Two PhD Student Positions in Applied Electronics with Focus on Machine Learning in Cooperative Embedded Systems - Befattningen är under tillsättning eller redan tillsatt, och det är inte längre möjligt att lämna in en ansökan

Umeå University, Faculty of Science and Technology

The Department of Applied Physics and Electronics currently has around 90 employees and conducts research in fields such as computer and electronics engineering, machine learning and embedded systems, as well as, energy technology, medical technology, and robotics.

We offer two Ph.D. student positions in applied electronics with focus on machine learning in cooperative embedded systems with a starting date as soon as possible or according to agreement. The positions opens on March 1st 2021 or as agreed. 

Description of the PhD project
The overall objective is to contribute to the development and implementation of enabling technologies for intelligence at the edge. Our hypothesis has been that, in order to achieve the necessary performance and flexibility, we need heterogeneous manycore solutions with special support for machine learning algorithms.

The specific aims of the project are:

• Flexible, still near optimal, computer architectures designed to efficiently run artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) on embedded systems; e.g. accelerators for specific machine learning computations such as convolution or support for sigmoid calculations etc.
• Improved ML algorithms that can fit into the constraints of embedded systems; e.g. better compressed or sparse models, or more efficient quantization of parameters
• Improved federated and collaborative learning concepts, in order to better balance computation and communication profiles of IoT devices.

Competence requirements
Prerequisites to be admitted to the postgraduate education include 240 ECTS credits of higher education studies, of which 60 ECTS credits should be on an advanced (master) level.

To meet the requirement of special eligibility for admission to the graduate program in electrical engineering, the applicant must have completed course requirements of at least 120 ECTS in the field of computer or electrical engineering, or other subjects directly relevant to postgraduate studies; or other subjects that are relevant to this postgraduate education; alternatively have a master's degree in computer science, electronics, electrical engineering, information and communication technology, biomedical engineering, or physics. Applicants who in some other system either within Sweden or abroad have acquired largely equivalent skills are also eligible. The requirements must be fulfilled at the time of admission to postgraduate education and need not be met at the time of application.

The applicant should be highly motivated, goal-oriented, and have the ability to work with mainly experimental tasks both independently, as well as in collaboration with a research team. The successful applicant must have a strong interest in the development of directly useful knowledge within the subject of the project. Very good knowledge of the English language, both in speech and in writing, is required.

Other desirable qualifications
It is considered beneficial if the applicant’s degree, or by complementary education, has a specialization that includes and preferably combines AI or Machine learning, as well as Parallel Computer Architectures or High-Performance Embedded Systems. It is also disable that the applicant has very good programming skills. Good communication skills in Swedish are also qualifying.

Terms of employment
The employment is expected to result in a doctoral degree and the main assignment for the doctoral student is thus to be active in research, study doctoral courses, and possibly participate in teaching courses at the undergraduate level. Financing time is limited to four years full time (48 months). Teaching and other departmental work (up to a maximum of 20%) may be included. The employment is limited to four years at full time or up to five years if teaching and other departmental work is performed. The salary is fixed according to the established salary level for doctoral students at Umeå University.

Application
Your application should include the following:

1. A cover letter with a brief description of your qualifications, research interests and motivation for applying, and your contact details (max. 2 pages)
2. Curriculum vitae (CV).
3. Certified copies of relevant degree diploma(s) and certificates.
4. A list of university courses with grades. Note that for international applicants the grading system should be explained in brief.
5. A copy of master thesis and publications (if any).
6. Contact information of two reference persons.

The application, including attached documents, must be written in English or Swedish. The application is made through our electronic recruitment system and should be submitted in the pdf format. The closing date for applications is January 17th 2021.

Information
For more information, contact Professor Tomas Nordström, Tel. +46 90 7866569, tomas.nordstrom@umu.se, or Head of Dept. Per Hallberg, Tel. +46 90 7868062 per.hallberg@umu.se.

We are looking forward to your application!