PhD Student

Job description

Vacancy PhD researcher: Video Compression, Distribution and Quality.
The Internet Technology & Data Science Lab (IDLab) is an imec research group at Ghent University and the University of Antwerp. IDLab focuses its research on internet technologies and data science. Bringing together more than 300 internet experts, we develop technologies outperforming current solutions for communication subsystems, high-speed and low-power networking, distributed computing, multimedia processing, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and web semantics. IDLab has a unique research infrastructure used in numerous national and international collaborations. IDLab also collaborates with many universities and research centers worldwide and jointly develops advanced technologies with industry (R&D centers from international companies, Flanders’ top innovating large companies and SMEs, as well as numerous ambitious start-ups).
Within IDLab, the IDLab-MEDIA research team (http://media.idlab.ugent.be) is looking for a qualified and motivated candidate to perform academic research (targeting a PhD, partly in the context of an industrial research project) in order to improve upon state-of-the-art techniques and algorithms for video compression and distribution. Aspects that will be investigated include:

• The most recent video compression algorithms such as Versatile Video Coding (VVC) and AOMedia Video 1 (AV1);
• The combination of scalable video coding, forward error correction, and wireless distribution;
• Content-dependent rate control and encoder optimization using machine learning techniques.

One fully funded position as PhD student is available (4 years, with yearly progress evaluation).

Job Offer

We offer you the opportunity to do full-time research in a highly international and friendly working environment, with a competitive salary at Ghent University. As researcher within the IDLab-MEDIA team, you will publish and present your research results at major international conferences and in scientific journal in order to pursue your PhD degree.

As researcher, you will be assigned to our core activities on video compression and distribution. We will introduce you to video compression technology by starting your research journey at a high abstraction level, i.e., considering the video encoder as a black box. Research you will perform includes, but is not limited to, scalable and error resilient video coding techniques to improve multipath video delivery (e.g., combining broadcast and unicast distribution). Gradually, you will dive deeper into the low-level internals of video codecs to intelligently steer the quantization process and the individual encoder decisions. Throughout the process, you will get the opportunity to develop yourself toward a highly valued expert in the field of video compression and distribution. Finally, the work you perform will partly be in collaboration with different Belgian and international commercial players in the field, improving your industrial relevance along the way. Your supervisors, Prof. Peter Lambert and Prof. Glenn Van Wallendael, will guide you on a day-to-day basis.

Job profile

Your Profile

• You need to hold a relevant master’s degree (e.g., Master of Science in Computer Science Engineering, Master of Science in Mathematics, Master of Science in Informatics, Master of Science in Computer Science, or similar) with demonstrated first-class performance (e.g., outstanding grades, thesis result, or publications).
• Your English is fluent, both speaking and writing.
• You can demonstrate mastery of the following core aspects:
  o Image representation/manipulation and color science.
  o Basic knowledge about video coding (VVC and AV1 standards, scalable coding, rate control, adaptive streaming) and machine learning (classification, regression, deep learning).
  o Programming in Python and C++.
• Expert knowledge about coding tools used in video coding standards (H.264/AVC and H.265/HEVC) and experience with machine learning approaches or frameworks (e.g., Keras, Tensorflow…) are considered a plus.
• You are a team player with good networking and reporting skills.

How to apply

Interested?

Great! Applications may be sent by email to laura.smekens@ugent.be. Please include cover letter, CV, and contact details of 1 to 3 referees. Do not include reference letters, these will be solicited by us. Suitable candidates will be invited for an interview and may get a small assignment. Application deadline is November 15 2021, but applications remain welcome until the position is filled. We offer you a flexible starting date, with a preference to start as soon as possible. For more information about the topic of the PhD itself, please contact Prof. Glenn Van Wallendael (glenn.vanwallendael@ugent.be).