Ph.D. student in information theory for Markov decision processes

KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm has grown to become one of Europe’s leading technical and engineering universities, as well as a key centre of intellectual talent and innovation. We are Sweden’s largest technical research and learning institution and home to students, researchers and faculty from around the world. Our research and education covers a wide area including natural sciences and all branches of engineering, as well as architecture, industrial management, urban planning, history and philosophy.

Project description

The position is announced in the framework of the Wallenberg-WASP initiative
(https://wasp-sweden.org/). The PhD student will be affiliated with the WASP graduate school.

The general focus is toward theory and foundational understanding of sequential decision making and machine learning based on feedback, including reinforcement learning. The applicant should have an interest and talent for theoretical research with a background in electrical engineering, engineering physics or applied mathematics.

Third-cycle subject: Electrical engineering

Supervision: The position is tied to Mikael Skoglund’s research group with the Division for Information Science and Engineering.

What we offer

• The possibility to study in a dynamic and international research environment in collaboration with industries and prominent universities from all over the world.Read more
• A workplace with many employee benefits and monthly salary according to KTH’s Doctoral student salary agreement.
• A postgraduate education at an institution that is active and supportive in matters pertaining to working conditions, gender equality and diversity as well as study environment.
• Help to relocate and be settled in Sweden and at KTH.
• Visit international conferences and research groups.

Admission requirements

To be admitted to postgraduate education (Chapter 7, 39 § Swedish Higher Education Ordinance), the applicant must have basic eligibility in accordance with either of the following:

• passed a second cycle degree (for example a master's degree), or
• completed course requirements of at least 240 higher education credits, of which at least 60 second-cycle higher education credits, or
• acquired, in some other way within or outside the country, substantially equivalent knowledge

Admission to third-cycle studies in Electrical Engineering requires the applicant to have completed courses equivalent to at least 120 higher education credits from second-cycle studies or higher in the subject Electrical Engineering or other subjects deemed directly relevant to the specialization in question. These requirements will also be considered fulfilled by applicants who have acquired the equivalent knowledge through other means. Normally, a master’s degree in the relevant research domain fulfills these requirements.

In addition to the above, there is also a mandatory requirement for English equivalent to English B/6, read more here

Selection

In order to succeed as a doctoral student at KTH you need to be goal oriented and persevering in your work. During the selection process, candidates will be assessed upon their ability to:

• independently pursue his or her work,
• collaborate with others,
• have a professional approach and
• analyse and work with complex issues.

The successful candidate needs to have a strong academic track record with proven
abilities in applied mathematics, statistics, signal processing, information theory, and related areas.

After the qualification requirements, great emphasis will be placed on personal competency. 

Target degree: Doctoral degree

Information regarding admission and employment

Only those admitted to postgraduate education may be employed as a doctoral student. The total length of employment may not be longer than what corresponds to full-time doctoral education in four years ' time. An employed doctoral student can, to a limited extent (maximum 20%), perform certain tasks within their role, e.g. training and administration. A new position as a doctoral student is for a maximum of one year, and then the employment may be renewed for a maximum of two years at a time.

Union representatives

Contact informationKTH's website.

Doctoral section (Students’ union on KTH Royal Institute of Technology)

Contact information section's website.

Application

Apply for the position and admission through KTH's recruitment system. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that the application is complete in accordance with the instructions in the advertisement.

Applications must be received at the last closing date at midnight, CET/CEST (Central European Time/Central European Summer Time).

Applications must include:

• CV including your relevant professional experience and knowledge.
• Application letter with a brief description of why you want to pursue research studies, about what your academic interests are and how they relate to your previous studies and future goals. (Maximum 2 pages long)
• Copies of diplomas and grades from previous university studies and certificates of fulfilled language requirements (see above). Translations into English or Swedish if the original document is not issued in one of these languages.Copies of originals must be certified.
• Representative publications or technical reports. For longer documents, please provide a summary (abstract) and a web link to the full text.

Other information

Striving towards gender equality, diversity and equal conditions is both a question of quality for KTH and a given part of our values.

For information about processing of personal data in the recruitment process please read here.

We firmly decline all contact with staffing, recruitment agencies and job ad salespersons.

Disclaimer: In case of discrepancy between the Swedish original and the English translation of the job announcement, the Swedish version takes precedence.

Type of employment Temporary position longer than 6 months
Contract type Full time
First day of employment According to agreement
Salary Monthly salary according to KTH's doctoral student salary agreement
Number of positions 1
Working hours 100%
City Stockholm
County Stockholms län
Country Sweden
Reference number J-2022-1427
Contact
Mikael Skoglund Professor, skoglund@kth.se
Lisa Olsson HR Officer, rekrytering@eecs.kth.se
Published 09.Jun.2022
Last application date 12.Aug.2022 11:59 PM CEST
Login and apply