New PhD Position Available in Visual Reasoning!

18 May 2020 . category: research . Comments

Exciting news, for me and possibly for you! This post marks my first PhD call where I will be leading the research direction of the successful candidate in collaboration with Alessio Del Bue (IIT) and Sebastiano Vascon (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice). So, we are looking for someone with interest in pursuing a PhD in Visual Reasoning to join the Pattern Analysis and Computer Vision Department of the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT). The University of Genova are the awarding body of this PhD, so please be careful of the details which can be found on the University of Genova website.

Theme F: Visual Reasoning with Knowledge and Graph Neural Networks for scene understanding

Machine ability to detect objects within images has surpassed human ability, however, when posed with relatively simple more complex tasks machines quickly struggle. This theme focuses on developing AI systems that are able to access knowledge stored in Knowledge Graphs to understand the world around the camera view. Few works have successfully integrated knowledge in Computer Vision systems and knowledge graphs provide one avenue. This research will study methods to integrate knowledge for user interaction via retrieval or visual question and answering within real world environments. In particular, shallow and deep graph-based methodologies are promising computational framework to include external knowledge and also maintaining a high degree of interpretability, a necessary feature for modern AI systems.

** There are other themes check them out to work in our department **

Application Details

To apply, follow the instructions indicated at the following links where the notice of public examination in Italian and in English are published:

https://unige.it/en/usg/en/phd-programmes

https://unige.it/en/students/phd-programmes

In short, the documentation to be submitted is a detailed CV, a research proposal under one or more themes chosen among Theme K or the other themes (please, see also a project proposal template at the link indicated below), reference letters, and any other formal document concerning the degrees earned.

Please note that these documents are mandatory in order to consider valid the application.

IMPORTANT: In order to apply, candidates must prepare a research proposal based on the research topics above mentioned.

Please, follow these indications to prepare it:

https://pavisdata.iit.it/data/phd/ResearchProjectTemplate.pdf

ONLINE APPLICATION DEADLINE is June 15th, 2020 at 12:00 p.m. (noon, Italian time/CEST)

STRICT DEADLINE, NO EXTENSION.

Additional Links:

Disclaimer

Please note your in-name supervisor will be Dr. Alessio Del Bue who leads the Pattern Analysis and Computer Vision department, however, your research activities will be led by myself. The Italian application process applies to a call, not a tutor/supervisor, where supervisor are selected based on the most suitable.

Assistant Professor in Visual Computing at Durham University. Stuart's research focus is on Visual Reasoning to understand the layout of visual content from Iconography (e.g. Sketches) to 3D Scene understanding and their implications on methods of interaction. He is currently a co-I on the RePAIR EU FET, DCitizens EU Twinning, and BoSS EU Lighthouse. He was a co-I on the MEMEX RIA EU H2020 project coordinated at IIT for increasing social inclusion with Cultural Heritage. Stuart has previously held a Researcher & PostDoc positions at IIT as well as PostDocs at University College London (UCL), and the University of Surrey. Also, at the University of Surrey, Stuart was awarded his PhD on visual information retrieval for sketches. Stuart holds an External Scientist at IIT, Honorary roles UCL and UCL Digital Humanities, and an international collaborator of ITI/LARSyS. He also regularly organises Vision for Art (VISART) workshop and Humanities-orientated tutorials and was Program Chair at British Machine Conference (BMVC) 2021.