DC6: Doctoral Candidate PhD Position in MSCA Doctoral Network MAESTRI "Magnetic Soft Matter for Robotics"

9 Apr 2024
Job Information

Organisation/Company

University of Southern Denmark

Department

Faculty of Engineering

Research Field

Technology
Computer science
Engineering

Researcher Profile

First Stage Researcher (R1)

Country

Denmark

Application Deadline

12 May 2024 - 23:59 (Europe/Copenhagen)

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Full-time

Hours Per Week

37

Offer Starting Date

1 Sep 2024

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

HE / MSCA

Marie Curie Grant Agreement Number

101119614

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Offer Description

The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Network (MSCA-DN) “Magnetic Soft Matter for Robotics” (MAESTRI, Grant ID 101119614) is an interdisciplinary research training network of 7 universities and 2 companies from 5 countries. It is founded under “the first pillar” of the Horizon Europe program called “Excellent Science”. MSCA-DN MAESTRI reflects the demand for training a new kind of expert in the emerging application field of magnetic soft robotics that we believe will yield groundbreaking technologies in the near future. It is an interdisciplinary collaboration of specialists from different fields of Materials Science, Biology, Physics, and Engineering Science.

The main part of your work will be carried out in the group of Prof. Poramate Manoonpong and Assoc. Prof. Xiaofeng Xiong (Embodied AI and Neurorobotics Laboratory, https://ens-lab.sdu.dk/ )  at the SDU Biorobotics section (https://www.sdu.dk/en/forskning/sdu_biorobotics ) at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) (Odense, Denmark) and secondment placements will take place at Ostbayerische Technische Hochschule (OTH) (Germany, 3 months), University of Ljubljana (UL) (Slovenia, 3 months), and the Wegard GmbH (WEG, Robotics company) (Germany, 3 months).

The doctoral project is funded for three years and would start by 1st September 2024 or later.

Your doctoral degree will be awarded on the basis of successful completion of the research work and the PhD study requirements (https://www.sdu.dk/en/forskning/phd/phd_skoler/phdtek ). You will be also required to participate in the training activities and workshops organized by the MSCA-DN MAESTRI. As a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Fellow, you are also expected to contribute to the dissemination of your project´s results through public engagement and various scientific platforms.

Topic:  Adaptive control methods for magnetoactive soft materials in robotic applications

This PhD research will focus on:

Exploiting magnetoactive soft materials for robotic applications.

Developing adaptive neural control methods for controlling magnetoactive soft materials in robotic applications.

Demonstrating their use cases in different robot scenarios (e.g., robot locomotion and object manipulation).

 

The closing date for all applications is 12 May 2024 – 23:59 (Europe/Copenhagen)

Requirements

Research Field

Technology

Education Level

Master Degree or equivalent

Research Field

Computer science

Education Level

Master Degree or equivalent

Research Field

Engineering

Education Level

Master Degree or equivalent

Skills/Qualifications

 

 

Specific Requirements

• The applicant should have completed at least four- or five years education with a Master´s degree or its equivalent in in Robotics Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, Mechatronics, or a related field from a recognized university and should be eligible as a doctoral candidate at the University of Southern Denmark (https://www.sdu.dk/en/forskning/phd/phd_skoler/phdtek ).
• The applicant should show interest in conducting a research project independently and at the same time enjoy the work in an international, interdisciplinary environment.
• At the time of recruitment, the applicant must not have resided (or carried out her/his main activity, e.g., work, studies, etc.) in Denmark, for more than 12 months in the last 3 years immediately prior to the reference recruitment date.
• The applicant should have a solid foundation in robotics, mechatronics, bio-inspired or soft robotics, artificial intelligence, and hardware implementation. Good programming skills (e.g., ROS, C++, python) and material science background are welcome.
• The applicant should have an excellent command of the English language at a proficient level (spoken and written).

 

Application procedure:

To apply for this position, kindly provide: i) a letter of motivation including a 1-page statement of your research interests, relevant skills and experience; (ii) a CV (Europass model mandatory) including publication list (if publications are available); (iii) copies of relevant certificates and (iv) names and contact details of at least two referees willing to write confidential letters of recommendation. Attach all application documents to an email message as a single PDF file (maximum size 5 MB).

