ELLIS PhD & Postdoc Program

The ELLIS PhD & Postdoc Program supports excellent young researchers by connecting them to leading researchers across Europe and offering a variety of networking and training activities, including summer schools and workshops. ELLIS PhDs and postdocs conduct cutting-edge curiosity-driven research in machine learning or a related research area with the goal of publishing in top-tier conferences in the field.

See a list of our current ELLIS PhDs and postdocs here!

There are two two tracks within the ELLIS PhD & Postdoc Program: the academic track and the industry track. These tracks have separate requirements for admission and criteria for activity during the appointment, but otherwise offer the same benefits, network and resources to the applicant.

Academic Track: PhDs and postdocs in the academic track are supervised by one ELLIS fellow/scholar or unit faculty, and one ELLIS fellow/scholar/member from different European countries. During their appointment, they visit the exchange institution for a minimum of 6 months (normally sponsored by the exchange institution and ELISE Mobility Grant). See the list of ELLIS Amsterdam Fellows, Scholars, and Members here.

Industry Track: PhDs and postdocs in the industry track will be part of a collaboration between an academic institution and an industry partner. The candidate will spend a minimum of 50% of their time at the academic institution, and at least 6 months (cumulative) with the industry partner. For this track, both advisors may be located in the same country. The academic advisor must be an ELLIS fellow or scholar, and the industry advisor can be an ELLIS fellow, scholar, or member*. ELLIS Amsterdam is proud to have the most industry track students of the ELLIS network, thanks to our widespread collaborations with industry through partnerships such as the Bosch-Delta and QUVA labs.

Visit ellis.eu/phd-postdoc and check out the information deck for more details about the ELLIS PhD and Postdoc Program.

Who can apply? (Current PhDs or postdocs)

ELLIS fellows, scholars or unit faculty may nominate PhD students or postdocs who are working with them to become ELLIS PhD students or postdocs in the academic or industry track. Note that postdocs of either track are currently only recruited via nomination. Please see here for more details about the requirements and the nomination process.

*It is now possible for industry representatives to join the ELLIS PhD & Postdoc program as Industry Track advisors if they are not ELLIS Members, if they have already published a first-author paper together with the applying student candidate in a top-tier publication in machine learning or related sub-fields (see ellis.eu/members for a list of accepted publications).