Devis Tuia

EPFL is advertising a PhD position in Sion on forest treeline management in the Swiss Alps . The project sits at the intersection of plant ecology , machine learning , and ecological modeling , with a strong applied focus on forest management and decision support for regional and national stakeholders. The doctoral researcher will study the dynamics of alpine forest treelines , project how these systems may change in the future, and help co-develop management tools that can be used in practice. The post is hosted by the ECEO laboratory at École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) , and the announcement mentions collaboration with Christophe Randin . This is a PhD opening , not a scholarship announcement. The post does not specify funding amount, tuition coverage, or language-test waivers in the excerpt provided. It also does not list detailed eligibility criteria such as a required degree, GPA, or test scores, beyond the thematic fit with ecology and machine learning. Interested candidates should read the full EPFL careers posting and apply through the official recruitment page. The opportunity is based in Sion, Switzerland .

PhD opportunity in AI , remote sensing , ecology , and mountain environmental science focused on the dynamics of the upper forest line (treeline) in the Swiss Alps. The project studies how climate change and land-use change affect forest treeline dynamics, with a strong applied component for forest management in alpine regions. The selected candidate will develop AI models to map treeline evolution from high-resolution remote sensing data , build predictive ecological models to project future trends, and help create practical management tools co-constructed with forest professionals. The thesis will be hosted at the ECEO (Environmental Computational Science and Earth Observation) laboratory of Professor Devis Tuia at EPFL Valais Wallis in Sion, with co-supervision from Christophe Randin from UNIL/IDYST . This is a PhD position with a 100% full-time contract . The post does not mention a stipend amount or tuition details. Start date: September 1, 2026 . Applicants should consult the EPFL careers page for the full description and application instructions.