Doctoral student in Electrical Engineering focusing on distributed MIMO

Description of the workplace

The position is within the Division of Communications Engineering at the Department of Electrical and Information Technology at The Faculty of Engineering, LTH, in Lund. The division has 8 senior researchers, around 20 doctoral students and a deep collaboration with industry. The division works within wireless communication in a wider sense and the activities span from communication theory to implementation of antenna structures. 

Subject description

You will work on 6G and especially distributed MIMO and a multilink system for joint communication, mono- and bi-static channel characterisation. The system enables real-time low-level link characterisation between user equipment and distributed antenna elements of the infrastructure. The results will be used for providing radar-type services with sub-meter accuracy and for enhanced dynamic resource assignments in the wireless network itself. The subject area includes cellular communication systems for 5G and 6G, channel modeling, channel characterization, combined communication and sensing with associated signal processing.

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 will also include teaching and other departmental duties of up to 20% time.

We will explore different system configurations to obtain reliable and efficient communication and sensing. The focus will be on the characteristics of the radio channel and its impact on efficiency and reliability, especially with respect to the lower frequency bands below 7 GHz. The distributed antenna systems require new forms of characterization methods, hence, the development of measurement systems and evaluation methods for characterization of distributed radio channels are also included in the tasks. Measurements will be carried out in both indoor and urban environments. Based on the measurements, channel models relevant for communication and sensing in distributed massive MIMO systems will be developed and performance evaluations for different system configurations will be carried out.

This particular doctoral student position is part of the European industrial doctoral network MiFuture (mifuture.tsc.uc3m.es).
This means that 18 months of the time will be spent with other partners, in Gothenburg and Spain, and that there will be joint meetings and training schools within the network.

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.
• For this position the candidate must have been in Sweden maximum 12 months during the latest 36 month period.

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. 

Other assessment criteria:

• Experience with mathematical modelling and analysis of wireless communication systems. This also includes experience of the software tools used, such as MATLAB.
• Practical experience from RF measurements. 
• Knowledge in electromagnetic wave propagation.
• Experience from radio channel characterization and modelling. This may also include experience of software tools such as LabVIEW and/or GNU Radio.
• Practical experience from statistical signal processing or machine learning.

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

We offer

Lund University is a public authority which means that employees get particular benefits, generous annual leave and an advantageous occupational pension scheme. 
Read more on the University website about being a Lund University employee Work at Lund University. 

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 §§. The start date is as soon as possible according to agreement but no later than November 1, 2024, or as soon as possible thereafter.

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.).

Welcome to apply!