Master’s Studentship: 5G and Energy Efficiency at Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)

Research area:

The research and development in this studentship focus on novel methods, models and solutions to enhance the efficiency of energy utilisation in the fifth generation (5G) and beyond wireless networks. The following are some of the research focus areas:

• Considering energy efficiency in open Radio Access Network (RAN);
• Radio Access Network (RAN) slicing from the energy consumption perspective;
• Towards energy-efficient 6G Radio Access Networks;
• Energy and cost savings with antennas for 5G and beyond;
• An energy cost perspective in optimising wireless coverage in rural areas; and
• Energy versus physical layer security in 5G and beyond.

Key responsibilities:

• Plan and prepare a research proposal on a topic aligned with the research area. The proposal is to be approved by both the CSIR and the university;
• Prepare a written literature overview of the current state-of-the-art relevant to the research area;
• Perform original research to solve the open research problem that the student identified in his/her proposal;
• Produce sufficient quality and quantity of peer-reviewed research publications based on the research topic;
• Compile the Masters’ thesis and defend the work successfully;
• Contribute to extra activities that may be outside the scope of the Masters’ research, as per the needs of the research group. The amount of such work shall be limited to 20% of the total time.

Qualifications, skills and experience:

An Honour’s degree in electronic/computer engineering, computer science, or a related/relevant field.

• All international qualifications require an evaluation report / certificate issued by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA);
• Aggregate university grade of 75% or above;
• Knowledge of telecommunications systems, wireless communications systems, software-defined radios, networks and mobile networks will be advantageous;
• Understanding of and experience in electronic circuits and especially radio frequency/microwave/mm-wave design will be advantageous;
• Strong analytical skills including good mathematical and statistical ability; knowledge of signal and digital signal processing, MIMO and coding will be advantageous;
• Must be computer literate and have good programming skills, preferably in C/Python; knowledge of coding in Matlab or Octave or related engineering/mathematical software packages will be advantageous;
• Knowledge of and experience in Open-Source development tools and an understanding of the Linux OS will be advantageous;
• Knowledge in 5G and other generations of mobile networks (e.g., 4G) will be advantageous;
• Good communication skills (verbal and written) and ability to interact efficiently with diverse teams of people.