This post is a Doctoral Researcher in Embedded AI Privacy for three years as part of the ANT Doctoral Network ( https://ant-dn.eu/ ).

ANT is a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Doctoral Network titled ‘ANT: Embedded AI Systems and Applications’. It is funded under the Horizon-MSCA-DN-2023 programme. This project brings together Principal Investigators and collaborators from 22 academic and industry partners from across Europe and the UK. ANT will train 18 Doctoral Researchers and implement an innovative and interdisciplinary research and training programme aimed at addressing the fundamental challenges of Embedded AI and accelerating the development of Embedded AI systems and applications. The ANT doctoral candidates will design high performance distributed Embedded AI algorithms and systems under stringent resource constraints as well as adaptivity, scalability, robustness, privacy, security and explainability requirements. The scientific innovations will be transferred into 4 high-impact applications for autonomous robotics, underwater IoT, mobile healthcare and smart farming.

You will investigate the privacy threats and preserving techniques along the Embedded AI pipeline. You will first conduct a comprehensive analysis of privacy vulnerabilities in state-of-the-art embedded AI models and systems, and develop a deep understanding of the underlying model- and system-level causes for privacy leakage. Based on the vulnerability analysis, you will further design effective and lightweight privacy-preserving solutions under resource constraints on embedded devices. You will also propose a privacy-by-design framework to ensure that privacy protection is fully integrated into the Embedded AI system development pipeline. You will have opportunities to develop these skills at our state-of-art facilities at Reading, but also through secondments (7 months total) with Delft University of Technology, Netherlands to develop lightweight privacy-preserving and security-enhancing methods for Embedded AI, and with Philips in Netherlands to integrate privacy-by-design framework into mobile healthcare applications. You will also work closely with the other 17 Doctoral Researchers within the ANT project and there will be opportunities to present your work at national and international conferences.

University of Reading:

The University of Reading , located west of London, England, is ranked at 172 globally, according to the QS World University Rankings 2025. 98% of research at the University is of international standing (REF 2021, combining the University’s world leading, internationally excellent and internationally recognised submissions). The University’s main Whiteknights Campus is set in 130 hectares of beautiful, award-winning parkland, less than a 30-minute train ride to London Paddington and is approximately 30 miles from London Heathrow airport.  During your PhD at the University of Reading, you will expand your research knowledge and skills, receiving supervision and training in a number of different forms. We also provide dedicated training in important transferable skills that will support your career aspirations. If you need to develop your academic English skills before you start your studies, then the University has an excellent International Study and Language Institute which can help with this.

Eligibility:

·      Applicants should hold a minimum of a 2:1 Bachelor Degree or equivalent in computer science, electrical engineering, telecommunication engineering, applied mathematics, or relevant subjects.

·      The Doctoral Researcher must be an ‘early-stage researcher’, i.e., at the time of recruitment have not already been awarded a doctoral degree.

·      The PhD Researcher must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the UK for more than 12 months in the 3 years prior to their recruitment. Compulsory national service and time spent as part of a procedure for obtaining refugee status under the Geneva Convention are not taken into account.

·      International applicants will also need to meet the University’s English Language requirements. We offer pre-sessional English courses that can help with meeting these requirements.

The University of Reading is committed to a policy of equal opportunities and non-discriminatory treatment for all members of its community.

How to apply:

Please visit : https://jobs.reading.ac.uk/Job/JobDetail?JobId=24181

Further information:

Computer Science PhD website

ANT project website

Enquiries: Dr. Xiaomin Chen, email: [email protected]

Please note that, where a candidate is successful in being awarded funding, this will be confirmed via a formal studentship award letter; this will be provided separately from any Offer of Admission and will be subject to standard checks for eligibility and other criteria.