Claude Dessert

This PhD position at KU Leuven, in collaboration with imec, focuses on the development of AI-enhanced digital signal processing (DSP) for wireless communications. The research is supervised by Prof. Sofie Pollin (KU Leuven) and co-supervised by Prof. Claude Dessert (IMEC), with the vacancy hosted primarily at imec in Leuven, Belgium. Imec is a world-leading research and innovation hub in nanoelectronics and digital technologies, working closely with KU Leuven to combine fundamental research with industrial partnerships. The WaveCoRE research centre in KU Leuven’s Department of Electrical Engineering (ESAT) specializes in wireless communication fundamentals and systems, with the Networked Systems group led by Prof. Pollin covering areas such as Cell-Free Massive MIMO, Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN), IoT, joint communication and sensing, machine learning-based signal processing, and SWIPT. The project aims to critically assess the state-of-the-art in machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for physical layer (PHY) DSP blocks in wireless systems. Traditionally, these blocks are designed using expert knowledge from communications theory, including filters, FFTs, modulation, coding, multiple-antenna operations, and hardware non-ideality compensation. The rise of AI has led to new approaches in PHY processing, with the potential to outperform traditional methods in certain scenarios, particularly for non-linear problems, hard-to-model behaviors, or cases with excessive complexity. The PhD researcher will review recent ML-based PHY solutions, identify the most promising DSP blocks for AI enhancement, and clarify which components cannot be improved by AI. The project involves refining criteria for AI relevance, selecting DSP blocks for new AI-based designs, developing and testing these solutions, and optimizing them for performance and complexity. The goal is to enable hybrid PHY implementations that combine traditional and AI-based blocks for optimal performance. The position offers a multidisciplinary research environment, access to imec’s world-class facilities, and collaboration with leading experts in wireless communication, signal processing, digital, analog, mm-wave design, and machine learning. The successful candidate will publish research in top-level journals and conferences, participate in international collaborations, and build an international network. The scholarship is for up to four years, subject to positive evaluations, and includes a competitive salary and funding. Applicants must have a master’s degree in electrical engineering, telecommunication engineering, or a related field, with exceptional grades and proficiency in English. Expertise in wireless communications and signal processing is required, with knowledge of channel modelling and MIMO considered a plus. Proficiency in Matlab or Python and strong interpersonal skills for working in an international team are also expected. KU Leuven is committed to diversity, inclusion, and equal opportunity, providing a respectful and socially safe environment for all researchers.

This PhD position at KU Leuven, in collaboration with imec, focuses on developing innovative transceiver architectures for cellular communications in the FR3 band (7–24 GHz). The research is hosted primarily at imec in Leuven, Belgium, and supervised by Prof. Sofie Pollin (KU Leuven) and Prof. Claude Dessert (IMEC). Imec is a world-leading research and innovation hub in nanoelectronics and digital technologies, working closely with KU Leuven to combine fundamental research with industrial partnerships. The WaveCoRE research centre in KU Leuven’s Department of Electrical Engineering (ESAT) specializes in wireless communication fundamentals and systems, with the Networked Systems group led by Prof. Pollin covering areas such as Cell-Free Massive MIMO, Non-Terrestrial Networks, IoT, joint communication and sensing, machine learning-based signal processing, and SWIPT. The project addresses the exponential growth of communication networks and the need for new frequency bands to meet increasing user demands. While mm-wave frequencies (FR2) offer bandwidth, challenges in technology readiness and propagation have led the industry to explore the FR3 band, which provides a balance between capacity and coverage but introduces unique research challenges. These include non-uniform channel behavior across the band, varying antenna integration strategies, differences in analog component performance, and the need for flexible systems that adapt to dynamic spectrum allocation and propagation conditions. The research will investigate multiple-antenna communication schemes, flexible architectures, and the use of AI tools to optimize base station deployment and operation. As a PhD student, you will gain a fundamental understanding of channel propagation and hardware constraints in the FR3 band, propose novel transceiver architectures and algorithms, and explore solutions for real-time reconfigurability and scenario-specific optimization. You will work within a multidisciplinary team at imec, collaborating with experts in wireless communication, signal processing, digital and analog design, mm-wave technology, and machine learning. The position offers a unique opportunity to contribute to the future of wireless networks, publish in top journals and conferences, and build an international network. Applicants should have a master’s degree in electrical engineering, telecommunication engineering, or a related field, with strong grades and English proficiency. Expertise in wireless communications and signal processing is required, and knowledge of channel modelling and hardware implementation is advantageous. Proficiency in Matlab or Python and strong interpersonal skills are expected. The scholarship covers up to four years, with competitive salary, access to world-class facilities, and funding for conference participation. KU Leuven and imec provide an inclusive, diverse, and supportive research environment. Applications must be submitted via the imec website, referencing code 2026-213. For further information, contact Prof. Sofie Pollin or Prof. Claude Dessert.

