Call for application
The Call is OPEN
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 2026.
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: 27th August 2026, 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:
Applicants who will have the application open after the publication of additional scholarships may apply for these scholarships by using the entry “Other” in the appropriate section of the online application.
Applicants who have already completed and submitted their application prior to the publication of additional scholarships will be able to apply for these scholarships by submitting an additional application.
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
no. 4 scholarships on reserved topics - DISI Department of Information Engineering and Computer Science:
- A1 - Efficient Context Management for Multimodal Conversational (Project: IARPA - Video Lincs – Rota; Prime Contract Nr. 56000026C0025 - Subcontract Nr. PO130479; CUP E63C26000510005); (Project: ROTA-CT PAT 2026; CUP F81F21000010006) » details
- A2 - Neurosymbolic Reinforcerment Learning in Dialogue » details
- A3 - Novel Riemannian Frameworks for Representation Learning in Non-Euclidean Spaces (Project: GUIDANCE (Debugging Computer Vision Models via Controlled Cross- modal Generation) FIS2023-03251; CUP E53C25000420001) » details
- A4 - Toward Adaptive Multimodal Conversational Agents (Project: IARPA - Video Lincs – Rota; Prime Contract Nr. 56000026C0025 - Subcontract Nr. PO130479; CUP E63C26000510005); (Project: UE HE ELLIOT - RICCI; GA: 101214398 – ELLIOT; CUP: E63C25001010006); (Project: ROTA-CT PAT 2026; CUP F81F21000010006) » details
Additional scholarships
- A10 - Towards Trustworthy Fundation Models for Human-Machine Decision Making (Project: UE HE TANGO Passerini; G.A. 101120763; CUP: E63C23000670006) » details
no. 5 scholarships on reserved topics - FBK Fondazione Bruno Kessler:
- A5 - Integrating Values, Beliefs, and Social Dynamics into Conversational Agents » details
- A6 - Knowledge-Driven Natural Language Generation for Combating Hateful Misinformation » details
- A7 - Reasoning in Multimodal Models » details
- A8 - Structured Semantic Enhancement of 3D Scene Representations » details
- A9 - Human-centred Evaluation Frameworks for Multilingual Technologies » 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. 1 scholarship on reserved topics - National Cybersecurity Agency:
- B1 - Real-Time-Aware Trusted Execution Environments for Hardware-Rooted Identity and Mission Execution Integrity (CUP E66E26000040001) » details
no. 5 scholarships on reserved topics - DISI Department of Information Engineering and Computer Science:
- B2 - AI-based XR systems for real-time interaction in the Musical Metaverse (Project: UE HE MUSMET – TURCHET; CUP E63C24002360006) » details
- B3 - AI4SecWallets - using AI for experimental vulnerability detection, repair, and validation for EU Digital Identity Wallet applications » details
- B4 - Collaborative learning and planning algorithms for human-robot teams (Project: UE-HE-LS-HARMONICA; GA 101294331; CUP E63C26000780006) » details
- B5 - Electromagnetic Modeling and Digital Twin Development for Plant-Based Communication Systems (Project: UE - HE – ECOSENTINEL; GA n. 101186925; CUP E63C24001890006) » details
- B6– Stakeholders Analysis of Security for AI and AI for Security and its Policy Implications (Project: HORIZON EUROPE -Sec4AI4Sec Massacci; G.A. 101120393; CUP E63C23000720006) » details
no. 1 scholarship on reserved topics - FBK Fondazione Bruno Kessler:
- B7 - Artificial Intelligence for Tiny, Connected Devices: Enabling Learning and Inference on Resource-Limited Networked Embedded Systems » details
no. 1 scholarship on reserved topics - Fondazione Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici:
- B8- Advanced Machine Learning Methods for Climate Science » details
no. 1 scholarship on reserved topics - Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale (OGS) - Department of Information Engineering and Computer Science:
- B9- Novel AI-Based Approaches and Tools for Modeling Water Cooling Systems in Exascale Data Centers (Program HPC-TRES - https://www.ogs.it/it/high-performance-computing-laboratory-hpc-tres) (Project: UE HE LS ENSURE Fiore; GA n. 101292847; CUP E63C26001040006) » details
Area C (Curriculum 1: Computer Science)
- Social Informatics
- Software Engineering and Formal Methods
no. 1 scholarship on reserved topics - DISI Department of Information Engineering and Computer Science:
- C1 - Towards a sociotechnical model of the Cyber-creative Process » details
no. 3 scholarships on reserved topics - FBK Fondazione Bruno Kessler:
- C2 - Failure Propagation Analysis for Safety Assessment of Complex Systems » details
- C3 - Symbolic Model Checking techniques for embedded systems » details
- C4 - Modeling and Simulation of Urban Digital Twins » details
Area D (Curriculum 2: Telecommunications)
- Remote and Distributed Sensing
no. 1 scholarship on reserved topics - DISI Department of Information Engineering and Computer Science
- D1 - Artificial intelligence and data processing for planetary radars (Project: ASI JUICE RIME 2021 Bruzzone; CUP F65F21000950005. Project: ASI EnVision fase B1 Bruzzone; CUP F63C22000650005) » details