PhD – Foundation Models for Robot Trajectories – Belgium and France

It has been announced an exciting PhD opportunity in the area of robotics and artificial intelligence as part of the GreenFieldData project, a Marie Curie Doctoral Network funded by the European Union.

This program provides high-level training, participation in an international network of top institutions, research secondments, and competitive compensation.

The research objective is innovative: the development of foundation models for robot trajectories. This project involves creating GPT-like models for spatiotemporal data to predict optimal trajectories for robots operating in real outdoor environments. Historical trajectory data, robot states, and environmental characteristics will be stored in databases and used to train these foundational models.

Program Details

• Degree: Double PhD program between Université libre de Bruxelles and Université Clermont Auvergne.
• Hosting: 18 months at the Data Science and Engineering Lab, Brussels (Belgium), followed by 18 months at the TSCF unit of INRAE, Clermont-Ferrand (France).
• Start Date: September 2026

Requirements

As part of the Horizon Europe MSCA-DN Project, all applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria:

– Doctoral Candidate:

• At the time of recruitment, you must not already hold a doctoral degree.
• Researchers who have successfully defended their doctoral thesis but have not yet formally been awarded the doctoral degree are not eligible.

– Mobility rule:

• Applicants of any nationality are welcome to apply.
• However, researchers must not have lived or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the RECRUITING HOST country (Belgium in this case) for more than 12 months within the 36 months immediately preceding their recruitment date.

Benefits

• Base salary (living + mobility allowance): €4,720 gross/month
• Approximate net base salary: €3,140/month
• Additional family allowance (if applicable): €660 gross/month

Organisation/Company – Université Libre de Bruxelles.

Field of research – Computer engineering.

Research profile – First Stage Researcher (R1).

Country – Belgium.

Application deadline – 15 Apr 2026 – 23:59 (Europe/Paris).

More information: Euraxess