Doctoral Researcher, Emergent Communication Protocols in Beyond 5G/6G Systems, MSCA Doctoral Networks

Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering, Centre for Wireless Communications

The University of Oulu is a multidisciplinary, international research university, with about 4000 employees who produce new knowledge based on high-standards research and provide research based education to build a more sustainable, smarter, and more humane world. The University of Oulu community has about 17,000 people in total. Our northern scientific community operates globally and creates conditions for the emergence of innovations.

We are now looking for a

Doctoral Researcher

to join us in the Centre for Wireless Communications (CWC) at the Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering at the University of Oulu .

The Intelligent Connectivity and Networks Group (ICON), part of the CWC, focuses on the theoretical and algorithmic foundations of next-generation wireless systems. Its research is interdisciplinary, combining machine learning, optimization, control, and economics to enable intelligent and adaptive connectivity. CWC is internationally recognized for its leading research and strong industry collaboration in beyond 5G and 6G technologies.

This position is part of the GENOME project, funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Doctoral Networks.

About the job

This doctoral research is conducted within the GENOME (GENerative and connected intelligence for 6G Open ManagemEnt) project, which focuses on developing AI-native solutions for autonomous network management across O-RAN, edge, and cloud domains. The project investigates large language models (LLMs), intent-based networking, and neuro-symbolic AI to enable connected intelligence and adaptive orchestration of network functions. In this context, the position focuses on learning resource-efficient communication protocols for distributed, task-oriented agents in beyond 5G/6G systems. The key research themes include

Emergent semantic communication

Learning-based protocol design

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