[agents] UK EPSRC PhD Studentship in Autonomous Learning Agents for Decentralised Data and Information Networks

[Alex Rogers]

UK EPSRC PhD Studentship
ALADDIN: Autonomous Learning Agents for Decentralised Data and Information Networks
School of Electronics and Computer Science: Intelligence, Agents, Multimedia Group 
(£18k stipend)

A number of *fully funded* 3-year PhD studentship are available within the Intelligence, Agents, Multimedia Group to work within the ALADDIN project. The studentships have a stipend of £18k, will also cover all the PhD fees and travel to international conferences.  The studentships are to investigate and develop agent-based approaches to controlling and coordinating large scale decentralised information systems. More specifically, we are currently investigating a number of techniques including machine learning through Gaussian processes, reasoning under uncertainty, distributed constraint optimization, game theory, auctions, coalition formation, negotiation and mechanism design.

The School of Electronics and Computer Science at the University of Southampton is a world class centre of research excellence. In the last Research Assessment (in 2008), it was ranked joint second in the UK for the quality of its research in Computer Science, with 85 per cent of its work receiving either the top 4* rating (defined as 'world leading') or the 3* rating ('internationally excellent').  

Applicants should have (or expect to gain) a 1st class degree in a numerate discipline (i.e. mathematics, economics, physics, computer science or engineering), and must be eligible for an EPSRC Doctoral Training Award (i.e. the applicant must be a UK national, or an EU national who has been resident in the UK for three years whilst engaged in higher education study). This funding *cannot* be used for applicants who do not meet these criteria. Experience and interest in any of the techniques mentioned above (or agent-based computing in general) would be advantageous, but an excellent academic background is by far the most important selection criteria.

In the first instance, potential candidates should visit the project website at www.aladdinproject.org and then contact Prof. Nick Jennings (nrj at ecs.soton.ac.uk) or Dr. Alex Rogers (acr at ecs.soton.ac.uk) for further information.

For more details about research within the School of Electronics and Computer Science and the application procedure, please see the ECS Postgraduate Admissions (www.ecs.soton.ac.uk/admissions/pg/apply.php).

------------------------------------------------------------
Dr. Alex Rogers
Intelligence, Agents, Multimedia Group
Electronics & Computer Science
University of Southampton
Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK.
Web: http://users.ecs.soton.ac.uk/acr/
Email : acr at ecs.soton.ac.uk
Telephone : +44 (0) 23 8059 9008
---------------------------------------------------------