-- Dr. Alessandra Rossi Assistant Professor PRISCA research lab Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy emails: a*****i@herts.ac.uk, a**************i@unina.it, a**************i@ieee.org website: alessandrarossi.net twitter: @alhandra81 At the University of Naples Federico II (Italy), we are looking for one PhD student in social robotics. Start date: November 2023, from 3 to 4.5 years Application deadline: July 10th , 2023 (12 noon, CET time) As part of the initiative Italian National Doctoral School in Robotics and Intelligent Machines (DRIM), the University of Naples Federico II is offering 1 Ph.D. position starting in November 2023. DRIM is an initiative of I-RIM, the Italian Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Machines (https://i-rim.it/en/). DRIM is a consortium of 27 highly qualified international level Italian Universities and Research Institutions (see the list below) proposing the research themes and funding the scholarships. The University of Genoa manages the administration of the Ph.D. school on behalf of the whole consortium. The coordinator of the Ph.D. school is Prof. G. Cannata, University of Genoa. The Ph.D. has a duration of 36 months. The researcher will focus on the following topics: Research topic: Healthcare and wellness of persons The focus of the project is to investigate how robots could be endowed with adaptive and proactive behaviour in order to predict the users' needs to support them in assistive tasks. To achieve this goal, both the proper perceptual capabilities to infer beliefs, emotions and desires of a user and decision-making ones are necessary components. In particular, the ability to have a Theory of Mind (ToM) representing and reasoning on the users’ mental state as they evolve over time and personalize the robot’s behaviour based on inferred beliefs and intentions will be considered. Requirements: MSc or equivalent in Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science or Engineering with a focus on Intelligent Systems, Intelligent Robotics, Machine Learning and Human-Robot Interaction is required. Excellent programming skills (Python, C++, Machine Learning Frameworks, ROS etc.) are needed. The post provides access to courses by top researchers in any of the participating institutions and the chance to spend visiting periods in other highly specialized centres in Europe and worldwide. Applicants who already have a doctoral degree are not eligible. Excellent English communication skills are an important requirement. Application: Applications are *now open* for 63 positions in total. At the University of Naples Federico II, the application is for 1 position. Instructions to apply are available here: https://drim.i-rim.it/en/admission/. The successful candidate will be working at the PRISCA Lab in Naples, Italy. Naples (Italian: Napoli) is the third-largest city in Italy and is the capital of the Campania region. World-known for its rich history, art, culture, architecture, music, and gastronomy, Naples is a lively, exciting and bustling city situated on the southwest coast in a gorgeous gulf, and is surrounded by attractive tourist and archaeological sites such as Capri, Ischia, Amalfi Coast, Pompei, Ercolano, Mount Vesuvius. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naples for further information. For more details on the project, please email Prof. Silvia Rossi at s**********i@unina.it.