Outline

A concourse for the attribution of 1 (one) Research Scholarship is opened under the project COFAC/ILIND/COPELABS/2/2023, financed by internal funds through the COFAC. 

What is funded

Research Scholarship 

Reference: SF/COPELABS/BOLSA/ESTUDANTE2/2024

Duration

The grant has duration of 3 months, with possible extension up to 6 months, starting on October 1, 2024.

Eligibility

A competition for the attribution of 1 (one) Research Scholarship is opened under the project COFAC/ILIND/COPELABS/2/2023, financed by internal funds through the COFAC, under the following conditions:

Scientific Area: Telecommunications and Networks;

Admission requirements: Admission requirements: a) to be enrolled in a PhD study program; b) not to exceed, with the conclusion of the scholarship contract in question, including possible renewals, an accumulated period of four year of having this type of scholarship, continuous or intermittent; c) not have already been a beneficiary of any other research grant directly or indirectly financed by FCT.

Work plan: This studentship will develop a deep joint source-channel coding (DJSCC) system to minimize the age of misclassified information (AoMI) for image transmission in wireless networks. The project will introduce a novel performance metric, AoMI, to measure the freshness of correctly classified semantic information. The research will involve designing a DJSCC-based system that uses a deep neural network at the transmitter to map image pixels directly to channel input symbols, eliminating the need for separate source and channel coding. At the receiver, a classifier will be developed for image classification based on the received channel output. The project will employ a stochastic hybrid systems (SHS) approach to analyze AoMI performance and derive closed-form expressions for average AoMI (AAoMI). Extensive simulations will be conducted to evaluate the AoMI of the proposed system and compare it with traditional separate source and channel coding schemes. This research aims to enhance the timeliness of information delivery in wireless communication systems, particularly for applications such as real-time monitoring, surveillance, and control systems that require fresh information updates for swift decision-making.

Applicable legislation and regulations: Statute of the Research Fellow (EBI), approved by Law n.º 40/2004 of August 18, in the current wording published by Decree-Law n.º 123/2019 of August 28 Regulation of Research Grants, n.º Order No. 950/2019 of 12-16-2019, from the Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P. – in effect.

Rules for Granting and Management of Scholarships in the context of R&D Projects, including projects of infrastructure, the multiannual funding program for R&D units and other FCT Version 2023 funding instruments are available at:

https://www.fct.pt/financiamento/programas-de-financiamento/bolsas/

https://files.dre.pt/2s/2019/12/241000000/0009100105.pdf

https://www.fct.pt/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Tabela-de-Valores-SMM_atualizacao-2024.pdf

https://dre.pt/dre/legislacao-consolidada/lei/2004-58216179

Workplace: The work will be developed at COPELABS, under the scientific supervision of Prof. Dushantha Nalin K. Jayakody.

Scholarship duration: The grant has duration of 3 months, with possible extension up to 6 months, starting on October 1, 2024.

Monthly maintenance allowance amount: The scholarship amount corresponds to € 1 259,64, according to the table of values of scholarships awarded directly by FCT, IP in Portugal https://www.fct.pt/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Tabela-de-Valores-SMM_atualizacao-2024.pdf).

The scholarship will be paid monthly on the last working day of each month by bank transfer.

Selection methods: The selection methods to be used will be the following: Curriculum Vitae [40%]; Level of knowledge in the field of Telecommunications, with an emphasis on the work in the planed area [30%]; interview [30%].

The Selection Jury composition: 1. Prof. Dushantha Nalin K. Jayakody, Prof. Auxiliar, Lusófona University 2. Slavisa Tomic, Prof. Associado, Lusófona University 3. Prof. Rui Dinis, Professor Associado, FCT/University Nova de Lisboa.

Form of announcement/notification of results: The final results of the evaluation will be published in an alphabetically ordered list, posted in a visible and public place at COPELABS, and the scholarship winner will be notified by email. Application deadline and form of submission of applications: The tender is opened from 09-09-2024 until 17:00 on 20-09-2024. Applications must be formalized, mandatorily, by sending an application letter accompanied with the following documents: Curriculum Vitae, Motivation Letter, Certificate of Qualifications, copy of identification document and other documents that verify to what is reported in the candidate’s CV. Applications must be delivered to COPELABS or submitted by email to rebeka.tomic@ulusofona.pt with the subject SF/COPELABS/BOLSA/ESTUDANTE2/2024.