This PhD position at KU Leuven, in collaboration with imec, focuses on advancing wireless communications through distributed movable antennas. Hosted primarily at imec in Leuven, Belgium, the project is supervised by Prof. Sofie Pollin (KU Leuven) and co-supervised by Prof. Claude Dessert (IMEC). The research is embedded in the WaveCoRE research centre within KU Leuven’s Department of Electrical Engineering, which specializes in wireless communication fundamentals and systems. The Networked Systems group, led by Prof. Pollin, covers a wide range of topics including Cell-Free Massive MIMO, Non-Terrestrial Networks, IoT, joint communication and sensing, machine learning-based signal processing, and SWIPT. The project aims to push the boundaries of MIMO communications by exploring near-field, mobile, and massive communication scenarios. Traditional MIMO approaches assume static deployments and rely on approximations that limit channel diversity. This PhD will investigate how near-field communication can increase channel rank and throughput, model propagation in scenarios with sparse arrays and movable antennas, and design optimized transmit/receive algorithms. The research will address challenges and opportunities presented by mobility, such as actively moving antennas to improve links and leveraging high directivity and reduced hardware costs. Applications include robotics, drones, and vehicles, where mobility is both a challenge and an opportunity. The candidate will develop heuristics for real-time device communication and study implementation trade-offs between performance, power consumption, and robustness, considering technologies like MEMS. The work involves developing complex simulation environments in Matlab or Python, modeling hardware non-idealities, and considering technological aspects of movable antennas. The successful candidate will join a multidisciplinary team at imec, collaborating with experts in digital, analog, and mm-wave design, wireless systems, signal processing, channel modeling, and machine learning. The position offers a four-year PhD scholarship (subject to positive evaluations), competitive salary, access to world-class facilities, and opportunities for international networking and conference participation. Applicants must have a master’s degree in electrical engineering, telecommunication engineering, or a related field, with exceptional grades and English proficiency. Experience in wireless communications, signal processing, channel modeling, and MIMO is desirable, as is proficiency in Matlab or Python. Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work in an international team are required. KU Leuven is committed to diversity and inclusion, providing a supportive research environment. Applications must be submitted via the imec website, referencing code 2026-031. For further information, contact Prof. Sofie Pollin or Prof. Claude Dessert by email.

