Doctoral student in Electrical Engineering focusing on wireless communication for XR 

Description of the workplace

The Department of Electrical and Information Technology (EIT) conducts high-quality research in a variety of areas in electrical engineering, ranging from pure theoretical research to applied projects in close collaboration with industry. The department consists of about 100 active researchers, divided into four main divisions: Communications Engineering, Electromagnetics and Nanoelectronics, Integrated Electronic Systems and Secure and Networked Systems. 

The position is associated to the Division of Communications Engineering. The research carried out at this division focuses on next generation wireless systems, from theory to practice. You will be participating in the Chalmers-Lund Semiconductor System Design Center (classIC), financed by the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (SSF).
More about classIC (in Swedish)
More about SSF (strategiska.se)

Subject description

Wireless systems are becoming an increasingly important part of our everyday life. More advanced functions and services are introduced at the same time as demands for higher efficiency and sustainable technologies are growing. ClassIC is addressing this challenge, where extended reality (XR) is used as the driver for developing an entire ecosystem of design methodologies and practices for future semiconductor systems. An important part of this is the design of energy and hardware efficient wireless communication, used to deliver reliable connectivity to XR devices. The type of wireless communication chosen for this is distributed MIMO, based on its capability to deliver both reliable and spectral efficient wireless connectivity.

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 (no more than 20%).

You will focus on high-level design methodology for wireless communication systems used in XR-systems, with distributed MIMO as the target system architecture. Focus will be on the trade-off between communication performance and flexibility, in terms of throughput, latency and reliability, while observing the trade-offs to be made between communication performance/flexibility and estimated hardware complexity/power consumption. Based on established models and theories for distributed MIMO systems, you will investigate how such systems should be designed to meet the requirements for XR applications, with lowest possible hardware complexity/power consumption.

The expected outcome is a high-level methodology for designing energy/hardware-efficient distributed MIMO systems for demanding applications, applicable beyond the XR application in focus, where high-level models of semiconductor sub-systems is used to optimize an entire system.

From a theoretical point of view, high-level system design relies heavily on analytical skills, including mathematics, optimization and probability theory, combined with a solid understanding of how performance and different types of costs are traded against each other.

The research will be performed in close collaboration with other doctoral students and senior researchers within classIC and the department. The required hardware models will be provided/developed by doctoral students and senior researchers focusing on the design of semiconductor sub-systems. As a doctoral student in classIC, you are also expected to attend courses for doctoral students and project meetings arranged by the centre.

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.

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:

• Good knowledge of wireless communication systems, especially in the context of multi-antenna systems.
• Fundamental knowledge of signal processing techniques for communication.
• Good programming skills in MATLAB and/or Python.
• Understanding high-level system design and its relation to practical implementation.
• Understanding analogue and digital circuit design.
• Fluency in mathematics, especially within linear algebra and optimization.
• Experience from using machine learning and related tools.

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 December 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!