The largest educational institution of the six Central Swiss cantons, the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts offers state-of-the-art jobs and programmes. We share knowledge in Switzerland and abroad, we are forward-looking, creative, and committed to interdisciplinarity. Help us to shape and become a part of our shared, sustainable future.
The Lucerne School of Business is Central Switzerland's competence centre in the socially and economically relevant fields of business, regional economy, banking and finance, marketing and communication, as well as tourism and mobility.
Are you passionate about using advanced technology to transform healthcare? We are seeking a motivated PhD candidate in the field of Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) for Health Decision-Making. The successful candidate will conduct cutting-edge research at the intersection of AI, healthcare, and human-centered computing, focusing on developing transparent, interpretable, and trustworthy AI models to assist medical professionals in decision-making. The host institution is the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSLU) in collaboration with the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC), Spain, under the supervision of Prof. Dr. José María Alonso (USC) and PD Dr. Luis Terán (HSLU) within the Doctoral Program of Information Technology Research at the USC.
The Institute for Communication and Marketing IKM teaches, researches, and develops integrated communication and marketing management. Our growing team is looking to fill the following position for the SNSF-funded project “Optimizing Rehabilitation Services Explainable Recommender Systems (SmartRehab)”:
Ph.D. student on Explainable Artificial Intelligence for Health Decision-Making 80%
Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts – Business
80%
Tasks and job requirements
- Conduct literature reviews on recommender systems, SCI rehabilitation, and explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) for medical decision-making.
- Develop novel algorithms for explainable recommendations tailored to rehabilitation needs.
- Designing explainable conversation flows and dialog scripts to ensure effective and user-friendly communication between the intelligent recommender systems and users.
- Collaborate with inter- and trans-disciplinary teams (i.e., physicians, psychologists, patients) to implement an XAI interactive and multimodal interface.
- Conduct user testing and evaluation to validate the effectiveness of the explainable interface and make continuous improvements.
- Publish high-quality research in peer-reviewed journals and conferences.
- The Ph.D. student will be responsible for conducting independent research in XAI.
Your profile
- A master's degree in computer science and experience in related fields.
- Experience in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and recommender systems (RSs); familiarity with XAI and/or Natural Language Processing is a plus.
- Strong programming skills and familiarity with modern AI, XAI frameworks (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch, Keras, XAITK, OpenXAI, SHAP, LIME), and NLP tools (e.g., language models). Knowledge of XAI frameworks is a plus.
- Ability to collaborate effectively with interdisciplinary teams, including health professionals.
- Creative and able to communicate complex information.
- Fluent in English. German fluency is a significant advantage.
- Passion for innovative technologies in XAI and Smart Health.
Our offer to you
- Access to state-of-the-art facilities and a supportive research environment.
- Opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration and professional development.
- A chance to make a tangible impact on the lives of individuals with SCI.
- Participation in conferences, workshops, and seminars.
- Possibilities for research visits abroad.
- You can look forward to opportunities for personal development in research, consultancy, and teaching, as well as flexible working hours and location.
- Your place of work is in Lucerne, close to the railway station and the lake.
- Employment rate: 80% (Doctoral Position)
- Duration: 4 years (in line with PhD requirements)
- Salary: Based on SNF doctoral funding rates, approx. CH 50'790/year.
- The starting date is 01.10.2025 (or as arranged by mutual agreement).
How to apply
Applicants should submit the following documents:
- A cover letter explaining your motivation and fit for the position.
- A detailed CV including relevant courses, publications, and programming experience (e.g., GitHub repository).
- Copies of B.Sc. and/or M.Sc. transcripts
- Support letters or contact information for at least two academic or professional referees.
- In addition, you can add any other documents that you find relevant for the applications, such as master's thesis, publications, or project reports.
Inquiries
PD Dr. Luis Terán
luis.teran@hslu.ch
José Mancera
jose.mancera@hslu.ch