The Max Planck ETH Center for Learning Systems (CLS) is now accepting applications for PhD Fellowships for international students in Switzerland. This is an exciting new program and admission is highly competitive.

The fellowship program is intended to support highly motivated PhD students with excellent track records. Given the limited number of fellowships available in a given year (6-8 fellowships, depending on the financial resources of the CLS), the fellows are selected through a competitive process to ensure that the best students with the highest potential are chosen.

The Max Planck ETH Center for Learning Systems (CLS) is a joint research centre of ETH Zurich and the Max Planck Society. The Center’s mission is to pursue research in the design and analysis of learning systems, synthetic or natural. This initiative brings together more than 40 professors and senior researchers in the fields of machine learning, perception, robotics on large and small scales, as well as neuroscience.

Scholarship Description:

• Application Deadline: November 12, 2018
• Course Level: Fellowships are available to pursue PhD programme.
• Study Subject: Applications are encouraged from candidates with a keen interest in doing basic research in areas like:
  • Machine Learning and Empirical Inference of Complex Systems
  • Machine Intelligence, including Machine Vision and Natural Language Understanding
  • Perception-Action-Cycle for Autonomous Systems
  • Robust Model-Based Control for Intelligent Behavior
  • Robust Perception in Complex Environments
  • Design, Fabrication, and Control of Synthetic, Bio-Inspired, and Bio-Hybrid Micro/Nanoscale Robotic Systems
  • Haptic Intelligence
  • Data-Driven Computational Biology
  • Neurotechnology and Emergent Intelligence in Nervous Systems
• Scholarship Award: The duration of the CLS PhD Fellowship is initially three years. For fellows with good progress it can be extended for maximal one year to complete the PhD thesis (decision to be taken by the CLS Steering Board, without additional interviews). CLS PhD fellowships will be remunerated according to the rules of the Max-PlanckSociety and ETH Zurich, respectively. The corresponding guidelines for doctoral education apply. The CLS will pay for a part of the position, which is matched by the host lab at the Max-Planck-Society and ETH Zurich, respectively. In order to be accepted as CLS PhD fellow the requirements set out by the ETH Zurich Doctoral Administration have to be fulfilled (see https://www.ethz.ch/en/doctorate.html). CLS PhD fellows will need to register as graduate students at ETH Zurich and – upon successful completion of their PhD project – be granted a doctoral degree by ETH Zurich. Details of this process are governed by ETH regulations and committees.
• Number of Scholarships: Not Known
• Nationality: International students
• Scholarship can be taken in Switzerland and Germany (Each PhD fellow will have a primary location (chosen based on interests and match) and spends one year at the other location as well).

Eligibility for the Scholarship:

• Eligible Countries: International students are eligible to apply for this fellowship programme.
• Entrance Requirements: The following criteria must be met in order for applicants to be eligible for the scholarship:
  • Candidates are expected to have a completed master’s degree in computer science, physics, engineering, applied mathematics, materials science, neuroscience or other relevant fields as well as an excellent track record and must meet the general admission requirements for a doctorate at ETH Zurich
  • Applications are encouraged from candidates with a keen interest in doing basic research in areas like: • Machine Learning and Empirical Inference of Complex Systems • Machine Intelligence, including Machine Vision and Natural Language Understanding • Perception-Action-Cycle for Autonomous Systems • Robust Model-Based Control for Intelligent Behavior • Robust Perception in Complex Environments • Design, Fabrication, and Control of Synthetic, Bio-Inspired, and Bio-Hybrid Micro/Nanoscale Robotic Systems • Haptic Intelligence • Data-Driven Computational Biology • Neurotechnology and Emergent Intelligence in Nervous Systems.
• English Language Requirements: Applicants from outside the home country will often need to meet specific English language/other language requirements in order to be able to study there.

Application Procedure:

How to Apply: Applications must be submitted through http://cls.tue.mpg.de/registration/cls_2019%20and%20need%20to%20include:

• A complete CV including a list of publications, invited talks and awards (if applicable)
• A short letter of motivation (1-2 pages) outlining the research area of the candidate
• A scanned transcripts of certificates (bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, other degrees)
•  2-3 reference letters to be sent directly per email to the CLS Executive Office within the application deadline.

Application Form

Scholarship Link