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PhD Stipend/Integrated Stipend in Multimodal Reasoning with Large Language Models

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Vacant position

PhD Stipend/Integrated Stipend in Multimodal Reasoning with Large Language Models

At the Technical Faculty of IT and Design, Department of Electronic Systems, a PhD stipend/Integrated stipend in Multimodal Reasoning with Large Language Models is available within the general study programme Electrical and Electronic Engineering. The stipend is open for appointment from August 1, 2025, or soon as possible thereafter. The stipend is available for 3 or 4 years depending on whether the applicant already holds a master’s degree. Applicants who hold a master’s degree can apply for a 3-year position, and applicants who have finished 4 years of full-time studies but do not hold a Master’s degree can apply for a 4 years integrated PhD stipend. The Integrated PhD stipend is only open for appointment with starting date 1 September 2025. In electronic engineering, Aalborg University is known worldwide for its high academic quality and societal impact. The Department of Electronic Systems employs more than 200 people, of which about 90 are PhD students, and about 40 % of all employees are internationals. In total, it has more than 600 students in its BSc and MSc programs, which are based on AAU's problem-based learning model. The department leverages its unique research infrastructure and lab facilities to conduct world-leading fundamental and applied research within communication, networks, control systems, AI, sound, cyber security, and robotics. The department plays an active role in transferring inventions and results into applications in close collaboration with industrial partners worldwide. You can read more about the department at www.es.aau.dk .

Aalborg

  • Deadline: 16.03.2025

  • Department: Department of Electronic Systems

  • Ref number: 8-25009

Apply

Aalborg

Deadline: 16.03.2025

Department: Department of Electronic Systems

Ref number: 8-25009

Apply

Vacant position

PhD Stipend/Integrated Stipend in Multimodal Reasoning with Large Language Models

At the Technical Faculty of IT and Design, Department of Electronic Systems, a PhD stipend/Integrated stipend in Multimodal Reasoning with Large Language Models is available within the general study programme Electrical and Electronic Engineering. The stipend is open for appointment from August 1, 2025, or soon as possible thereafter. The stipend is available for 3 or 4 years depending on whether the applicant already holds a master’s degree. Applicants who hold a master’s degree can apply for a 3-year position, and applicants who have finished 4 years of full-time studies but do not hold a Master’s degree can apply for a 4 years integrated PhD stipend. The Integrated PhD stipend is only open for appointment with starting date 1 September 2025. In electronic engineering, Aalborg University is known worldwide for its high academic quality and societal impact. The Department of Electronic Systems employs more than 200 people, of which about 90 are PhD students, and about 40 % of all employees are internationals. In total, it has more than 600 students in its BSc and MSc programs, which are based on AAU's problem-based learning model. The department leverages its unique research infrastructure and lab facilities to conduct world-leading fundamental and applied research within communication, networks, control systems, AI, sound, cyber security, and robotics. The department plays an active role in transferring inventions and results into applications in close collaboration with industrial partners worldwide. You can read more about the department at www.es.aau.dk .

Aalborg

  • Deadline: 16.03.2025

  • Department: Department of Electronic Systems

  • Ref number: 8-25009

Apply

Aalborg

Deadline: 16.03.2025

Department: Department of Electronic Systems

Ref number: 8-25009

Apply

Job description

This PhD stipend is funded by the Pioneer Centre for Artificial Intelligence’s collaboratory, Signals and Decoding. The Pioneer Centre for AI is located at the University of Copenhagen, with partners at Aarhus University, Aalborg University, The Technical University of Denmark, and the IT University of Copenhagen. PhD students at the Pioneer Centre for AI will have extraordinary access computing resources, to international researchers across many disciplines within computer sciences and other academic areas, as well as courses and events at the centre, and meaningful collaboration with industry, the public sector, and the start-up ecosystem.

Centre website: Aicentre.dk.

Large language models(LLMs) have demonstrated increasingly powerful capabilities for reasoning tasks, especially in text. The project aims to explore and advance these capabilities in reasoning across multiple data modalities, including but not limited to text, speech and audio. The integration of multiple modalities can lead to more robust and general systems capable of understading and reasoning about the world in a more human-like manner. The project will involve fine-tuning pre-trained models and developing self-supervised learning techniques to adapt LLMs for multimodal tasks.

The PhD candidate is expected to have:

  • A master's degree(120 ECTS points) or enrolled within Electronic Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mathematical Engineering, Computer Science or equivalent.
  • A strong background with machine learning and deep learning.
  • Experience with signal processing or natural language processing as a plus
  • Hands-on experience with Python and deep learning frameworks.
  • Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and experimental skills.
  • High-levels of motivation and innovation.
  • Proficiency in written and spoken English
The PhD student will be affiliated with the Machine Learning research group. The group is dedicated to advancing machine learning methods and developing applications for various signals and data. The goal is to provided advanced AI solutions to real-world problems. The group specializes in creating machine learning and deep learning methods for speech, audio, and multimodal data. Currently, we are particularly focused on self-supervised learning, a paradigm that does not require labels but instead derives supervisory signals automatically from the unlabeled data itself.  

You may obtain further information from Professor Zheng-Hua Tan, Department of Electronic Systems, email:zt@es.aau.dk, concerning the scientific aspects of the stipend.

PhD stipends are allocated to individuals who hold a Master's degree. PhD stipends are normally for a period of 3 years.

Integrated PhD stipends are allocated to individuals who has not yet completed a Master’s degree and who wish to begin the PhD study in connection with the Master study. Thus a prerequisite for acceptance is that the candidate is enrolled in a relevant Master’s programme, such as Electronic Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mathematical Engineering, Computer Science or equivalent.

The integrated stipend consists of two parts, A and B. During part A you are enrolled simultaneous in the Master’s programme and in the PhD programme. The stipend consists of two SU-PhD Grants per month(SU=The Danish students’ Grants and Loans Scheme). One SU-PhD grant equals DKK 6.397 kr.(2023 level). SU-PhD Grants are paid for a maximum of two years. When the Master’s degree has been obtained, you will be employed for two years as a PhD fellow according to the present collective agreement. Part B has a maximum duration of two years.


It is a prerequisite for allocation of the stipend that the candidate will be enrolled as a PhD student at the Technical Doctoral School of IT and Design in accordance with the regulations of Ministerial Order No. 1039 of August 27, 2013 on the PhD Programme at the Universities and Certain Higher Artistic Educational Institutions. According to the Ministerial Order, the progress of the PhD student shall be assessed at regular points in time.


Shortlisting will be applied. This means that subsequent to the deadline for applications the head of department supported by the chair of the assessment committee will select candidates for assessment. All applicants will be informed whether they will be assessed or not.


For further information about stipends and salary as well as practical issues concerning the application procedure contact Ms. Lisbeth Diinhoff, The Technical Faculty of IT and Design, email:ld@adm.aau.dk, phone:+45 9940 9589.


For more information of The Technical Doctoral School of IT and Design: www.phd.tech.aau.dk


 The application is only to be submitted online by using the"Apply online" button below.


 AAU wishes to reflect the diversity of society and welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of personal background or belief.


The hiring process at Aalborg University may include a risk assessment as a tool to identify potential risks associated with new hires, ensuring the safety, compliance, and integrity of the workplace.

Wages and employment

Appointment and salary as a PhD fellow are according to the Ministry of Finance Circular of 15 December 2021 on the Collective Agreement for Academics in Denmark, Appendix 5, regarding PhD fellows, and with the current Circular of 11 December 2019 on the employment structure at Danish universities.

Ref number

8-25009

Deadline

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Appointment and assessment process

PhD positions