PhD studentship in Child-Robot Interaction design

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PhD studentship in Child-Robot Interaction design

Plymouth University                         

Qualification type:	PhD
Location:	Plymouth
Funding for:	UK Students, EU Students
Funding amount:	￡14,057                                                                                                                                                                per annum
Hours:	Full Time

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Placed on:	3rd December 2015
Closes:	22nd January 2016

            
                                    DoS: Prof Tony Belpaeme (tony.belpaeme@plymouth.ac.uk  tel.: +44 1752 586212)
2nd supervisor: Dr Séverin Lemaignan (severin.lemaignan@plymouth.ac.uk)
Applications are invited for a three-year PhD studentship. The studentship will start on April 1st 2016.
Project Description
Social robots have the potential to make a huge difference to people’s lives, and in recent years we have seen how social robots can be used to entertain, comfort and educate. This last ability is particularly promising: we now know that robots have a marked benefit in education over alternative technologies, such as PCs or tablets.
This PhD will study how social robots can teach children a second language. Speaking a second language is key to living in a modern world, and we study in how far personalised tutoring by a robot can help young children learn a language other than their own. You will program a social robot to understand the world around it, and specifically understand what the young child is doing and how well it is learning. For this the robot will rely on social signal processing, speech recognition and computer vision. This is not only needed to make sense of the world around the robot, but will also allow the robot to respond appropriately to the young people with which it interacts.
You should have a background in computer science or robotics, but as the research is multidisciplinary, a keen interest in cognitive science, pedagogy or linguistics is recommended.
This PhD is part of the new L2TOR project, a European H2020 project bringing together five universities and two companies, led by Prof Tony Belpaeme. In L2TOR we study second language tutoring using social robots. For a brief article see New Scientist: http://bit.ly/1lqk6SM
Eligibility
Applicants should have (at least) a first or upper second class honours degree in computer science, robotics, cognitive science or an appropriate subject and preferably a relevant MSc or MRes qualification.
The studentship is supported for 3 years and includes full Home/EU tuition fees plus a stipend of ￡14,057 per annum.  The studentship will only fully fund those applicants who are eligible for Home/EU fees with relevant qualifications.  Applicants normally required to cover overseas fees will have to cover the difference between the Home/EU and the overseas tuition fee rates (approximately ￡10,800 per annum).
If you wish to discuss this project further informally, please contact Professor Tony Belpaeme, email: tony.belpaeme@plymouth.ac.uk. However, applications must be made in accordance with the details shown below.
General information about applying for a research degree at Plymouth University is available at: https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/student-life/your-studies/the-graduate-school/applicants-and-enquirers
You can apply via the online application form which can be found at: https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/study/postgraduate and click ‘Apply’.
Please mark applications for the attention of Mrs C Watson and clearly state that you are applying for a PhD studentship within the School of Computing, Electronics and Mathematics.
For more information on the admissions process contact Mrs C Watson, email: [url=]c.watson@plymouth.ac.uk.[/url]
The closing date for applications is 12 noon on Friday 22 January 2016. Shortlisted candidates will be invited for interview in early February. We regret that we may not be able to respond to all applications.  Applicants who have not received an offer of a place by 28 February 2016 should consider their application has been unsuccessful on this occasion.