PhD Study : PhD opportunity in Artificial Intelligence

Summary

There is an opportunity for PhD research within the theme of Artificial Intelligence (AI) at the School of Computing, Ulster University, Jordanstown Campus.  The list below is a selection of key areas of AI where the School of Computing has substantial expertise in.  Specific projects in these areas will be defined based on the interest of the student and the supervisor.  Prospective students should feel free to contact         Professor Hui Wang (h.wang@ulster.ac.uk) to discuss their own interests.

Internet of Things: tools to facilitate the collection, processing, inference, visualisation, sharing and security of data from IoT devices.

Computer vision and image processing: face recognition, video retrieval, imaging spectrometry, medical image analysis.

Natural language processing and text mining: text classification, text summarisation, question answering, information retrieval.

Knowledge engineering: logic and combinatorics, explainable decision making, theorem proving, and ontology.

Machine learning and deep learning: mathematical modelling and Bayesian optimisation; supervised/unsupervised/reinforcement learning; biomedical informatics, and geoinformatics.

Essential criteria

Applicants should hold, or expect to obtain, a First or Upper Second Class Honours Degree in a subject relevant to the proposed area of study.

We may also consider applications from those who hold equivalent qualifications, for example, a Lower Second Class Honours Degree plus a Master’s Degree with Distinction.

In exceptional circumstances, the University may consider a portfolio of evidence from applicants who have appropriate professional experience which is equivalent to the learning outcomes of an Honours degree in lieu of academic qualifications.

Desirable Criteria

If the University receives a large number of applicants for the project, the following desirable criteria may be applied to shortlist applicants for interview.

• First Class Honours (1st) Degree
• Masters at 70%
• Sound understanding of subject area as evidenced by a comprehensive research proposal

Funding and eligibility

The University offers the following levels of support:

Department for the Economy (DFE)

The scholarship will cover tuition fees at the Home rate and a maintenance allowance of £19,000 (tbc) per annum for three years (subject to satisfactory academic performance).

This scholarship also comes with £900 per annum for three years as a research training support grant (RTSG) allocation to help support the PhD researcher.

• Candidates with pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, who also satisfy a three year residency requirement in the UK prior to the start of the course for which a Studentship is held MAY receive a Studentship covering fees and maintenance.
• Republic of Ireland (ROI) nationals who satisfy three years’ residency in the UK prior to the start of the course MAY receive a Studentship covering fees and maintenance (ROI nationals don’t need to have pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme to qualify).
• Other non-ROI EU applicants are ‘International’ are not eligible for this source of funding.
• Applicants who already hold a doctoral degree or who have been registered on a programme of research leading to the award of a doctoral degree on a full-time basis for more than one year (or part-time equivalent) are NOT eligible to apply for an award.

Due consideration should be given to financing your studies. Further information on cost of living

Number of awards: One