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Open Universiteit

PhD in Human-centered AI Smart Glasses for Visual Speech Recognition and Communicative Agency Open Universiteit in Netherlands

Degree Level

PhD

Field of study

Computer Science

Funding

Full funding available

Deadline

Sep 14, 2026

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Country

Netherlands

University

Open Universiteit

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Keywords

Computer Science
Psychology
Biomedical Engineering
Deep Learning
Artificial Intelligence
Human-computer Interaction
Computer Vision
ML

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About this position

PhD opportunity at Open Universiteit in the Netherlands on Restoring Communicative Agency: Human-centered AI smart glasses for people with speech impairments.

This project sits at the intersection of computer science, computer vision, machine learning/deep learning, human-computer interaction, and psychology. The research aims to develop wearable AI and smart glasses that can interpret visible lip and facial movements and convert them into synthesized speech, helping people with speech and hearing impairments communicate more naturally in everyday situations.

The PhD candidate will focus primarily on visual speech recognition, adaptive AI, and prototype integration. Key research questions include how to handle the unusual camera angle of smart glasses, how to achieve real-time speech conversion, how to personalize models to atypical facial movements, and how to design technology that is usable, acceptable, and aligned with users’ communication preferences.

The position is embedded in an interdisciplinary team at the Department of Computer Science within the Open Universiteit, with collaboration from psychology and human-centred technology researchers. The project is funded through the university-wide Innovating for Resilience (IfR) programme and connects to themes of responsible AI, inclusion, communicative agency, autonomy, confidence, and participation.

Eligibility highlights: MSc in AI, Computer Science, HCI, or a related technical field; strong Python and PyTorch skills; excellent English; Dutch preferred but not required; ability to work independently and collaboratively across disciplines. Experience with facial tracking, facial analysis, or human-in-the-loop usability studies is preferred.

Funding and conditions: fixed-term PhD appointment, initially 15 months and extendable to 4 years if progress is good; 1.0 FTE for 4 years or 0.8 FTE for 5 years; salary from €3,204 to €4,051 gross per month at full employment; PhD training programme included.

Location: Heerlen, Netherlands, with flexible working arrangements and occasional on-site presence for collaboration and hardware-related work.

Deadline: 14 September 2026.

Funding details

Full funding including tuition fees and living expenses is available for this position. The scholarship covers all educational costs and provides a monthly stipend.

How to apply

Please submit your application including a cover letter, CV, academic transcripts, and contact information for two references. Applications should be sent via the online portal before the deadline.

More information can be found here

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