Call for application
Admission requirements and topics
In order to be admitted to the PhD programme, applicants must hold an academic degree that gives access to a third-level education (PhD) in the country in which it was awarded.
Applications are also accepted from students who expect to complete their degree by October 31st 2025.
For admission requirements and how to apply, please consult the Call for Applications located in the "Downloads" section on the right. Only the Italian version of the PhD Call is legally binding.
Deadline: August 22nd, 2025, hrs. 04:00 PM (CEST)
The application must be completed and submitted exclusively via the online system: Doctoral Programmes Applications
The application requires a non-refundable fee of €30
It is strongly recommended that you do not wait until the last few days before the deadline to submit your application.
Once you have completed and submitted your application, please ensure that you receive an email notification confirming the completion of your application.
The list below is a brief, non-exhaustive summary of what needs to be uploaded to the application:
♦ scanned copy of the applicant's ID card (only EU citizens) or passport (non-EU citizens)
♦ M.Sc/M.A. degree transcript of records and diploma
♦ Curriculum Vitae
♦ Motivation letter
♦ Research Proposal
♦ English language certificate with minimum level B2
When filling out the online application form, applicants must select only one Research Area in which they are interested. Within the same Research Area they may choose up to a maximum of 2 scholarships on reserved topics
Applicants may also opt for additional scholarships which will be available AFTER the publication of this call and will be published on the selection website. The maximum number of scholarships on reserved topics that can be selected, including any additional ones, is two within the same Research Area
PLEASE NOTE - Apply for additional scholarships by following these steps:
1. fill in the online application form. Use the 'Other' entry in the relevant section. Submit by 4:00pm (Italian time) on 22 August 2025;
2. complete the additional application by 28 August 2025.
NB
a) If you have already submitted your application, you must complete the additional application by 28 August 2025.
b) Applicants interested in applying for the additional scholarships must complete the additional application. If you do not complete the application, you will not be considered for these scholarships.
Intellectual Property Notice for PhD candidates under the UniTrento-FBK Agreement
Please read the following information carefully before submitting your application.
Intellectual Property of Research Results.The intellectual property rights of research results generated by PhD students under scholarships within the UniTrento-FBK Agreement shall belong to FBK.
Transfer of Intellectual Property Rights. FBK will establish agreements with PhD students regarding the transfer of intellectual property rights related to their research results.
Collaboration with UniTrento. If UniTrento academic staff contribute to research results obtained through PhD scholarships funded by FBK, the determination of IP shares will be defined through separate written agreements based on each party’s contribution. PhD students are required to collaborate with UniTrento in all necessary activities related to the joint management of IP.
Open positions
Area A (Curriculum 1: Computer Science)
- Deep and Structured Machine Learning
- Language Speech and Interaction
- Machine Learning and Intelligent Optimization
no. 2 scholarships - University of Trento
no. 3 scholarships on reserved topics - DISI Department of Information Engineering and Computer Science:
- A1 - Architectures and Representations for Robust Multimodal AI (project:GUIDANCE (Debugging Computer Vision Models via Controlled Cross- modal Generation) FIS2023-03251 – CUP E53C25000420001) » details
- A2 - Efficient Foundation Models for Resource-Constrained Visual Understanding (project: UE EDF RA - ARCHYTAS, n. 101167870; CUP: E63C24002180006) » details
- A3 -Unified representation learning for multimodal systems (project: GUIDANCE (Debugging Computer Vision Models via Controlled Cross-modal Generation) FIS2023-03251 – CUP E53C25000420001) » details
no. 3 scholarships on reserved topics - FBK Fondazione Bruno Kessler:
- A4 - Combining GeoAI and multi-modal LLM to retrieve spatial-temporal information from historical data » details
- A5 - Dynamic Personas: Modeling the Evolution of Opinions and Values in LLMs » details
- A6 - Knowledge-Driven Natural Language Generation for Combating Online Harms » details
Area B (Curriculum 1: Computer Science)
- Cyber Security
- Embedded Intelligence and Robotics Systems
- Systems and Networks
- Wireless networking, sensing and localization
no. 1 scholarship - University of Trento
no. 5 scholarships on reserved topics - DISI Department of Information Engineering and Computer Science:
- B1 - Algorithm and Runtime Co-Design for Efficient AI on Heterogeneous Architectures (project: UE EDF RA - ARCHYTAS, n. 101167870; CUP: E63C24002180006) » details
- B2 - Design and Integration of a Hardware Description Language for Optoelectronic Accelerators in Artificial Intelligence (project: UE EDF RA - ARCHYTAS, n. 101167870; CUP: E63C24002180006) » details
- B3 - Low-power and batteryless wireless networking and localization » details
- B4 - Scalable Parallel Algorithms for Efficient Attention-Based Learning on Emerging Computing Systems (project: UE EDF RA - ARCHYTAS, n. 101167870; CUP: E63C24002180006) » details
- B7 - Advanced techniques for AI application to robotic manipulation (project:UE HE MAGICIAN, G.A. 101120731, CUP: E63C2300073000
» details
no. 2 scholarships on reserved topics - FBK Fondazione Bruno Kessler:
- B5 - Dependable AI-Driven Anomaly Detection for Securing Industrial Control Systems » details
- B6 - Secure AI-Focused Programming and Regulatory Software Compliance » details
Additional scholarships (published on 05.08.2025]
- B8 - AI-Aided Extraction of Key Risk Indicators and Security KPIs – CUP E66E25000010001, funded by the National Cybersecurity Agency (ACN) » details
- B9 - Security of satellite communications, funded by DISI Department » details
Area C (Curriculum 1: Computer Science)
- Data Intelligence
- Social Informatics
- Software Engineering and Formal Methods
no. 2 scholarships on reserved topics - DISI Department of Information Engineering and Computer Science:
- C1 - Agentic AI for Adaptive Autonomy: Architectures and Mechanisms for Self-Improving Autonomous Agent» details
- C2 - Innovative education for social impacts of computer science » details
no. 4 scholarships on reserved topics - FBK Fondazione Bruno Kessler:
- C3 - Certifying model checking » details
- C4 - Failure analysis and safety assessment of complex industrial systems » details
- C5 - SMT-based software model checking » details
- C6 - Testing methodologies for complex configurable systems » details
No. 1 supernumerary positions without scholarship (see art. 9, announcement of selection - download box)
Area D (Curriculum 2: Telecommunications)
- Multimedia Signal Processing and Understanding
- Remote and Distributed Sensing
no. 1 scholarship - University of Trento
no. 2 scholarships on reserved topics - DISI Department of Information Engineering and Computer Science
- D4 - Satellite ground penetrating radar for mapping and monitoring ice in the Earth's polar regions » details
- D5 - Machine learning methodologies for the analysis of images and data acquired by planetary radars (project: ASI Missione JUICE Bruzzone, GA 2023-6-HH.0, CUP: F83C23000070005) » details
no. 3 scholarships on reserved topics - FBK Fondazione Bruno Kessler:
- D1 - Artificial intelligence for Earth monitoring » details
- D2 - Bridging Space and Soil: AI-Driven Insights from Satellite and IoT Data for Smart Farming » details
- D3 - Radar sounder data processing and information extraction for space exploration (project: ASI-INAF n. 2023-6-HH.0 JUICE-RIME-E - CUP: F83C23000070005)» details
no. 1 of positions reserved to applicants who are granted scholarships by foreign countries (see art. 6, announcement of selection - download box)