We are seeking highly motivated PhD students for fully funded positions in software engineering under a joint PhD program between the ANU and SMU (Singapore). Students enrolled in this program will have the opportunity to spend one year at SMU in Singapore for research collaboration and academic exchange.
The projects focus on cutting-edge topics in software engineering (SE), including AI4SE, SE4AI, software supply chain security, usable privacy, and trustworthy AI. Students will work closely with internationally recognised researchers and collaborate with active research groups across both ANU and SMU.
The major supervisor at ANU is Xiaoyu Sun, with co-supervision from Zhenchang Xing. The SMU-side supervisor is David Lo (ACM Fellow and IEEE Fellow), a leading researcher in software analytics and AI-driven software engineering.
The PhD positions are fully funded and include scholarship support and research opportunities across both institutions.
Requirements
We are looking for students who are:
- Research mature and able to independently identify research problems and drive open-ended research projects
- Passionate about building systems and solving challenging problems
- Highly self-motivated and proactive in research
Applicants are generally expected to have:
- A strong CS background from a top university (e.g., ANU H1, 985 universities or equivalent)
- Publications in top-tier software engineering conferences/journals (e.g., CCF-A / ICSE / FSE / ASE) is highly preferred
- Strong academic performance (e.g., top 10% GPA, IELTS 7+/TOEFL 100+, or equivalent English proficiency)
- Strong coding, systems, and research skills
- Experience with AI, software engineering, systems, or security research
The following experiences are considered strong advantages:
- AI agent or intelligent system development experience (especially building deployable systems)
- AI infrastructure or large-scale systems development experience
- Software testing, program analysis, or software security experience
Student Support and Opportunities
Students in our group may have opportunities for:
- Collaboration with leading researchers from academia and industry
- Access to API and compute resources for agent, infrastructure, and systems research
- Support for turning research prototypes into deployable systems and real-world applications
Contact
Please send the following materials to xiaoyu.sun1@anu.edu.au:
- Your CV
- Academic transcripts
- 1–2 representative publications (if available)
- A brief description of your research interests, vision, or future research plan