15 PhD positions as part of the SWEET project – a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Industrial Doctoral Network

Organisation/Company: Università degli Studi di Napoli “Federico II”

Department: Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technologies (DIETI)

Research Field: Computer science Engineering » Computer engineering Technology » Information technology

Researcher Profile: First Stage Researcher (R1)

Positions: PhD Positions

Country: Italy

Application Deadline: 30 Apr 2025 - 23:59 (Europe/Rome)

Type of Contract: Temporary

Job Status: Full-time

Offer Starting Date: 1 Sep 2025

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Horizon Europe - MSCA Marie Curie Grant Agreement Number 101168792

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

Applications are invited for 15 Doctoral Candidates (DCs) positions to be funded by the Marie-Sklodowska-Curie European Training Network on “Social aWareness for sErvice roboTs” (SWEET) within the Horizon Europe Programme.

To create autonomous robots that adhere to social norms and expectations while avoiding human rejection, it is necessary that robots are aware of their social context. Therefore, they need to be highly reactive, proactive, responsive, and intelligible. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) programme, the SWEET project aims to train researchers and professionals to develop socially aware robots that are capable of perceiving, interpreting, and responding to human emotions, intentions, and contextual differences. DCs will be immersed in cutting-edge research and innovation with a training program that will offer an integrated curriculum, encompassing theoretical knowledge and real-world application scenarios.

The consortium is formed by 10 beneficiaries including 7 academic and 3 non-academic organizations plus 15 partner organizations to cover a full training programme on scientific, technical and personal development skills which will include secondments in current world-leading countries (Spain, Germany, UK, Italy, Sweden, France, South Korea, Japan) to gather the necessary knowledge and implement it in Europe.

Each DC will spend 50% of their total contracted time (36 months) in a mandatory secondment at other partners/beneficiaries identified by the project, in accordance with the MSCA DN-ID mobility requirements and training objectives.

The 15 DC positions/topics to be filled are:

• DC1, Situation awareness and complex scene understanding
• DC2, Tracking and analysis of temporal properties of human behaviour and non-verbal signals
• DC3, Adaptation of social cues
• DC4, Social embeddings
• DC5, Securing multimodal service robots to protect user’s privacy
• DC6, Robot behaviour with social norms competences: generation and adaptation
• DC7, Navigation styles for guiding robots
• DC8, Adaptive and adaptable robot decision making for service robots
• DC9, Social awareness as a form of internal simulation
• DC10, Intention recognition and ToM for proactive behaviour
• DC11, Decision making to leverage artificial trust
• DC12, Learning and explaining new grounded robot knowledge
• DC13, Contextual dependency of privacy
• DC14, Security and safety for trustworthy robots
• DC15, Awareness as a platform independent tool

More information about the specific projects and the specific requirements for applying to them can be found at: www.sweet.unina.it/phd-topics/.

List of Supervisors of DC Projects:

• Vicente Mattelan Olivera (University of Leon, Spain)

Fulltime employments as PhD students are offered for 3 years. The starting date of the contract is negotiable, but ideally it would be September 2025.

European and non-European students are invited to apply to any of the 15 fellowships. The applicant can select up to three different positions, providing a preference ranking.

Application

DOCUMENTS TO BE SENT

1. Application form (see Website, www.sweet.unina.it ). This will require selection from one to up to three DC topics.
2. Copy of the passport.
3. Full CV (with the list of Publications, if any).
4. Short motivational video (max 3 minutes, please include only the link to a downloadable video).
5. A letter including a description of previous research experience and current research interest outlining the fit to the desired PhD Topic (1 page).
6. One or more reference letters and names of 2 referees, including contact details.
7. Transcripts of grades obtained for B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees, expected final grade (and date).
8. Additional certificates (if any).

Only documents in English language will be accepted.

Applicants should submit the documentation exclusively via e-mail in ONE PDF document to infosweet@unina.it (max file size 5 MB) by 30 April, 2025 at 23 pm (GMT). Your application will be jointly processed by the members of the SWEET consortium and treated according to the GDPR.

Applications failing to include the requested documentation, which do not indicate the preferred projects or do not meet the eligibility criteria, WILL NOT be considered in this competition.

We are looking for talented and highly motivated early career researchers with a degree giving access to PhD studies in a domain relevant to the DCs position(s) of interest, such as Computer Science, Machine Learning, Psychology, Robotics, Engineering, Cognitive Science, or related field.

Specific Requirements

We welcome applicants with expertise in interdisciplinary research methods, including experimental, qualitative, and user-centred approaches. We expect dedication and enthusiasm for experimental research, combined with scientific curiosity and the capacity to teamwork in an interdisciplinary environment. Preferred qualifications include excellent grades, research talent and personal ambition. Applicants should have excellent command of English, together with good academic writing and presentation skills.

SWEET doctoral candidates will benefit from:

• A competitive salary. Successful candidates will be employed on a 36 month contract with a gross salary of approx. 3,400 euros per month*; plus 600 euros mobility allowance and (if applicable) 500 euros family allowance.
• Outstanding training aimed at fostering scientific, technical, and transferable skills with the chance to join high-level training events.
• Integrated Academy / Industrial research activities.
• Scientific advice from internationally recognized experts.
• A solid mentoring strategy followed up through a personalized career development plan.
• VISA Expenses will be covered by the project.
• Should ideally possess a master’s degree in a relevant academic field or a comparable degree that allows them to embark in a PhD (applications from candidates who already possess a doctoral degree cannot be considered).
• Must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the institution that recruits the student for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately before the recruitment date. Short stays such as holidays and/or compulsory national service are not taken into account.
• Must be willing to spend a prolonged time at other institutes/countries of the network during the PhD thesis period.

Selection process

Selection of candidates will be performed via online interview. In case the number of candidates for a position exceeds the number of open positions, shortlisted candidates will be selected on the basis of the fit of their CV and research interests with the chosen research project(s). These candidates will be invited for interview, and positions will be offered after approval by the SWEET Committee.

Applicants who apply for more than one individual research topic should indicate the order of preference (e.g. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choice). To ensure equality of opportunities, we strongly encourage women with the appropriate qualifications to apply. If equally qualified, participants with a handicap will be preferred.

Additional comments

Note that some projects may have specific requirements concerning the documentation to submit and the application procedure for the specific project. The candidate must verify that the application includes all required documents and must follow the exact procedure for the DC of interest.

Details about the 15 PhD positions and the specific requirements for applicants are available at the following link: www.sweet.unina.it or www.mscasweet.eu. Please make sure to consult the DC-specific requirements on the website. Moreover, it is strongly recommended to contact potential supervisors via E-mail before submitting an application.

*Salary figures include all insurance costs and tax deductions according to national laws at each employing Institute. Salary is scaled based on a pre-defined Country Correction Coefficient.

Number of offers available: 3 Company/Institute: Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II Country: Italy City: Napoli

Number of offers available: 3 Company/Institute: Sheffield Hallam University Country: United Kingdom City: Sheffield

Number of offers available: 2 Company/Institute: Naver Lab Europe Country: France City: Grenoble

Number of offers available: 1 Company/Institute: Universidad de Extremadura Country: Spain City: Badajoz

Number of offers available: 1 Company/Institute: Agencia Estatal Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas Country: Spain City: Barcellona