Call for Summer Interns 2018
in the Constraint Reasoning and Optimization group

HIIT & Department of Computer Science
University of Helsinki

The Constraint Reasoning and Optimization group is looking for full-time interns for summer 2018.

The Possibilities

Are you interested in a hands-on experience in how research is done in practice at a top international level in core computer science and AI?
Are you an MSc student or a BSc student in computer science, mathematics, or in a closely related field?
Are you looking for a research-oriented topic for your MSc thesis?

We are looking for talented students with

  • a CS background, especially in algorithms and/or machine learning;
  • a Math background, especially in logic/complexity/optimization, with interest in algorithms; and/or
  • strong implementation skills (C/C++) who are motivated by challenging programming tasks

to work with us on forefront research problems within the Constraint Reasoning and Optimization Group. Among other students, we offer opportunities for finishing a master's thesis by doing collaborative research in our group. While not mandatory, we are definitely interested in you also in case you are already considering a research career and a PhD in computer science.

The Experience

We will tailor the research topic individually for each summer intern, based on the person's background and experience. Depending on the topic, your tasks may range from purely theoretical analysis to concrete low-level implementation work, as well as their combinations as suitable. You will be guided by the group leader together with a senior researcher in our group.

We always aim at studying scientifically relevant and current research topics. Successful interns may continue as (part-time or full-time) research assistants after the summer, and the internship can also naturally lead to an MSc thesis. A successful internship can even lead to an internationl scientific publication, which has often happened in the past with interns in our group.

The start and end dates can be agreed on on an individual basis. Summer intern salaries as based on the how far you are in your studies (approximately 1900-2200 eur), the salaries are standard across all research groups in the Department of Computer Science.

The Group

We are a young and dynamic research group of close to 10 people, ranging from BSc students to postdocs. The group is led by Associate Professor Matti Järvisalo.

Our research focuses on a range of forefront research topics in AI. Our specialities include development and analysis of state-of-the-art decision, search, and optimization procedures, and their applications in computationally hard problem domains with real-world relevance. We employ and analyze both various exact and approximate declarative approaches (such as propositional logic (SAT) and mathematical programming, stochastic local search) as well as specialized algorithmics. We also do research at the intersection of constraint optimization and machine learning, building novel algorithmic solutions for various central machine learning and data analysis problems, and by employing the power of machine learning for speeding-up the state of the art in exact algorithms.

How to Apply

For more details, you can directly contact Matti by email. Please send your current student record, a short CV, and a short description on what you consider to be good at, what you are interested in, and what motivates you.

You can also apply through the general call for summer interns at the Department of Computer Science, University of Helsinki. More details on this soon!