Crafting Cognition Lab @ NTU Singapore
Our aim is to develop digital and wearable AI interfaces that support human cognitive abilities and health. We envision a future with cognitive enhancement technologies which empower every individual to thrive.
- Our lab leverages techniques and findings from neuroscience, cognitive science, and psychology to build these interfaces.
- Our work will involve designing and conducting user studies to test the effects of these interfaces on our day-to-day performance, behaviours, and user experience.
Applications for PhD positions for August 2025 and January 2026 intakes are open! We welcome Singaporeans/PRs πΈπ¬ and Internationals π from diverse backgrounds to apply. We also accept applications for Postdocs, Masters (from NTU), Undergraduates (from NTU, Final Year Projects (FYP), Turing AI Scholars (TAISP)) and Visiting Students (self-funded).
Application Information
We are always looking for creative individuals who are interested in multidisciplinary research at the intersection of Computer Science, Neuroscience, Cognitive Science, Electrical/ Biomedical Engineering, Digital Health, Human-Computer Interactions or related fields.
We seek applicants who are self-starters, makers, skilled in hands-on prototyping, team-players, and passionate about making positive impact for humanity and our communities.
Topics
You are encouraged to apply if you are proficient at least one or two crucial areas for our lab:
Computer Science and Engineering
- web applications, mobile applications, wearables (smartwatches, smartglasses, AR/VR)
- conversational agents, generative AI, LLMs, visual LLMs, applied ML and training models
- microcontrollers (arduino, seeed studio xiao boards), micro-computers (raspberry pi zero), embedded ML
Neuroscience and Cognitive Science
- physiological signals (heart rate, skin conductance, brain activity EEG, eye-tracking) / inertial sensors (accelerometers, gyro)
- sleep engineering, altered states, techno-psychedelics
- sensory stimulation (audio, visual, haptic), electrical and electromagnetic stimulation
For all positions
- Email your CV, project portfolio, research statement/interests, and other info to samantha.chan/(“at”/)ntu.edu.sg.
- Your portfolio (which is preferably a website) should show documentation of the projects that you are most proud of (videos, pictures): wearables and interfaces you made etc.
- Your CV should have full publication/project list, contacts of 2-3 referees, and level of expertise you have in the areas that are crucial for our lab.
Due to the high volume of emails received, we apologise in advance if we do not to respond to all individual enquiries. We will reach out if you are shortlisted.
For PhD applications
Top candidates are often those who have:
- strong engineering and programming ability
- experience in conducting user studies (interviews, questionnaires)
- excellent English communication and presentation skills (speaking and writing)
- experience in writing research papers, having at least 1 publication would be a plus (1st/2nd/3rd author in premier HCI/AI/Neuroscience venues).
You have to meet the NTU PhD admission criteria and directly apply via the application portal. Align your proposed research with our lab and select “Chan Wei Ting, Samantha - CCDS” as a proposed faculty. Deadlines are 31 January for August intake and 31 July for January intake.
Make sure you did all 3 steps above (“For all positions”). This is not mandatory but highly recommended.
You are encouraged to apply for scholarships which will fully fund your studies, provide stipends, travel funding, subsidised on-campus housing, and other benefits. See more on NTU’s graduate scholarship list.
Singapore-based PhD Scholarships:
- President’s Graduate Scholarship (Singaporeans/ International, bond-free, $6k+ stipend)
- Provost Graduate Award (Singaporeans/ International, bond-free)
- NTU Research Scholarship (Singaporeans/ International, bond-free)
- Lee Kuan Yew (LKY) Scholarship (Singaporeans, bond-free)
- SG Digital Scholarship (Postgraduate) (Singaporeans, bond-free)
- A*STAR Graduate Scholarship (AGS) (Singaporeans - bond-free, Internationals with degree from Singapore)
- A*STAR Computing and Information Science (ACIS) (Singaporeans - bond-free, Internationals with degree from Singapore)
- AISG PhD Fellowship (Singaporeans - bond-free, Internationals)
- Singapore International Graduate Award (SINGA) (Internationals, bond-free)
- VinGroup Graduate Scholarship (Vietnamese)
Other PhD fellowships (usually open during later half of the year):
- Google PhD Fellowship
- NVIDIA Graduate Fellowship
- IBM PhD Fellowship
- Apple PhD Fellowships in AI/ML - uni nomination to aiml_scholars@apple.com
- Meta Fellowship (discontinued?)
- Microsoft Fellowship (discontinued?)
For Postdoc applications
- You should note that postdocs are the most complex of cases for our lab since they require us to have specific funds for it, which we do not always have. Sometimes, candidates have their own fellowships or funding sources that can facilitate cases in which we do not have postdoc-specific funds. You can consider the Lee Kuan Yew Postdoctoral Fellowship (LKYPDF) or the South-East Asia Fellowship (SASEAF) for ASEAN applicants. International applicants can also consult with their own governmental postdoc fellowships such as the JSPS (Japan) or Marie Curie (Europe).
- Postdocs are expected to engage in and enrich the research activities in the lab and also take up roles in grant writing and mentoring students.
- Make sure you did all 3 steps above (“For all positions”).