WU is currently inviting applications for the position of a full professor[1] of Machine Learning Foundations at the Department of Finance, Accounting and Statistics. Candidates are expected to have established an international reputation as a researcher in their field. Depending on the candidate’s academic credentials, the employment contract can be concluded either as a permanent employment contract or as a fixed-term employment contract with the option of a permanent extension.[2]
WU Vienna University of Economics and Business combines excellence with responsibility.
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International cooperation is very important to WU, and we encourage and support both faculty and student mobility. WU is also very aware of its role as a responsible university, ensures barrier-free accessibility, provides a family-friendly workplace, and is committed to the principles of equitable opportunities and sustainability.
The new professor of Machine Learning Foundations will join the Institute for Statistics and Mathematics at WU’s Department of Finance, Accounting and Statistics. Members of the Institute are affiliated with the PhD Label ‘Mathematics in Economics and Business’, a high-level PhD program. Further, the Institute is responsible for the education in mathematics and statistics in WU’s undergraduate programs, to which it also contributes courses in data science and econometrics. The Institute is running the reputed MSc program ‘Quantitative Finance’ in close cooperation with the Institute of Finance Banking and Insurance, and collaborates with the newly established Department of Business Analytics and Decision Sciences.
Qualifications
The successful candidate is expected to have established an international reputation as a researcher in the relevant field and to have excellent qualifications. Candidates’ qualifications will be assessed in the context of their academic age on the basis of the following characteristics:
a) A solid academic qualification (e.g. PhD and habilitation or equivalent) in Statistics, Machine Learning, Applied Mathematics or a related area
b) An outstanding international reputation for high-quality scholarship in statistical Machine Learning commensurate with academic age, especially by having demonstrated the ability to publish in top-tier journals in the field, potentially supplemented by contributions to leading conferences
c) Excellent teaching qualifications at undergraduate and graduate levels as well as documented experience in supervising PhD students
d) Proven international experience
e) A strong record in attracting research funding
g) Gender and diversity management skills
Expectations
The successful candidate is expected to perform teaching activities at all levels (bachelor’s, master’s, PhD/doctorate, and executive education), both in the classroom and in distance-learning formats. The holder of this position is expected to teach 8 weekly credit hours and is willing to actively contribute to the development of an envisioned study focus in business analytics in WU’s bachelor program, in which some of the teaching will take place.
Although the position is devoted to research in the methodological foundations of Machine Learning, an interest in applications that align well with existing research at the Department of Finance, Accounting and Statistics or other departments at WU are a plus.
Furthermore, the ability to connect the Department of Finance, Accounting and Statistics to a new Department “Business Analytics and Decisions Sciences” at WU is expected. Experience with the R environment for statistical computing and graphics and active contributions to its advancement are appreciated but not required.
We also expect the new professor to take an active role in the university’s self-governance and third mission activities.