PhD in Scalable and Robust Reinforcement Learning

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.

The Decision and Control Systems (DCS) consists of around 70 faculty members, postdocs, researchers, and PhD students who contribute to a high professional standard of intensive work and quality results, as well as to a friendly and open environment. The staff has a multicultural background and the working language is English. The DCS division conducts fundamental research in networked control systems, machine learning, and secure control, among other areas. The division is internationally very well established, has many research collaborations with excellent partners worldwide, and is involved in several European and national projects. Industrial projects involve partners such as ABB, Ericsson, and Scania, and our academic network include researchers at Caltech, MIT, UC Berkeley, Stanford, ETH, among others.

More information here.

Project

We are currently looking for 1-3 PhD students with a strong background and interest in mathematics (statistics and probability theory) and machine learning. The candidates will work on a recently granted national project on Reinforcement Learning (RL). In the project, we will develop new theory and methods towards the design of faster and more robust RL algorithms. The PhD program in Electrical Engineering provides world class quality education, including a large list of graduate courses ensuring an in-depth development of relevant competences and skills.

As a PhD student at KTH you have many opportunities to participate at conferences, projects and other relevant events which will extend your professional network and benefit your future career.

We offer

• many employee benefits and salary according to KTH’s Doctoral student salary agreement
• 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.

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),
• 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

The applicant is expected to hold an degree in engineering physics, electrical engineering, computer science, or mathematics. A specialization in statistics/probability, algorithm design, or machine learning is an asset. The successful applicant should have an outstanding academic track record, and well developed analytical skills. We are looking for a strongly motivated person.

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 you need to be goal oriented and have the ability to:

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

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

You will find contact information for union representatives on KTH’s website.

You will find contact information for doctoral section on the 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/entral European Summer Time).

Applications must include the following elements:

• 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.
• Representative publications or technical reports. For longer documents, please provide a summary (abstract) and a web link to the full text.
• 1-3 letters of recommendation.
• Contact information for two reference persons. We reserve the right to contact references only for shortlisted candidates.

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.

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

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