 

To be considered for this position, please send your complete application with the tag DC6 in the subject line to our recruitment email address [email protected] .

(Please do not use any additional text in the subject line of your email except DC6)

Languages

ENGLISH

Level

Excellent

Research Field

TechnologyComputer scienceEngineering

Additional Information
Benefits

We offer a gross salary for three years, salary consisting of living allowance (EUR 3400* per month), plus a mobility allowance in the sum of 600 € per month and, in case the recruited researcher has a family (‘Family’ means “persons linked to the researcher by marriage (or a relationship with equivalent status to a marriage recognised by the legislation of the country where this relationship was formalised) or dependent children who are actually being maintained by the researcher.”) we offer a family allowance in the sum of 495 € per month.

*A country correction coefficient applies to the living allowance in order to ensure equal treatment and purchasing power parity for all researchers. Salary rules apply to the doctoral candidates hosted in the European Union. The Salary is Gross Salary sum before social contributions of the employer and taxes.

*https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/wp-call/2021-2022/wp-2-msca-actions_horizon-2021-2022_en.pdf

The University of Southern Denmark honors and respects the diversity of our staff and provides equal opportunities to all employees and qualified applicants regardless of sex and/or gender, nationality, race or ethnicity, health condition, disability, religion or faith, age, social status, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, family status or any other personal circumstance.

The Doctoral Network MAESTRI aspires to be an equitable and inclusive community. We nurture an open culture, where everyone is supported to fulfill their potential. We see inclusivity of talent as the basis of our successes, and the diversity of perspectives and people as a highly valued outcome.  We look forward to welcoming you to our community.

The University of Southern Denmark is a rich environment for research and innovation in the field of robotics and automation. SDU Biorobotics encompasses a diverse array of expertise and research interests, spanning areas such as soft robotics, embodied AI and neurobotics, wearable robotics, and bio-inspired control. The Embodied AI and Neurorobotics Laboratory (https://ens-lab.sdu.dk/ ), a research group within SDU Biorobotics, focuses on developing advanced bio-inspired autonomous systems using the embodied neurorobotics approach. The approach not only considers an integration of neural systems, body, and often the environment too, but also focuses on the detailed dynamical interactions of the neural computation (i.e., activity, plasticity, and memory at different time scales) with the environment to realize and generalize complex autonomous behaviors.

Eligibility criteria

• Supported researchers must be doctoral candidates, i.e. not already in possession of a doctoral degree at the date of the recruitment. Researchers who have successfully defended their doctoral thesis but who have not yet formally been awarded the doctoral degree will not be considered eligible.

• The applicant should have completed at least four- or five years education with a Master‘s degree or its equivalent in in Robotics Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, Mechatronics, or a related field from a recognized university and should be eligible as a doctoral candidate at the University of Southern Denmark.
•  
• At the time of recruitment, the applicant must not have resided (or carried out her/his main activity, e.g. work, studies, etc.) in Denmark, for more than 12 months in the last 3 years immediately prior to the reference recruitment date.
•  
• Additional information provided by the European Commission on terms and conditions related to MSCA doctoral networks can be found in the MSCA document library: https://marie-sklodowska-curie-actions.ec.europa.eu/document-library?facets__field_eac_audience=274

Selection process

• 1st stage: Review of application documents to verify the applicant's eligibility and if the work and/or educational experiences would fit the position requirements
• 2nd stage: Panel interview
• 3rd stage: Internal deliberation and ranking of candidates. This will be based on the conducted interview, work/educational experiences, and letter of recommendation from your referees.

Additional comments

Enquiries:

For further general information about MAESTRI and the Doctoral Candidate positions, you may visit the MAESTRI webpage at https://maestri-project.eu/ .

For further specialist information regarding this position, you may contact Prof. Dr. Poramate Manoonpong at University of Southern Denmark, [email protected]

Deadline:

The closing date for all applications is 12 May 2024 – 23:59 (Europe/Copenhagen)

Website for additional job details

https://maestri-project.eu/recruitment/

Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

University of Southern Denmark

Country

Denmark

City

Odense

Postal Code

5230

Street

Campusvej 55

Geofield

Where to apply

E-mail

[email protected]

Contact

City

Odense

Website

https://www.sdu.dk/en

Street

Campusvej 55

Postal Code

5230

E-Mail

[email protected]

STATUS: EXPIRED