Develop Graph-Driven AI Technologies Graphs serve as a universal, cross-disciplinary language for modeling complex systems

Join Us

National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) is one of Japan’s largest public research organizations, with approximately 2,300 researchers and an annual budget of roughly JPY 150 billion. It focuses on applied research and technology development to address industrial and societal needs. According to Nature Index 2022, AIST is ranked 25th among global government institutions.

We are looking for RAs / Interns, International Visiting Students, and Prospective Ph.D. / Master’s Students interested in pursuing research in machine learning, data mining, data management, information retrieval, generative AI, and AI applications. Topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Graph Analysis and Graph Learning
    • Graph representation learning
    • Graph neural networks and graph transformers
    • Graph foundation models
    • Self-supervised and contrastive graph learning
    • Graph generative models and diffusion models
    • Dynamic and temporal graph learning
    • Heterogeneous graph learning
    • Knowledge graph learning
    • Hypergraphs and higher-order graph learning
    • Geometric deep learning
    • Multimodal graph learning
    • Causal learning and reasoning on graphs
    • Trustworthy graph learning: fairness, explainability, robustness, and privacy
  • Graph Data Management
    • Parallel and distributed graph processing
    • Scalable training and inference on large-scale graphs
    • Graph databases and knowledge graph systems
    • Graph and vector indexing, search, and retrieval
    • Temporal and streaming graph data management
    • Graph data integration, quality, and provenance
    • Graph visualization and visual analytics
    • Graph data platforms
  • Graph-Enhanced AI and Applications
    • Graph-enhanced large language models, graph reasoning, and graph-text foundation models
    • Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), GraphRAG, and knowledge graph-enhanced question answering
    • Knowledge graph construction and completion with LLMs
    • Graph-enhanced AI agents and graph-based memory
    • Multimodal graph-language learning and reasoning
    • Recommender systems and personalization
    • AI for Science: drug discovery, molecular generation, protein modeling, materials design, and spatial omics
    • 3D point cloud and scene understanding
    • Anomaly, fraud, and cyberthreat detection
    • Epidemiological modeling and healthcare analytics
    • Social and urban intelligence: social network dynamics, emergency behavior modeling, mobility, and traffic forecasting


We offer a supportive research environment, including:

  • Dedicated research mentorship, with support for academic publications, presentations at international conferences, and patent applications
  • Flexibility to pursue fundamental research aligned with students’ university work
  • Opportunities to engage in industry-oriented research and address real-world problems
  • Access to world-class computing resources through AI Bridging Cloud Infrastructure (ABCI), ranked 16th among the most powerful supercomputers.
  • A diverse international team with members from around the world, working primarily in English (Japanese proficiency is not required)

RAs / Interns

Highly motivated Ph.D. and master’s students enrolled at universities in Japan are welcome to join us as RAs or interns. RAs receive a salary (approximately ¥200,000/month for Ph.D. students and ¥160,000/month for master’s students, based on 12 workdays per month). Interns may be eligible for financial support toward commuting and housing expenses, depending on individual circumstances.

International Visiting Students

International Ph.D. students are welcome to join us for research visits of 3 to 24 months. Exceptional master’s students may also be considered. Depending on individual circumstances, financial support may be available to help cover round-trip airfare and accommodation expenses.

Prospective Ph.D. / Master’s Students

Qualified students who wish to pursue a Ph.D. or master’s degree will be recommended to our partner laboratories at leading universities in Japan. If admitted, they will enroll at the partner university while also working as RAs at AIST.


Application

If you are interested in any of the opportunities above, please email me your CV. You are welcome to apply at any time throughout the year, with no fixed deadline.

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