus 
relate to the EU SUMMA and SNSF MODERN projects.

The applicants should have a background in natural language processing,
machine learning, or computer science. They should have demonstrable
programming skills in at least one language such as Perl, Python, Java
or C/C++.  Previous experience with coreference or anaphora resolution
would be a plus. Good command of English is mandatory and knowledge of
another European language such as French, Spanish, or German would be
appreciated.

The screening of the applications will start on January 15, 2017, and
will continue until the position is filled.  The preferred starting time
is in spring 2017.  The appointment is for 6 months, with a gross
internship salary of 2000 CHF per month.


*How to apply*

Please fill in and submit your application through the Idiap online 
recruitment system, by clicking on the position's title at 
http://www.idiap.ch/education-and-jobs.


*Contact information*

Further information about this position can be requested via the Idiap
online recruitment system or by contacting Dr. Andrei Popescu-Belis,
head of the NLP group (Andrei.Popescu-Belis@idiap.ch).

Idiap Research Institute
Rue Marconi 19 - CP 592
CH-1920 Martigny, Switzerland


*About the host institution*

Idiap is an independent, non-profit research institute recognized and 
supported by the Swiss Government, and affiliated with the Ecole 
Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and the University of Geneva. 
Idiap is located in the town of Martigny in Valais, a scenic region in 
the south of Switzerland, surrounded by the highest mountains of Europe, 
and offering exciting recreational activities, including hiking, 
climbing and skiing, as well as varied cultural activities. It is within 
close proximity to Geneva and Lausanne. Although Idiap is located in the 
French part of Switzerland, English is the working language. Free French 
lessons are provided.

Idiap offers competitive salaries and conditions at all levels in a 
young, dynamic, and multicultural environment. Idiap is an equal 
opportunity employer and is actively involved in the "Advancement of 
Women in Science" European initiative. The Institute maintains a 
principle of open competition (on the basis of merit) to appoint the 
best candidate, provides equal opportunities for all candidates, and 
equally encourages both genders to apply.

Keywords: natural language processing, machine learning, coreference 
resolution, machine translation.