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PhD Scholarship
Concurrent Speech Interface for Visually Impaired People
Normandy University / CNRS GREYC UMR 6072 Laboratory / FRANCE
Application deadline: 15.03.2017 (11:59 pm GMT)
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The Human Language Technology Team (HULTECH) of the CNRS GREYC Laboratory at the
Normandy University (France) seeks to hire an excellent PhD candidate to work on
non-visual access to digital documents based on concurrent speech and
summarization techniques.
Visual browsing on the Internet provides access to both an early and global view
of a web page (skimming) and then allows an active and fast search of specific
information (scanning). In both cases, the typography and the lay out of the
elements in the document are of crucial importance. In non-Visual browsing, such
information is usually lost and as a consequence, skimming and scanning are
difficult actions to be endeavored by blind users. Although palliative systems
such as speeding up speech synthesis, skipping titles or hypertext links, or
reading the first or last sentences of all the paragraphs have been proposed,
the difference in effectiveness compared to Visual navigation remains
significant.
Within this thesis, we are interested in the design of non-linear skimming and
scanning strategies adapted to non-Visual navigation in order to improve the
accessibility to information for blind users (fast or diagonal reading). More
details on the proposed solution and the specific areas addressed can be found
at the following url (French Language):
https://www.greyc.fr/sites/default/files/secretariat/theses-2017/Sujet_These_Hultech_FerrariMaurelDias_2017.pdf.
The candidate should hold a Master degree (or equivalent) in Computer Science or
a comparable field. Theoretical and practical experiences in Natural Language
Processing, Human Computer Interaction, Speech Synthesis, Machine Learning
and/or Information Retrieval would be appreciated. The successful candidate
should show ability to work in a collaborative multi-disciplinary environment
and evidence strong programming skills. Oral and written proficiency in French
would be a plus.
The full-time position will start on 1st September 2017 for a 3-years duration.
The student will work at the CNRS GREYC Laboratory at the Normandy University in
the city of Caen (France) for a net salary of 1300 EUR per month. Tuition fees
are covered by the scholarship.
To apply to this position, please send a detailed CV including a statement of
interest and at least two recommendation letters. The applicant must also attach
his/her Bachelor and Master Certificates together with the detailed lists of
marks or grades. The candidate may include a list of any publications,
certificates or other qualifications (if any) considered relevant for assessing
his/her abilities in relation to this call. Emails should have the reference
code PhD-HULTECH-2017 and should be sent to the supervisors Fabrice Maurel
(fabrice.maurel@unicaen.fr), Stéphane Ferrari (stephane.ferrari@unicaen.fr) and
Gaël Dias (gael.dias@unicaen.fr). The application deadline is 15.03.2017 (11:59
pm GMT) and only applications received before the aforementioned deadline will
be considered.
For further information, please contact directly the supervisors.
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Gaël Harry Dias | Full Professor (PhD, HDR)
GREYC - HULTECH - UMR 6072 | [http://dias.users.greyc.fr]
University of Caen Normandie | [gael.dias@unicaen.fr]
Campus Côte de Nacre | [Tel: +33 (0)2 31 56 74 87]
F-14032 Caen Cedex FRANCE | [Fax: +33 (0)2 31 56 73 30]
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