Open Call for Two PhD Positions
We are offering two PhD positions at the European Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence for Digital Humanities (AI4DH) at the University of Ljubljana. These positions are associated with the ELEXAI (European Lexicographic Infrastructure for Artificial Intelligence) project, where newly admitted PhD students will research and develop large language models and agentic interfaces for multilingual knowledge management, using high-quality lexicographic resources.
At the heart of the vibrant European capital city of Ljubljana, close to both the Alps and the Mediterranean, the European Centre of Excellence in AI4DH aims to
- Develop top-level AI research that benefits social science and humanities research.
- Provide support and services to enhance AI literacy among social science and humanities (SSH) scholars, and assist them in developing projects and project applications, particularly within Horizon Europe.
- Develop related trainings and teaching in AI4DH.
Work assignments:
In combination with research (most of your time), you will be expected to provide support for DH scholars around your area of expertise. You will be welcome to teach (optionally, for an additional fee).
We particularly seek candidates with an interest in interdisciplinary work related to digital humanities (DH), and a background in computer science (CS), artificial intelligence (AI), or other areas with a strong technical background. The ability to discuss and collaborate with experts from several disciplines will be essential.
Detailed description of work assignments:
- Participating in interdisciplinary research in the areas of artificial intelligence for digital humanities (DH), predominantly in development of agentic systems and natural language processing tools for areas such as digital lexicography, analysis of historical newspapers, production of semantic data and evaluation datasets from lexical sources, input of knowledge into large language models, especially for digital humanities, data-driven folkloristics, interpretation of generative large language models, social science analyses of news media in languages with fewer resources, etc.
- Support for researchers in the field of DH
- Problem solving, discussions, and collaboration with experts from various disciplines
- Regular fulfilment of obligations in the PhD study programme
The research work in this call will predominantly focus on the following areas:
- Agentic systems
- Digital lexicography
- Natural language processing tools
- Explanation of generative large language models
Location:
The work will take place at the University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Computer and Information Science. The faculty hosts over 150 researchers working in different areas of AI (such as machine learning, computer vision, natural language processing, and bioinformatics), hosting powerful computing facilities internally and as part of the EU EuroHPC supercomputer Vega 2 and the Slovene AI Factory. Within the European Centre of Excellence in AI4DH, you will work closely with an international and interdisciplinary group of researchers from several UL Faculties (notably, from the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Social Sciences).
We offer:
- flexible working hours,
- funds for purchasing equipment,
- attending international events such as conferences,
- the tuition fee for the PhD study program in Computer Science at the University of Ljubljana
- a modern working environment,
- a parking space,
- great colleagues who are ready to help you when you need it,
- recreation at the workplace and apples,
- regular performance-based bonus (2 times per year),
- constructively solving challenges in professional dialogue and in team spirit,
- effective information provision at the workplace,
- participation in interesting, globally relevant scientific projects,
- cooperation with technologically advanced companies and the possibility of part-time/additional employment.
Duration: financing of your doctoral study of up to 3 years (until the end of the ELEXAI project and CoE AI4DH project, with the possibility of extension within the framework of another research project).
Salary range: The starting gross monthly salary (including health, social, and pension insurance) is EUR 3,549.00 (approximately EUR 2,200.00 net).
In addition to the salary, the following benefits will be provided:
- daily food allowance (EUR 7.40 in 2026)
- biannual holiday allowance (EUR 1,980.00 in 2025)
- reimbursement of travel costs (in the amount of the cost of public transport)
- 2x annual performance bonus.
Start date: anytime from 1 September 2026 (upon agreement)
Context: European Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence for Digital Humanities (AI4DH), EU-funded, https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101186647
Contacts: Prof. Dr. Antoine Doucet (Antoine.Doucet@fri.uni-lj.si) and Prof. Dr. Marko Robnik-Šikonja (Marko.Robnik@fri.uni-lj.si)
Information sessions (short presentation and Q&A) will be held on 22 April at 10:00 CET. Registrations for the information session should be made by sending an email to Antoine.Doucet@fri.uni-lj.si
Eligibility and requirements:
– specialisation after higher education (previous), major: computer science and informatics or another field with a strong technical background or from the field of social sciences with technical background
– higher university education (previous), major: computer science and informatics or another field with a strong technical background or from the field of social sciences with technical background
– Master’s degree (2nd Bologna cycle) major: computer science and informatics or another field with a strong technical background or from the field of social sciences with technical background
– Functional skills: innovation, ability to work in a team, communication skills, organisational skills, data analysis, programming
– Interdisciplinary experience and interest in digital humanities (DH), especially in research areas such as computational linguistics, digital lexicography, digital history, computational literary studies and related fields
– Knowledge and technical experience in the field of data analysis, statistics and data science
– Fluency in written and spoken English
Tentative timeline of the call:
- Application deadline: 22 May 2026, midnight CEST
- Interviews for selected candidates and final ranking: early June 2026
- Start date: from 01 September 2026, upon agreement
Documents required for applying:
- AI4DH application form, following the provided template at the bottom of this page
- Motivation letter, following the provided template at the bottom of this page
- An academic CV, following the provided template at the bottom of this page
- Original master’s degree (or university diploma) in English, or in the original language with (non-certified) English translation
Optionally:
- up to 3 recommendation letters from senior researchers familiar with the applicant’s academic work.
- other material considered relevant by the candidate.
Where to apply
All documents should be submitted by email in PDF format to kadrovska@fri.uni-lj.si with antoine.doucet@fri.uni-lj.si and marko.robnik@fri.uni-lj.si in CC, strictly with the subject line “AI4DH researcher application Name Surname”.
We would greatly appreciate it if you could share this call with anyone who might be interested!