Dr. Laurence Brandenberger in the Department of Political Science at the University of Zurich (http://www.ipz.uzh.ch) invites applications for a Student Assistant / Hilfsassistent:in (20%) starting February 1, 2025 (or upon request). The position is part of the SNF-project “Measuring Political Performance”, where we aim to assess the workings of Swiss members of parliament. The project is conducted in collaboration with Dr. Luis Salamanca from the Swiss Data Science Center at ETH Zürich.
This position is part of an SNF-funded research project focused on developing new methods and metrics to assess political performance in the Swiss Parliament. The goal is to create reliable, unbiased measures that evaluate whether politicians fulfill their election promises, how they engage in parliamentary work, and how they represent their constituents. The project utilizes the DemocraSciknowledge graph, a Neo4j graph database that spans over 130 years of parliamentary activity, meticulously curated by our team.
Your responsibilities
The hired student will assist with the project by creating intermediary databases, developing new methods for cleaning and linking data, and supporting various coding tasks. Additionally, the student will help develop novel computational methods for assessing political performance, contribute to software package development, and assist in creating scientific visualizations. Strong programming skills in Python and experience with databases are a must.
Your profile
The position is ideal for more senior BA or MA students with a computer science (or comparable) background.
Applicants for this position should meet the following requirements:
- Student at University Zurich or ETH Zurich (computer science, data science, engineering, economics and social sciences, mathematics or natural sciences)
- Good coding skills in Python
- NLP skills
- Experience with scientific visualizations is a plus
- Good command of German is a plus but not a must
What we offer
- Working in an interesting, cutting-edge project together with an interdisciplinary team of researchers
- Gaining experience working in an academic research project Universität Zürich
- A workspace at the Department of Political Science and a workspace at the Swiss Data Science Center of ETH Zürich (both in Oerlikon).
Place of work
Zurich – Oerlikon
Start of employment
The starting date for the position is February 1, 2025, or by agreement.
Application deadline is January 14, 2025. We begin reviewing applications after January 14 and continue until the position is filled.
How to apply
If you are interested in applying for this position, please submit your application via the institute’s job portal. Please include:
- A short motivation letter detailing your coding experience
- CV
- A coding example you are proud of (including code snippets, outputs, visualizations)
Please apply here:
https://www.ipz.uzh.ch/de/ueber-uns/offene-stellen/2025-RA-Brandenberger_Database.html
Contact: Laurence Brandenberger, laurence.brandenberger@ipz.uzh.ch