PhD Studentship in Computing Science: Understanding Decisions of Machine Learning Models with Explorable Explanations

Award Summary

100% Home fees covered and a minimum tax-free annual living allowance of £19,237 (2024/25 UKRI rate)

Overview

This project focuses on explorable explanations for ML models and lies at the cross-section of interactive visualisation and AI explainability research. It aims to develop a software that allows to explore, investigate, and discover how the machine learning models make decisions.

The classic visualisation techniques, designed for paper, and still prevalent in science, do not expose the system behaviour in a way that encourages exploration. We are often “computer users thinking paper thoughts”. But if we want to make better science, we need to go beyond static visualisation and provide ways to interactively explore the behaviour of computational models. This is especially important when model decisions cannot be blindly trusted (e.g. in medical applications).

The successful applicant will join the Interdisciplinary Computing and Complex BioSystems group in the School of Computing at Newcastle University. The group specialises in interdisciplinary research at the interface of computing science and natural and synthetic complex systems (e.g. in biology or health care), and has expertise in scientific computing and machine intelligence. You will have a chance to work alongside other researches developing next generation algorithms to gain insights from real-world data, and will obtain training in independent problem solving, scientific software development, and science communication.

Number Of Awards

1

Start Date

September 2024

Award Duration

3.5 years

Application Closing Date

31 July 2024

Sponsor

School of Computing

Supervisors

Dr Paweł Widera

Eligibility Criteria

You must have a minimum 2:1 Honours degree, or international equivalent, in a subject relevant to the proposed PhD project (computing science, data science, artificial intelligence). A Masters qualification in a relevant subject area will be highly advantageous.

 The ideal applicant would be an independent thinker and a good communicator, enthusiastic about the AI explainability research, with a good knowledge of Python and JavaScript. 

Applicants whose first language is not English require an IELTS score of 6.5 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in all sub-skills.

The studentship covers fees at the Home rate (UK and EU applicants with pre-settled/settled status and meet the residency criteria). International applicants are welcome to apply but will be required to cover the difference between Home and International fees.

 International applicants may require an ATAS (Academic Technology Approval Scheme) clearance certificate prior to obtaining their visa and to study on this programme.

How To Apply

Use Apply to Newcastle Portal

Once registered select ‘Create a Postgraduate Application’.  

Use ‘Course Search’ to identify your programme of study:  

• Search for the ‘Course Title’ using the programme code: 8050F
• Research Area: Computing Science
• Select PhD Computer Science as the programme of study

 In ‘Further Questions’ section please upload:  

• ‘Personal Statement’ - upload a document or write a statement directly in the application form
• ‘Research proposal’ – you do not need to upload a research proposal - when prompted select ‘Write Proposal’ and just copy the project title from this advert
• The studentship code COMP2171 in the ‘Studentship/Partnership Reference’ field

 In ‘Supporting Documentation’ please upload: 

• covering letter and CV 
• degree transcripts and certificates (e.g. language qualifications)

Contact Details

Dr Pawel Widera

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