Students in Trustworthy Systems
Students are an integral part of the Trustworthy Systems Group: They contribute to research at various levels, gain highly sought-after skills in systems, formal methods and security, and produce code and proofs that end up protecting real-world systems. If this appeals to you, and you like the idea of being part of a highly-diverse, high-impact and fun team, then read on.
Research Training (MPhil and PhD)
The time normally available in the Australian university system for obtaining a PhD (four years of undergraduate studies followed by 3.5–4 years of postgraduate study and research) is too short to produce top-quality systems PhDs (the average duration of a systems PhD in the US is 6 years). The situation is only marginally better in formal methods, particularly the kind of proof-engineering we do. In TS we are addressing this challenge through a number of strategies:
- giving graduates a head-start by putting them through an intense buildup consisting of world-class courses, summer internships and challenging honours theses where they work on real research projects with researchers in the group;
- strongly encouraging graduates to gain further relevant experience and maturity prior to commencing a PhD. This can be obtained by employment in TS, by doing a Master's degree with a project in TS, doing an MPhil with us, or (in some cases) by relevant industrial experience – the MPhil degree is now the preferred pathway to a PhD with us;
- strongly encouraging PhD students to take internships in top industrial or public-sector research labs, or companies doing cutting-edge systems development;
- ensuring as far as possible that PhD students work on a project that has enough critical mass, expertise and international links to make success likely in the time given, and support this by a rigorous yet constructive review process;
- encouraging a culture of colleagiality, collaboration and hard work.
Information for prospective MPhil and PhD students
Outgoing Internships
PhD students are strongly recommended to do an internship of between three and twelve months duration at a top R&D institution. This can either happen between completing their undergraduate degree and commencing a research degree, or by taking course leave during their MPhil/PhD.
Past placements included IBM Research (Watson), Microsoft Research, Intel Research, Google, HP, Apple, and a number of leading universities. Internship offers exist from other leading companies and universities.
Projects for Coursework Students
Honours Theses and Other Coursework Projects
We provide an extensive and frequently-updated list of thesis projects, suitable for an honours thesis or a research project in a coursework degree. Most of them expect a strong grounding in systems, as provided by our advanced-level coursework. In average one honours thesis per year leads to a publication.
Incoming Internships
We host a large number of internships, mostly under the UNSW Engineering Taste of Research program, which is accessible to undergraduate students from Australian and New Zealand Universities. These internships are a great way to get additional experience in our fields of research, and recommend you to us.
Under similar conditions we host highly performing undergraduate interns from overseas universities under the UNSW under the UNSW Practicum Program.
We also sometimes host potential PhD students from other universities to evaluate and improve their systems or formal methods skills before deciding on acceptance for PhD studies. PhD applicants are expected to have a strong systems or formal methods background (significantly beyond standard university coursework) as well as a strong academic track record. Please check the information for prospective research students.
More information is on our Internships page.
Coursework
We provide or contribute to a number of courses in the systems and formal-methods area, all aimed to provide strong insights and accompanied by significant practical components.
More info
For more student-specific information about TS, in particular the TS Lab environment, check our Student Information page.