[AISWorld] PhD Positions with relation to VR/AR/AI

Tue Apr 5 03:49:42 EDT 2022

Dear AIS,

I am reaching out to you with the ambition of disseminating two opening positions for PhD candidates at University West, in Sweden! Both positions emphasize research within Information Systems, Human-Computer Interaction, and work-integrated learning, with a strong relation to Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality/Artificial Intelligence. I would thus be humbly grateful if you could share info about these positions via the AIS mail. Below I share essential info for both positions, which you can use when disseminating via the mail-list:

Position 1

Open PhD position: Virtual Reality for Sustainable Safety Training and Meaningful Learning in Industrial Contexts

Application deadline: April 30th 2022.

Start: August 1st 2022 or according to agreement.

Virtual Reality for Sustainable Safety Training and Meaningful Learning in Industrial Contexts

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Open fully funded PhD student project in Work Integrated Learning at University West, Sweden.

The doctoral project focuses on exploring

The purpose of the PhD project is to explore and produce scientific knowledge on how Virtual Reality (VR) technology can be co-designed and co-developed together with practitioners and stakeholders, to facilitate sustainable training procedures that enhances the organizations’ work-integrated learning processes. Specific outcomes shall thus help the organizations to increase employees’ sustainability awareness by concretizing more sustainable work-integrated learning behaviors and choices, as well as to allocate fixed resources to carry out real training scenarios in VR under secure circumstances. The outcomes of the project need to bridge practical relevancy through a joint effort between researchers and practitioners, with scientific knowledge that is viable for the fields of work-integrated learning and Information Systems.

The collaboration arenas of the project include large organizations from the industries of transportation and manufacturing. These arenas constitute collaborating parties and provide access to the empirical contexts involved in the project. In addition, the project provides state-of-the- art technical infrastructure, support, and digital competence through the University West Open Lab (www.hv.se/en/openlab).

more info: tinyurl.com/VRforTraining

contact: Associate Prof. Amir Haj-Bolouri, amir.haj-bolouri at hv.se<mailto:amir.haj-bolouri at hv.se>

Subject:

Open PhD position: Artificial Intelligence for emerging Virtual/Mixed/Augmented Reality platforms

Application deadline: April 30th 2022.

Start: August 1st 2022 or according to agreement

Position 2

Artificial Intelligence for emerging Virtual/Mixed/Augmented Reality platforms

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Open fully funded PhD student project in Work Integrated Learning at University West, Sweden.

The doctoral project focuses on exploring and developing knowledge about how to design, develop and situate Artificial Intelligence(AI)-powered Mixed Reality platforms (spanning Virtual and Augmented Reality) to best support work-integrated learning (WIL) processes in complex industrial settings. This includes developing and testing interactive prototypes in both controlled lab settings and naturalistic settings at partner organization sites. Important open questions regard for instance, how AI best can be used for improving knowledge sharing vertically and horizontally within organisations, including both novices and experts, in particular for aspects of tasks that demand flexible manual craftsmanship, long-term practical experience, “bigger picture” intuition, or other kinds of tacit knowledge.

The PhD project will likely relate to strands of research currently investigated at the University West Open Lab (www.hv.se/en/openlab) such as:

- Knowledge representation: Representation of (tacit) human knowledge for facilitating vertical cross-work role knowledge sharing (e.g. between machine maintenance experts and operators; medical doctors and nurses) or horizontal within-work role knowledge sharing (e.g. experts teaching novices). Focus is on representation of knowledge and skills hard to formalise into static text/pictorial instructions, with the purpose of facilitating Machine Learning-based clustering and mapping.

- Augmented human: Combining AI and human capabilities by, e.g., integrating AI for semantic scene understanding with intuitive spatial and embodied user interaction, targeting control and efficient work in complex industrial environments and direct access to relevant knowledge. Explore how AI can aid in deliberately mixing the real and the virtual and making the flexibility of VR/AR accessible when adapting to specific work situations, in particular to make work in/with VR/AR more sustainable.

- Prescriptive knowledge: Design principles for adaptable AI-driven VR solutions for existing workplace training programs in industrial settings. Theory for how to design AI-driven VR solutions that enable cross boundary knowledge sharing among companies in the industrial sector; frameworks for understanding the wicked situation of safety training in physical settings and how design principles for sustainable VR training can tackle the situation.

The PhD project is expected to contribute with socio-technical solutions that are innovative, practical, and relevant for Work-Integrated Learning as well as for the fields of Computer Science, Information Systems, and Human-Computer Interaction.

more info: tinyurl.com/AIforXR

contact: Prof. Thomas Pederson, thomas.pederson at hv.se<mailto:thomas.pederson at hv.se>

Thank you for your consideration!
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Kind/regards/Vänliga hälsningar,

Amir Haj-Bolouri
Associate Professor (Docent) in Information Systems

Ph.D. in Informatics with a Specialization in Work-Integrated Learning

School of Business, Economics, and IT
Department of Informatics
University West

E: amir.haj-bolouri at hv.se<mailto:amir.haj-bolouri at hv.se>
T: +46520223553