Stellenticket Freie Universität Berlin

Department “Artifacts, Action, Knowledge” studies the history of knowledge and action considering the changing role of artifacts: texts, objects, and spaces. Our research collectively examines the processes and structures by which people grappled with the materiality of existence. Through the analysis of everyday actions, we interrogate the boundaries and intersections between the inner workings of objects and all domains of life. For more detailed information, please visit the department website.

Your responsibilities:

• Assist the “Common Knowledge and Its Sources in the Sinosphere, 14th to 20th Centuries” Working Group (please read further on working group page) to train machine learning models to identify and analyze content components from primary sources of historical China and Japan
• Collect, annotate, and prepare datasets for training
• Survey related machine learning technologies and tools to support the training and fine-tuning of object detection and text generation models for images (e.g., YOLO, CLIP)
• Conduct model evaluation and assist in improving performance
• Develop necessary programming codes to connect the above-mentioned technologies and create simple user interfaces

• Currently enrolled in a Bachelor’s program (in at least your second semester) or a Master’s program (first or second semester) at a university in Berlin or Brandenburg
• Possess an academic background in computer science, data science, digital humanities, or related disciplines
• Basic knowledge in deep learning concepts (CNNs, transformers) and machine learning models, pipelines, and tools and related programming languages
• Coding and software development experience, such as Python or Javascript
• Good language skills in English
• Command of modern Chinese and interest in learning traditional Chinese.
• (Optional) Reading and typing comprehension for Japanese.
• The ability to work both independently and in a team, good communication skills
• An interest in working in an international research environment

• remuneration at the student employee rates of the MPG support for junior scientists and scholars: currently €15.18 per hour for Bachelor’s students and €15.84 for Master’s students who can demonstrate completion of their Bachelor’s degree
• working hours to align with your studies
• work in an international setting with staff and guests from more than forty countries
• close contact with all research and research-support units and the opportunity for direct, personal dialogue
• promotion of your professional interests and research interests
• use of the on-site reference library
• access to the wide range of training courses offered by the MPG’s Planck Academy
• occupational health management: weekly in-house yoga classes; regular information on courses offered by our partner health insurance companies
• a student representative for equal opportunities.

Please submit your application with complete documents, preferably without a photograph, through our application portal. Include cover letter, curriculum vitae (including links to your portfolio), copies of qualifications (in a single PDF file) and employment references (in a single PDF file).

https://recruitment.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/position/29032455

Applications must be received by May 31th, 2025 (23:59 CET) // We will continue to accept applications until we have found the right candidate.

Please note that we can only accept electronic applications submitted through the portal.

For any questions about the position or the application process, please contact the department’s research officer, Dr. Rand El Zein [schaeferoffice@mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de].

Further information on the MPIWG can be found at https://www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/.