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Dear colleagues,</div>
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I am pleased to announce a fully funded 4-year PhD position at the School of Mathematical Sciences, University of Southampton (UK), starting 1 October 2026.</div>
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<b>📌 Project Title: The Mathematics of Deep Bilevel Learning</b></div>
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<b>Project Summary</b><br>
Deep learning has been a driving force behind the rapid progress of AI for more than a decade, culminating recently in the success of large language models powered by transformer architectures—a class of deep neural networks. In parallel, bilevel optimization
has emerged as a powerful framework for modeling complex machine learning tasks, giving rise to what we refer to as deep bilevel learning. This PhD project will investigate the mathematical foundations of deep bilevel learning, with the goal of uncovering
structural properties that can be exploited to design more efficient, robust, and explainable learning algorithms. The results have the potential to influence the next generation of AI systems and advance theory at the intersection of optimization, machine
learning, and deep learning.</div>
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<b>🎓 Supervisors</b></div>
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<div role="presentation" class="elementToProof">Professor Alain Zemkoho, University of Southampton (project lead; bilevel optimization)</div>
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<div role="presentation" class="elementToProof">Professor Massimiliano Pontil, University College London & Italian Institute of Technology (machine/deep learning)</div>
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<b>💡 Candidate Profile</b></div>
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<div role="presentation" class="elementToProof">Applicants should have a strong background in optimization, applied mathematics, and/or machine learning.</div>
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<div role="presentation" class="elementToProof">Open to UK and international students (fees covered at UK rate).</div>
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<b>💰 Funding & Benefits</b></div>
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<div role="presentation" class="elementToProof">£20,760/year stipend (~£1,730/month, tax-free)</div>
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<div role="presentation" class="elementToProof">Support for conferences and potential stays at UCL and the Italian Institute of Technology</div>
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<div role="presentation" class="elementToProof">Optional paid part-time teaching assistantship</div>
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<div role="presentation" class="elementToProof">Funding provided by DAS Ltd and the EPSRC Doctoral Landscape Award (Collaborative Studentships Scheme)</div>
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<b>📅 Key Dates</b></div>
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<div role="presentation" class="elementToProof"><b>Application deadline:</b> 9 January 2026</div>
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<div role="presentation" class="elementToProof"><i>(interviews may take place on a rolling basis until the position is filled)</i></div>
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<div role="presentation" class="elementToProof"><b>Start date:</b> 1 October 2026</div>
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<div role="presentation" class="elementToProof"><b>Duration:</b> 4 years</div>
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<b>How to apply:</b><br>
👉 <a class="OWAAutoLink" id="OWA26b481e5-c00d-e147-c446-37802408a442" href="https://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPQ619/phd-opportunity-the-mathematics-of-deep-bilevel-learning">
https://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPQ619/phd-opportunity-the-mathematics-of-deep-bilevel-learning</a></div>
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<b>For informal enquiries:</b><br>
📩 a.b.zemkoho@soton.ac.uk</div>
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I would be grateful if you could circulate this opportunity to suitable candidates or share it within relevant networks.</div>
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Best wishes,</div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">Professor Alain Zemkoho</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">School of Mathematical Sciences</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">University of Southampton</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="OWAAutoLink" id="OWAd4c6b70b-4493-a79f-4c88-4a8254f1f523" href="http://www.southampton.ac.uk/~abz1e14/">http://www.southampton.ac.uk/~abz1e14</a></span></div>
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