Doctoral student in Electrical Engineering with focus on information handling in industrial Internet of Things - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Subject description
Emerging cyber-physical and autonomous intelligent networked systems have stringent demands on timeliness and reliability of information delivery, especially in the context of shifting towards industry 4.0 and increasing connectivity in industrial systems. The proliferation of networked sensors and actuators produces an enormous amount of distributed data, which results in the delivery of data that might be stale, irrelevant or useless to the end user or application, contradicting the critical real-time requirements of these systems. This will cause bottlenecks in communications, increased response times that can result in expensive damage or shutdowns of machinery, and risks to the safety of human operators.

Work duties
The PhD student will work in the project “Information Handling in Industrial IoT” funded by the ELLIIT strategic research environment. The project aims at a joint consideration of information generation, processing, transmission, and reconstruction in beyond 5G (B5G) massive and mission critical Internet of Things (IoT) networks by taking into account the information value. So far, in 5G networks, these processes are treated separately, and the importance and usefulness of the generated and transmitted information is ignored. This project will develop theoretical and algorithmic foundations of goal-oriented, data importance-aware communication to depart from the separated and conventional content-agnostic paradigm which will help to reveal the potential of future hyperconnected intelligent systems. The successful candidate will further transform the solutions designed into functioning protocols, and they will be implemented in a real-world testbed with all the components needed to mimic a smart factory scenario. The project will be conducted in collaboration with Linköping University and the successful candidate is expected to undertake some visits there.

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 will also include teaching and other departmental duties (no more than 20%).

Admission requirements
A person meets the general admission requirements for third-cycle courses and study programmes if the applicant:

• 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 third cycle studies in Electrical Engineering if the applicant has:

• at least 60 second-cycle credits in subjects of relevance to electrical engineering, or
• a MSc in Engineering in biomedical engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, engineering mathematics, nanoengineering, engineering physics or information and communication engineering.

Additional requirements:

• Very good oral and written proficiency in English
• Very good programming skills
• Good knowledge of mathematics
• Good skills in academic writing

The following competencies are meritorious:

• Documented experience of programming in real-time systems
• Documented experience of working with industrial systems
• Good knowledge of big data and/or machine learning methods
• Good knowledge of computer networking and telecommunications

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 thesis project and the subject of study.
2. An assessment of 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.

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 project corresponds to your interests and educational background. 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.).