Fully funded PhD fellowship in Resource Efficiency for Generative AI
The Inference & Retrieval Lab within the Department of Computer Science (DIKU) at the University of Copenhagen invites applications for a fully funded PhD Fellowship commencing in January 2027, or as soon as possible thereafter.
The successful candidate will undertake research on Resource Efficiency for Generative AI, such as Large Language Models (LLMs) and AI agents, contributing to the development of more efficient, sustainable, and accessible AI systems.
The PhD fellow will become a member of the Inference & Retrieval Lab, one of the research labs within the Machine Learning Section at DIKU. The Machine Learning Section is an internationally recognised research environment with a strong track record of excellence in the broader area of Machine Learning, including Natural Language Processing and Web & Information Retrieval.
- Research focus: Resource efficient and sustainable Generative AI
The PhD project will broadly explore resource efficient Generative AI, such as Large Language Models and AI agents, and their role in the sustainability of AI. The research may address resource efficiency at different stages of the LLM lifecycle, including the development of novel algorithms, training and learning paradigms, prompting and inference strategies, and hardware‑aware optimisation techniques.
The overarching goal is to investigate approaches that can substantially reduce the computational, energy, and other resources required to develop and deploy LLM‑based systems, while maintaining or improving their performance and capabilities.
The successful candidate will be expected to formulate and develop an independent and ambitious PhD research project within this broad area, in close collaboration with the supervisory team.
Supervision and collaboration
The PhD fellow will be supervised by
- Professor Christina Lioma — Principal Supervisor
- Associate Professor Maria Maistro
- Assistant Professor Raghavendra Selvan
We warmly encourage prospective candidates who are passionate about efficient, sustainable, and responsible AI and who wish to contribute to the next generation of Large Language Models to apply.
Terms of employment in the regular programme
Employment as PhD fellow is full time and for maximum 3 years. Employment is conditional upon your successful enrolment as a PhD student at the PhD School at the Faculty of SCIENCE, University of Copenhagen.
The terms of employment and salary are in accordance to the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State (AC). The position is covered by the Protocol on Job Structure.
Salary range starts at DKK 31,800 / 4,200 per month (August 2026 level).
- Application deadline: 10 October 2026, 23:59 CET.
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