1 - Company profile
For almost 50 years, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel has stood for freedom, equality and connectedness. These values are strongly present on our campuses, in our students as well as our staff. At the VUB, you’ll find a diverse collection of personalities: pure innovators, but especially people who are 100% their authentic selves. With about 3,500 employees, we are the largest Flemish-speaking employer in Brussels, an international city with which we are all too happy to be affiliated and around which our four campuses are located.
Our education and research are grounded in the principles of free research with an eye on human progress. We disapprove of every purely authoritative argument and guarantee the free formation of judgement that is necessary for this basic principle to be incorporated in the community.
The VUB is autonomous and managed democratically. As such, we guarantee fundamental freedoms within our university, as well as the right of the university community to be involved in making and checking university policy.
The mission of the university includes:
- the development, the transfer and the application of high-standing academic education and scientific research, free from any prejudice;
- community integration of this in a spirit of social compassion;
- critical development of everyone in light of the responsibilities borne in the community.
2 - Job Description
| Staff category | Scientific and Pedagogic Personnel |
| Specific designation | Scientific researcher |
| Scope of mandate | 1 FTE |
| Faculty | Faculteit Letteren en Wijsbegeerte |
| Department | History, Archeology, Arts, Philosophy and Ethics |
Vacancy
The research group DIGI (Brussels Platform for Digital Humanities) is looking for a full-time scientific collaborator & programmer to support its digital research projects.
We are looking for a m/f/x to analyse large-scale textual data from the humanities within the subject areas of history, linguistics and literature, with the help of R or Python.
As scientific collaborator / programmer in DIGI you are familiar with the broad field of Digital Humanities.
You are responsible for the digital support and development of existing as well as new research projects, primarily in the fields of history (digital history), linguistics (corpus linguistics), and literature (digital stylometry).
As a scientific collaborator / programmer you are responsible for the preparation, analysis and reporting on large-scale qualitative and quantitative data within these disciplines.
Experience in digital text analysis and statistics is required.
Moreover, you are familiar with the appropriate software for data analysis within the humanities, or you are able to acquire this familiarity and implement new software where necessary.
3 - Job profile
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Bachelor's or Master's degree in a relevant discipline from humanities, social sciences or computer sciences. Or demonstrably similar level.
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We are looking for someone
- who has affinity with research in the (digital) humanities or social sciences and the relevant tools and services used in these disciplines;
- who is proficient in one or more of the programming languages frequently used in the humanities (preferably R or Python) and who has experience in working with databases and interchange formats (XML or JSON)
- who is willing to learn new skills and who works flexibly and independently
- who can work in team and communicate openly
- who is able to express him or herself fluently in English or Dutch language.
4 - Offer
As an employee of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, you’ll work, every day, in a dynamic, diverse and multilingual environment. Our campuses are located in the middle of a green oasis at the edge of the capital city of Flanders, Belgium and Europe. That city centre, with all its opportunities and possibilities, is easily accessed by public transport in less than half an hour.
Depending on your experience and your academic merits, you’ll receive a salary in one of the grades that have been set by the government. Standard inclusions include hospitalisation insurance and the free use of public transport for your home–work commute. And if you prefer to bike to work? There’s compensation for that too. On both[VB1] campuses, there are extensive sport facilities available to you and childcare facilities within walking distance.
For more information on what it’s like to work at the VUB, go to www.vub.ac.be/en/jobs.
5 - Additional information
| Expected starting date | 01/03/2020 |
| Duration of contract | 10 months (renewable - if further funding can be secured) |
| Waiting period | Applications to be submitted no later than 19/01/2020 |
| Contact person | Wouter Ryckbosch |
| Contact via telephone | 02 6292571 |
| Contact via e-mail | wouter.ryckbosch@vub.be |
6 - Application
Applications can only be made ONLINE
Your application must include the following as a minimum:
- A concise CV;
- The academic dossier with all relevant elements;
- A brief statement of reasons for the candidature, including an explanation of the expansion of future research;
- Degrees and diplomas.