Applications are invited for a PhD studentship (home or overseas) at Aston University in developing privacy-preserving human attention tracking systems for human-robot collaboration (HRC). You will join the Department of Applied AI and Robotics as a PhD student and conduct cutting-edge interdisciplinary research.

The position is available to home and overseas (international) students.

ELIGIBILITY:

Candidates should have been awarded, or expect to achieve, EITHER:

A Bachelors degree in a relevant subject with an award of First Class or 2.1. 

OR 

A Bachelors degree in a relevant subject with an award of First Class or 2.1, and a Masters degree in a relevant subject with an award of Merit or higher.

Qualifications from other countries which are considered by Aston University to be equivalent to that described above will be eligible to apply.

Applicants are expected to have a degree in a relevant scientific or technical discipline, such as computer science, physics, mathematics, and engineering. Applicants are expected to be fluent in spoken and written English, Python, and a Machine Learning framework. Experience of sensor data processing or robots are desirable. The successful candidate will join the Aston Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research and Application (ACAIRA) and Smart and Sustainable Manufacturing Research Centre (SMRC) with opportunities for interdisciplinary and international collaboration.

We can only consider applications that are complete and have all supporting documents. Applications that do not provide all the relevant documents will be automatically rejected. Your application must include:

English language copies of the transcripts and certificates for all your higher education degrees, including any Bachelor degrees.

A Research Statement detailing your understanding of the research area, how you would approach the project, and a brief review of relevant literature. Be sure to use the title of the research project you are applying for. There is no set format or word count.

A personal statement that outlines any further information that you think is relevant to your application, such as your personal suitability for research, career aspirations, possible future research interests, and further description of relevant employment experience. 

A Curriculum Vitae (Resume) which details your education and work history.

Two academic referees who can discuss your suitability for independent research. References must be on headed paper, signed and dated no more than 2 years old. At least one reference should be from your most recent University. You can submit your references at a later date if necessary.

Evidence that you meet the English Language requirements. If you do not currently meet the language requirements, you can submit this at a later stage.

A copy of your passport. Where relevant, include evidence of settled or pre-settled status.

Alternatively, apply here.

If you require further information about the application process, please contact the Postgraduate Admissions team at pgr_admissions@aston.ac.uk

BENEFIT:

This position is self-funded. A partial fee waiver may be available for exceptional applicants.