Thomas François

Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain), Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, is recruiting one postdoctoral researcher and three PhD fellows for the interdisciplinary project How Generative AI is shaping human language: insights from post-AI language use, learning and critical literacy . The openings cover a range of research themes: Natural Language Processing / LLMs (SP1), Generative AI and Academic Editing (SP2), Second Language Acquisition and Conversational AI (SP3), and Critical Media and AI Literacy Education (SP4). The project examines how generative AI reshapes language use, language learning, and literacy, with a strong focus on French in several sub-projects. Supervisors and PIs mentioned include Thomas François, Marie-Aude Lefer, Magali Paquot, Jerry Jacques, and Serge Bibauw. SP1 is a 36-month postdoctoral fellowship at CENTAL focused on building corpora and methodological tools to detect GenAI linguistic fingerprints in French. SP2 is a PhD fellowship on how academic writers engage with AI-generated edits in scholarly publications. SP3 is a PhD fellowship studying vocabulary and pragmatic competence in L2 French learners using GenAI chatbots. SP4 is a PhD fellowship developing classroom activities on GenAI linguistic features for secondary-school students. Funding is provided by the F.R.S.-FNRS under the ARC programme. The PhD fellowships (SP2/SP3/SP4) are full-time, 2 years renewable up to 4 years, with an approximate net salary of €2,515/month. The postdoctoral fellowship (SP1) is full-time, 1 year renewable up to 3 years, with an approximate net salary of €3,136–3,350/month. Residence in Belgium is required for all positions, and SP1 also requires international mobility eligibility. Application deadlines are 1 July 2026 for SP1 and 7 August 2026 for SP2, SP3, and SP4. The start date for all positions is October 2026. SP1, SP3, and SP4 require a high command of French, since French is the target language studied.