This PhD position, hosted at imec in Leuven, Belgium, is a collaboration between imec and KU Leuven under the supervision of Prof. Sofie Pollin (KU Leuven) and co-supervision of Prof. Claude Dessert (IMEC). Imec is a world-leading research and innovation hub in nanoelectronics and digital technologies, working closely with KU Leuven to combine fundamental research with industrial partnerships. The research centre WaveCoRE in KU Leuven’s Department of Electrical Engineering (ESAT) focuses on wireless communication fundamentals and systems, with the Networked Systems group led by Prof. Pollin covering areas such as Cell-Free Massive MIMO, Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN), IoT, joint communication and sensing, machine learning-based signal processing, and SWIPT. The project centers on the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into digital signal processing (DSP) for wireless communications, specifically at the physical layer (PHY). Traditionally, PHY DSP blocks are designed using expert knowledge from communications theory, including filters, FFTs, modulation, coding, multiple-antenna operations, and hardware non-ideality compensation. Recently, AI and machine learning (ML) have emerged as promising tools for enhancing PHY processing, especially for non-linear problems, hard-to-model behaviors, and cases where traditional solutions are too complex. As a PhD researcher, you will critically review the state-of-the-art in ML-based PHY solutions, identify DSP blocks where AI can outperform traditional approaches, and clarify which components are best left to conventional methods. You will refine criteria for AI relevance, focusing on domains such as non-ideal hardware effects, interference, and complex mobile multi-path environments. In the second phase, you will select promising DSP blocks, propose new AI-based designs, and develop and test these solutions through extensive simulations. The goal is to enable hybrid PHY implementations that combine traditional and AI-based blocks for optimal performance and complexity trade-offs. You will join a large imec community working on research, implementation, and prototyping of future communication systems, collaborating with experts in wireless communication, signal processing, digital, analog, mm-wave design, and machine learning. The position offers a unique opportunity to develop innovative, multidisciplinary technology and shape future wireless networks. You will publish your research in top-level journals and conferences and participate in international collaborations. Eligibility: Applicants must hold a master’s degree in electrical engineering, telecommunication engineering, or a related field, with exceptional grades and proficiency in English. Expertise in wireless communications and signal processing is required; knowledge of channel modelling and MIMO is a plus. Proficiency with Matlab or Python and strong interpersonal skills for working in an international team are expected. Funding: The position offers a PhD scholarship for up to four years (subject to positive evaluations), a competitive salary, and access to imec’s world-class facilities. You will benefit from an inclusive research environment and opportunities to build an international network through conferences and collaborations. Application: Applications must be submitted via the imec website. Mention reference code 2026-015 on your application form. For more information, contact Prof. dr. ir. Sofie Pollin ([email protected]) or Prof. dr. ir. Claude Dessert ([email protected]). KU Leuven is committed to diversity, inclusion, and equal opportunity, fostering a respectful and socially safe environment for all researchers.

This PhD position at KU Leuven, in collaboration with imec, focuses on developing innovative transceiver architectures for cellular communications in the FR3 band (7–24 GHz). The research is supervised by Prof. Sofie Pollin (KU Leuven) and Prof. Claude Dessert (IMEC), and is primarily hosted at imec in Leuven, Belgium. Imec is a world-leading research and innovation hub in nanoelectronics and digital technologies, offering a multidisciplinary environment and access to cutting-edge facilities. The WaveCoRE research centre in KU Leuven’s Department of Electrical Engineering (ESAT) specializes in wireless communication fundamentals and systems. The Networked Systems group, led by Prof. Pollin, covers advanced topics such as Cell-Free Massive MIMO, Non-Terrestrial Networks, IoT, joint communication and sensing, machine learning-based signal processing, and SWIPT. This position is ideal for candidates interested in the intersection of theory, modelling, simulation, and experimental design in wireless communications. With the exponential growth of communication networks and the advent of 4G, 5G, and soon 6G, new frequency bands have become essential to meet increasing data demands. The FR3 band offers a promising balance between capacity and coverage but presents unique challenges, including non-uniform channel behavior, antenna integration, analog component performance, and fragmented sub-bands requiring flexible, reconfigurable systems. Research will address multiple-antenna schemes, power amplifiers, semiconductor technologies, and dynamic spectrum allocation. AI and machine learning tools will be used to optimize architectures and deployment strategies for diverse scenarios. As a PhD student, you will investigate channel propagation and hardware constraints across the FR3 band, propose novel transceiver architectures and communication algorithms, and develop solutions for real-time reconfigurability and scenario-specific optimization. You will collaborate with experts in wireless communication, signal processing, digital and analog design, and machine learning, and contribute to top-level journals and conferences. The position offers a four-year PhD scholarship (subject to positive evaluations), competitive salary, funding for international conferences, and the opportunity to build a global network. KU Leuven is ranked #50 in Best Global Universities and provides an inclusive, diverse, and supportive research environment. Applicants must hold a master’s degree in electrical engineering, telecommunication engineering, or a related field, with exceptional grades and English proficiency. Experience in wireless communications, signal processing, Matlab or Python, and strong interpersonal skills are required. Applications must be submitted via the imec website, referencing code 2026-213. For further information, contact Prof. Sofie Pollin ([email protected]) or Prof. Claude Dessert ([email protected]). KU Leuven is committed to equal opportunity and diversity, ensuring a respectful and socially safe environment for all researchers.