Openings

IIT Kharagpur runs an institute-wide Post-Doctoral Fellowship (PDF) scheme, open across departments, centres, and schools, including GSSST. Candidates whose work aligns with the lab (causal AI, reinforcement learning, game theory, or next-generation networks) are warmly invited to apply, naming GSSST as the host school and the LAN Lab as the proposed research group.

The lab is also happy to host post-doctoral fellows under the ANRF National Post-Doctoral Fellowship (N-PDF, formerly SERB-NPDF), where applicants choose their own host institution and mentor. Eligibility, fellowship terms, and the application route for either scheme are set by the respective funding body and described on the official pages linked below. Write to me before applying so we can discuss research fit and the proposed direction of work.

We are looking for motivated PhD candidates to work on causal AI, reinforcement learning, game theory, and next-generation networks. Admission is through IIT Kharagpur's round-the-year (rolling) PhD process, with applications reviewed each quarter.

What we look for

• A strong mathematical foundation in probability, stochastic processes, optimisation, and machine learning.
• Intellectual curiosity, and comfort with open-ended problems that reward creative, non-standard thinking over routine textbook exercises.

Candidates from a range of backgrounds are welcome to apply; the full eligibility matrix is on the admission page linked below. Applicants with a strong GATE rank may also be eligible for the Institute's Director's Platinum Jubilee Excellence PhD Fellowship (DPEF), and a Bachelor's degree from an IIT or NIT may be considered favourably. Please feel free to mention either when writing in.

Write to me beforehand to discuss research directions and fit.

An MS by Research position in the lab is available through project funding: candidates who join one of the lab's funded projects, and who meet the Institute's MS-by-Research eligibility, can be considered for enrolment in the programme. Write to me to discuss what is currently available and whether the route fits.

The lab is in the process of transferring an ongoing research project to IIT Kharagpur. Openings for Junior and Senior Research Fellows and project associates will be announced here once the transfer is complete. Write to me in advance to register your interest.