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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:16.5pt;font-family:OpenSans-Regular;background:white">4 available PhD positions in Bioengineering and Robotics @ Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">In the spirit of the doctoral School on Bioengineering and Robotics the PhD Program for the curriculum “Cognitive Robotics, Interaction and Rehabilitation Technologies” (https://biorob.phd.unige.it/sites/biorob.phd.unige.it/files/2025-06/PhD%20themes%2041_Cognitive.pdf)
provides interdisciplinary training at the interface between technology and life-sciences.
<span style="color:#333333;background:white">The <i>CONTACT </i>Research Line is coordinated by <i>Alessandra Sciutti</i>, who has extensive experience in <i>Cognitive Architecture for Human Robot Interaction</i>.</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="background:white"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US">Application Procedure</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: The 2025 Doctorate First Call will close on
<b>July 9th 2025 at 12 noon</b> (CEST)”. (https://biorob.phd.unige.it/how-to-apply)</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">FOR MORE DETAILS VISIT THE PHD WEBSITE OF UNIGE:
</span><a href="https://unige.it/en/students/phd-programmes"><span lang="EN-US">https://unige.it/en/students/phd-programmes</span></a><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">FOR MORE DETAILS VISIT THE RESEARCH GROUP IN IIT:
</span><a href="https://contact.iit.it/openings"><span lang="EN-US">https://contact.iit.it/openings</span></a><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US">1) Memory-based Cognitive Architecture for Human Robot Interaction;</span></b><span lang="EN-US"> Tutors: Dr. Alessandra Sciutti, Dr. Francesco Rea, Prof. Giulio Sandini;
<b>Tutors affiliation</b>: CONTACT (https://contact.iit.it/) & RBCS (https://rbcs.iit.it/).</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US">Description</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: This project is part of the Brain and Machines IIT Flagship (https://www.iit.it/en/web/guest/our-research) and stems from the iCog open source initiative started at IIT (www.icog.eu)
with the goal of advancing our knowledge of human cognition by designing, building, and sharing a common cognitive architecture for an embodied artificial system such as iCub.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">The goal of this project is to model and implement the computational processes of memory and experience building in a cognitive framework supporting human-robot interaction (HRI). This work will focus on the recall of
long-term memory in interaction-based learning processes and on the autonomous adaptation to the human partner’s memory during interactive tasks.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US">Contacts</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the perspective tutors before they submit their application: alessandra.sciutti@iit.it, francesco.rea@iit.it, giulio.sandini@iit.it<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US">2) Adaptation in Cognitive Architectures for Human Robot Interaction</span></b><span lang="EN-US">; Tutors: Dr. Alessandra Sciutti, Dr. Francesco Rea, Prof. Giulio Sandini;
<b>Tutors affiliation:</b> CONTACT (https://contact.iit.it/) & RBCS (https://rbcs.iit.it/ )
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US">Description</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: In our everyday lives, we routinely engage in complex, adaptive, and personalized interactions with our peers. In natural (biological) cognitive agents, adaptation is a fundamental
ability, evident both at the behavioral and physiological levels. The candidate will investigate how adaptation manifests in humans and will work on the design and implementation of adaptation mechanisms in a cognitive framework for social robots. This project
is part of the Brain and Machines IIT Flagship (https://www.iit.it/en/web/guest/our-research) and stems from the iCog open source initiative started at IIT (www.icog.eu) with the goal of advancing our knowledge of human cognition by designing, building, and
sharing a common cognitive architecture for an embodied artificial system such as iCub.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US">Contacts</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the perspective tutors before they submit their application: alessandra.sciutti@iit.it, francesco.rea@iit.it,
</span><a href="mailto:giulio.sandini@iit.it"><span lang="EN-US">giulio.sandini@iit.it</span></a><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US">3) A robot with style: implementing new robotic actions to promote humanrobot interactions</span></b><span lang="EN-US">;
<b>Tutors</b>: Dr. Giuseppe Di Cesare, Dr. Francesco Rea, Dr. Alessandra Sciutti;
<b>Tutors affiliation</b>: CONTACT (https://contact.iit.it/) <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US">Description</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: During social interactions, observing others’ actions enables us to infer their underlying attitudes and affective states. Humans naturally perform actions with varying forms—such
as gentle, enthusiastic, annoyed, or rude reflecting their internal mood.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">The successful candidate will be involved in the following research activities: 1) contributing to the generation of expressive actions in the iCub robot based on distinct kinematic patterns; 2) designing and implementing
novel Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) tasks; 3) analysing human kinematic data to guide the generation of robotic actions; 4) sharing responsibility, together with the supervisor, for managing the iCub robot in Parma.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US">Contacts</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the perspective tutors before they submit their application: giuseppe.dicesare@unipr.it , francesco.rea@iit.it,
</span><a href="mailto:alessandra.sciutti@iit.it"><span lang="EN-US">alessandra.sciutti@iit.it</span></a><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US">4) Lifelong Sensorimotor Health: Assessing and Rehabilitating Manipulation Skills with Haptic Devices</span></b><span lang="EN-US">; Tutors: Dr. Alessandra Sciutti, Dr. Dario Pasquali, Prof. Giulio Sandini Tutors affiliation:
CONTACT (https://contact.iit.it/) & RBCS (https://rbcs.iit.it/ ) <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US">Description</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: The ability to manipulate objects is a fundamental aspect of human interaction with the environment, engaging cognitive and sensorimotor systems across the lifespan. This
PhD project is part of the Technologies for Healthy Living IIT Flagship (https://www.iit.it/our-research) and the ERC Proof of Concept project ARIEL (https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101189387). The candidate will work with custom sensing technologies such
as myCube, a sensorized object developed within ARIEL to quantitatively assess manipulation skills, along with commercial eye-tracking devices (e.g., Tobii, Pupil Labs) and custom Deep Learning models. The goal is to assess and support the assessment of development
or recovery of cognitive and sensorimotor functions in children, adults, and elderly individuals.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US">Contacts</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the perspective tutors before they submit their application: alessandra.sciutti@iit.it, dario.pasquali@iit.it, giulio.sandini@iit.it<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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