The Operational Research Group within the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science, Queen Mary University of London, invites applications for two fully-funded PhD studentships:

1. PhD Studentship in Machine Learning for Automated Software Engineering (open until filled, early application is advised) https://www.findaphd.com/search/projectDetails.aspx?PJID=95510 

Open to all nationalities - 4-year studentship on a project funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. The successful candidate will pursue a course of research investigating the application of computational search methods, to software engineering challenges with a focus on real-world applications. These techniques could include machine learning approaches, big data techniques, and more broadly any metaheuristic, or operational research technique. Informal enquiries can be made by email to Dr. John Drake ([log in to unmask]). 

2. Industrial CASE Studentship: investigating applications for network design (deadline 16th March) https://www.findaphd.com/search/projectDetails.aspx?PJID=95252

Open to anyone who has been ordinarily resident in the UK for at least 3 years prior to the start of the studentship - In collaboration with British Telecom (BT), the studentship will investigate applications for network design, e.g. a town’s fibre network. The goal of the project is to explore software solutions to find optimal solutions to a graph problem described in a human readable declarative constraint language. Informal enquiries can be made by email to Dr. Jun Chen ([log in to unmask]) and Dr. John Drake ([log in to unmask]).

Candidates are normally expected to have a 1st class honors degree or Masters in Computer Science, Mathematics, Operational Research or related discipline, from a UK University or an equivalent standard from an overseas university. The successful candidate must have a strong programming background, as well as good analytical and communication skills. The student is expected to work as part of a team and independently, and to prepare clear reports and research papers. An understanding of mathematical optimization techniques, heuristic and hyper-heuristic search is highly desirable although not mandatory.

The start date for these studentships is flexible, but must commence by 1st October 2018 at the latest. These studentships cover student fees as well as a tax-free stipend of around £16,500 per annum. Although only these two studentships are available with full fees and stipend; additional positions may be available if you are a self-funded applicant. For more information on the application process, please visit: http://www.eecs.qmul.ac.uk/phd/how-to-apply/.