PhD position – XAI and Federated ML in Healthcare – Lugano, Switzerland

The People-Centered Computing Lab in the Faculty of Informatics at the Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) in Lugano, Switzerland is looking for a candidate for a 4-year PhD-student position in machine learning (ML) and explainable AI (XAI) applied to healthcare.

The PhD position is full-time and comes with a competitive salary and social security insurances: in accordance with Swiss regulations, PhD student salaries range from CHF 47'040 (gross) in the first year to CHF 50'040 (gross) in the last year. Apart from performing research work, the faculty’s PhD program also expects students to complete coursework and acquire teaching experience.

The position is funded by an EU (HORIZON) project featuring 13 project partners from 8 EU countries, including research institutions, medical centers, and companies. As part of the project, the PhD student will work on the development of trustworthy, AI-based decision-support tools that will help health professionals and citizens reduce long-term risk of non-communicable chronic diseases (NCDs).

More specifically, the project envisions the usage of federated learning to ensure data privacy and the usage of XAI techniques including actionable counterfactual explanations in a privacy-aware manner using federated learning approaches.

Candidates should possess the following:

·      MSc degree in computer science, computer engineering, AI, or closely related field.

·      Excellent background in ML and experience with ML libraries (e.g., Tensorflow)

·      Strong programming skills (especially Python)

·      Fluency in English, both orally and in writing

Applications should be sent to [email protected] and [email protected] using the subject line “PhD application” and should include the following:

·      CV with contact information for at least one reference

·      transcript of records for MSc and BSc studies

·      1-page statement of purpose (research interests & why you think you are a good fit)

The Faculty of Informatics at the Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) is one of the largest research centers for Computer Science in Switzerland. Its vanguard educational model and passion for scientific research make it an ideal place to obtain a PhD, as it provides doctoral students with the ability to participate both in cutting-edge research and teaching. Around 200 researchers from around the world conduct research in key Computer Science areas such as AI and Systems on the newly inaugurated Campus EST in the heart of Lugano.

Application deadline: 1st of March 2023 (envisioned project start: 1st of May 2023)