Doctoral scholarship holder Programmable and flexible 5G and beyond networks

Department: Electronics - ICT
Regime Full-time

Let’s shape the future - University of Antwerp

The University of Antwerp  is a dynamic, forward-thinking, European university. We offer an innovative academic education to more than 20 000 students; conduct pioneering scientific research and play an important service-providing role in society. We are one of the largest, most international, and most innovative employers in the region. With more than 6000 employees from 100 different countries, we are helping to build tomorrow's world every day. Through top scientific research, we push back boundaries and set a course for the future – a future that you can help to shape. 

The Department of Electronics-ICT in the Faculty of Applied Engineering is looking for a full-time doctoral scholarship holder in the field of programmable and flexible 5G and beyond networks.

Position

• You will work actively on the preparation and defence of a PhD thesis in the field of programmable and flexible 5G and beyond networks, focusing on the design, development and validation of innovative mechanisms for enhancing radio and core network functions towards supporting user mobility in challenging and heterogeneous smart city environments.
  • The work in this field will create a strong expertise in end-to-end 5G ecosystems that span a wide variety of network functions and virtualized resources, starting from the radio access networks, via network edge and transport, to the network core, thereby exploiting their openness and flexibility. In particular, 5G ecosystems are based on the 5th  generation of the cellular communication system, which is gaining momentum while being deployed in the network infrastructure of mobile operators, thereby promising ultra-low latency and high bandwidth communication to mobile users, but also to vertical industries (e.g., automotive, transport and logistics, and e-health) that have stringent requirements for Quality of Service (QoS). As Network Function Virtualization (NFV) and Software Defined Networking (SDN) are the fundamental technologies for such systems, there is still an enormous potential to exploit when it comes to managing and orchestrating virtualized network infrastructure, i.e., functions and resources that 5G ecosystems are built upon.
  • The research will focus on designing and creating i) advanced techniques for distributed data collection from smart city environments (including sensors, edge computing nodes, radio and core networks, and users), ii) innovative mechanisms for managing virtualized 5G and beyond resources and service functions by leveraging on NFV and SDN technologies, the aforementioned data collection systems, as well as network intelligence with the use of machine learning techniques, and iii) optimized mobility algorithms that are enabling programmability of network flows that ultimately leads to improved mobility and service continuity. The use cases that will be designed for validation of such advanced mechanisms will focus on connected vehicles and vulnerable road users (VRUs), with an extremely strong component of hands-on experimentation within the available testbeds, such as CityLab and Smart Highway, as well as the in-house 5G testbeds.
• You publish scientific articles related to the research project.  
• You carry out a limited number of teaching and research support tasks for the Electronics-ICT department at the Faculty of Applied Engineering and the IDLab research group . 

Profile

• You hold a Master’s degree in (Applied) Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Informatics, Physics or equivalent, or you will have obtained it by the time you start working.  
• You can demonstrate excellent study results.
• You have programming skills in any of the following programming languages: C, C++, Python, Bash, Perl, R.
• You have base-knowledge of computer networks and communications.
• Knowledge about wireless systems (WiFi, 4G, 5G and beyond) will be a plus.
• Your teaching competencies are in line with the University of Antwerp’s educational vision .
• Your research qualities are in line with the faculty and university research policies .
• You act with attention to quality, integrity, creativity, and cooperation.
• You are a team player and have strong communication skills. 
• Your English is fluent, both speaking and writing. 

What we offer

• We offer a doctoral scholarship for a period of two years. Following a positive evaluation, the scholarship can be renewed once for another two-year period.
• The planned start date is 1 February 2023 or as soon as possible after that date.
• Your monthly scholarship amount is calculated according to the scholarship amounts  for doctoral scholarship holders on the pay scales for Contract Research Staff (Dutch: Bijzonder Academisch Personeel, BAP).
• You will receive ecocheques, Internet-connectivity allowance and a bicycle allowance or a full reimbursement of public transport costs for commuting.
• You will do most of your work at The Beacon in Antwerp in a dynamic and stimulating working environment.
• Find out more about working at the University of Antwerp here .

Want to apply?

• You can apply for this vacancy through the University of Antwerp’s online job application platform up to and including 28 September 2022 (by midnight Brussels time). Click on the 'Apply' button, complete the online application form and be sure to include the following attachments: a motivation letter, your academic CV.
• The selection committee will review all the applications as soon as possible after the application deadline. As soon as a decision has been made, we will inform you about the next steps in the selection procedure.
• If you have any questions about the online application form, please check the frequently asked questions  or send an email to [email protected] . If you have any questions about the job itself, please contact prof. Johann Marquez-Barja at [email protected]  or tel. +32 3 265 8894.

The University of Antwerp received the European Commission’s HR Excellence in Research Award  for its HR policy. We are a sustainable, family-friendly organisation which invests in its employees’ growth. We encourage diversity  and attach great importance to an inclusive working environment and equal opportunities, regardless of gender identity, disability, race, ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation or age. We encourage people from diverse backgrounds and with diverse characteristics to apply.