Doctoral student in Computer Science with focus on Robotics - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

We are offering one fully funded PhD position (4 years full-time), starting January 2021 or at the earliest convenience, to a qualified student with interest in Robotics and Autonomous Systems in general, and Human-Robot Interaction and Multi-Agent Systems in particular.

We are looking for students with enthusiasm for working practically, but based on theoretical foundations in AI, with robots, who have good theoretical and mathematical foundations and who want to help lead the way towards the next generation of robots that have the ability to think and learn from humans.

What we offer:

• A custom-tailored curriculum to prepare you for a career in robotics research for universities and companies
• A creative, diversified, and collaborative working environment in one of the world's most innovative and most liveable areas (http://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/about/work-at-lund-university/why-work-at-lund-university)
• Opportunities for participating in international research conferences and for connecting with scientists and practitioners around the world
• Additional funding for equipment and travel
• Competitive compensation
• Opportunity to work in a group with strong connections to the WASP (http://wasp-sweden.org/) and its Graduate School, with potentially entailed benefits like access to top-level courses in the areas of machine learning, AI, and autonomous systems

Project description

The position is with Lund University's Department of Computer Science (http://cs.lth.se/english and http://rss.cs.lth.se), under supervision of Assoc. Prof. / Reader Elin A. Topp within the group for Robotics and Semantic Systems (RSS) and the RobotLab of the Faculty of Engineering. The funding is provided by ELLIIT (ThE Linköping-Lund Initiative on IT and mobile communication, https://old.liu.se/elliit?l=en). According to the preference of the applicant the position may be extended to 5 years and would then include 80% research and 20% teaching or other departmental duties.

The respective PhD project will be part of a collaborative project on distributed situation awareness and mixed-initiative interaction for collaborative robotics with the Dept of Computer Science at Linköping University (group of Prof. Patrick Doherty) in a team of at least two PhD students (one per site) and their supervisors. The project at Lund University will be mainly focusing on mixed-initiative interaction in various settings, and is well connected to other PhD students’ work within RSS and collaborating groups, in particular from the Department of Automatic Control, http://www.control.lth.se (Prof. Anders Robertsson).

Work duties

The main duties of doctoral students are to devote themselves to their research studies which includes participating in research projects and third cycle courses. The work duties may also include up to 20% (of full-time) teaching or other departmental duties, with the position terms being extended respectively to up to five years.

Admission requirements

A person meets the general admission requirements for third-cycle courses and study programmes if he or she:

• has been awarded a second-cycle qualification, or
• has satisfied the requirements for courses comprising at least 240 credits of which at least 60 credits were awarded in the second cycle, or
• has acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad.

A person meets the specific admission requirements for Computer Science if he or she has

• at least 60 second-cycle credits at an advanced level with relevance for the research topic, or
• an MSc in Engineering in Computer Science and Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Information and Communication Technology, Engineering Physics or Engineering Mathematics.

Additional requirements:

• Very good oral and written proficiency in English.
• Strong analytical skills
• Good mathematical skills
• Good coding skills

(In Sweden, 60 credits correspond to one year of full time studies.)

Assessment criteria

Selection for third-cycle studies is based on the student’s potential to profit from such studies. The assessment of potential is made primarily on the basis of academic results from the first and second cycle. Special attention is paid to the following:

1. Knowledge and skills relevant to the subject description above.
2. An assessment of the ability to work independently and to formulate and tackle research problems.
3. Written and oral communication skills
4. Other experience relevant to the third-cycle studies, e.g. professional experience.

Additional merits:

• Knowledge of (preferred) or willingness to learn C++, Python and Linux
• Background in one or more of the following: Software Engineering, Machine Learning, AI, Robotics, Human-Robot Interaction, Human-Computer Interaction, Cognitive Science, or Computer Vision
• Strong interest in working on the above-mentioned topics for four (five) years
• The ability to work both independently and in small teams

Consideration will also be given to good collaborative skills, drive and independence, and how the applicant, through his or her experience and skills, is deemed to have the abilities necessary for successfully completing the third cycle programme.

Terms of employment

Only those admitted to third cycle studies may be appointed to a doctoral studentship. Third cycle studies at LTH consist of full-time studies for 4 years. A doctoral studentship is a fixed-term employment of a maximum of 5 years (including 20% departmental duties). Doctoral studentships are regulated in the Higher Education Ordinance (1993:100), chapter 5, 1-7 §§.

Instructions on how to apply

Applications shall be written in English and include a cover letter stating the reasons why you are interested in the position, and in what way the research area corresponds to your interests and educational background. The cover letter should also describe your experience in coding, mathematics and your experience with robotics, HRI, AI, computer vision, or machine learning. The application must also contain a CV, degree certificate or equivalent, and other documents you wish to be considered (grade transcripts, contact information for your references, letters of recommendation, etc.).

We will start to evaluate applications as soon as they reach us, but all applications submitted by the deadline will be considered.