The University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI) has opened a full-time (100%) PhD position in Data-driven Network Management and Design for the Metaverse at the Institute of Information Systems and Networking (ISIN), part of the Department of Innovative Technologies (DTI), in Lugano. The contract starts on Sep 1st, 2025, or on a date to be agreed upon.
Scope and purpose of the position
The project "Musical Metaverse made in Europe: an innovation lab for musicians and audiences of the future" (MUSMET) aims to establish the foundations of radically new technology that enables the creation of systems and services for the Musical Metaverse (MM) for musicians and audiences, in order to achieve new forms of musical expression and promote musical performance and consumption. The design, development, and evaluation of the proposed technology will be guided by user-centered studies.
Innovative mobile network architectures will be designed for the MM vertical. We will work on ad-hoc distribution solutions for the 5G User Plane Function (5GUPF) to support edge computing within the Internet of Musical Things (IoMusT) framework. Additionally, we will focus on developing highly adaptable real-time machine learning models for traffic prediction, specifically designed for MM network slices, and we will develop optimization algorithms for the automatic placement and online migration of virtual machines, in order to reduce the network latency component.
The PhD student will contribute to the design and implementation of a new 5G network slice optimized to support MM applications and the development of innovative edge computing techniques, including algorithms for real-time ML on embedded systems connected to wireless networks, for musical metaverse applications. The PhD student will focus on the design and development of innovative machine learning-based techniques for network optimization within MM, setting up experiments and collecting relevant network data, and creating optimization algorithms, and will also contribute to the publication of scientific papers and the organization of related workshops and events.
Within the project, the PhD student will collaborate with research teams from Switzerland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Austria, France, Poland, and the Czech Republic.
Responsibilities and activities
- Conduct research in the field of telecommunications networks, particularly in relation to network optimization to support network slices for musical metaverse applications.
- Design and execute experiments and testbeds for data collection and testing of the developed approaches.
- Design, develop, implement, and test machine learning-based approaches as well as exact and heuristic optimization algorithms.
- Design and develop algorithms for network optimization for musical metaverse applications.
- Participate in writing and publishing scientific results and in organizing related workshops and scientific events.
Requirements
- Master’s degree in engineering, telecommunications, computer science, electronic engineering, or related fields.
- Previous experience, including through internships or research projects, in areas such as telecommunications, networks, multimedia networks.
- Knowledge of 5G network architectures and emerging technologies, as well as familiarity with virtualization and cloud computing tools and technologies.
- Understanding of data analysis, machine learning, and artificial intelligence fundamentals.
- Proficiency in major programming languages such as Python.
- Ability to design and develop machine learning and artificial intelligence software.
- Experience in developing machine learning-based optimization algorithms.
- Strong problem-solving skills, with a proactive and solution-oriented approach, and ability to work in multidisciplinary teams.
- Familiarity with software development tools (Git, Docker) and development platforms is a plus.
We offer
- Fixed-term Full-time PhD position.
- Competitive salary in line with Swiss standards.
- A stimulating job in a young and dynamic research team, actively engaged in national and European research projects.
- The opportunity to participate in research projects and international conferences.
- Access to SUPSI student and staff facilities, and related benefits such as discounts and reduced rates (canteen, gymnasium, kindergarten, etc.).
- Support for international travel to participate in research dissemination and collaboration activities.
Additional information
For further information, please contact Omran Ayoub ([email protected]).
Only applications submitted by 4 May 2025 using the dedicated application form (https://www.supsi.ch/en/bando5011) will be considered. Incomplete applications, applications sent to other addresses or applications submitted after the deadline will not be considered.
