# Prospective students

Source: https://www.thanhtungvu.com/prospective-students
Last updated: 2026-10-25

Updated October 2026. I am recruiting a PhD student for my ARC DECRA project, and Master of Research students, to start in 2027.

## Funding

One funded PhD place on my ARC DECRA project, Cell-Free Wide-Area mm-Wave Communications: a stipend of A$38,500 a year, with tuition covered. Domestic and international applicants are welcome. You can also apply in the university's [scholarship rounds](https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/schools/grs/scholarships/main-round-scholarships) and for [project scholarships](https://westernsydney.edu.au/schools/grs/scholarships/current_scholarships).

## Topics

- Cell-free wide-area millimetre-wave networks (the DECRA project): beam alignment, keeping links alive when beams are blocked, and machine learning that makes optimal algorithms practical. [Related paper](https://www.thanhtungvu.com/publications#mohammadi2023networkassisted).
- Wireless federated learning: training AI models over wireless networks by designing the learning and the network together. [Related paper](https://www.thanhtungvu.com/publications#vu2020cellfree).
- Also open to proposals on reconfigurable antennas, semantic communication, and federated learning across space, air and ground.

Good preparation: a degree in electrical engineering, telecommunications or computer science, with probability, linear algebra and optimisation, and programming in Python or MATLAB.

## Which degree

- PhD: apply with a 2,000-word research proposal; intakes every quarter.
- Master of Research: two years, the university's preferred route into its PhD; intakes in March and July.
- International applicants: the DECRA place is open to you directly. The university's main scholarship rounds currently require a Western Sydney University MRes or MPhil, so for those rounds the Master of Research is the usual way in.

## When to apply

The DECRA place is open now. For the university's next scholarship round, expected around March to April 2027, contact me at least two months before it opens.

## How to apply

1. Read one of my papers close to what you want to do.
2. Fill out the [interest form](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScpMmBhi3QwgdgBrjixb1VPTF_SxF0LfI5o2QYGzaG-nY8z_g/viewform), or [email me](mailto:t.vu4@westernsydney.edu.au) with the subject "PhD 2027: Your Name" or "MRes 2027: Your Name". If the form does not open where you are, email me instead.
3. Send your CV (the university's [Standardised Applicant CV](https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/schools/grs/scholarships/main-round-scholarships) if you have it), transcripts with the grading scale, an English test result if you have one, and a few sentences on the paper you read and what you would do next. PhD applicants also send a research proposal of about 2,000 words, which I use to choose candidates.

## What happens next

I reply to every complete application within two weeks. If you have not heard back in two weeks, please email again. If there is a good fit, we meet online, and I support your applications for admission and scholarships.

## How I supervise

**How often will we meet?** Every week, one to one, on campus or online.

**Will I have a co-supervisor?** Yes. Every PhD student has a senior co-supervisor as well as me.

**Have you supervised PhD students before?** Yes, informally. As a postdoc, I worked closely with five PhD students at Linköping University, Queen's University Belfast, University College Dublin and The University of Sydney, and we published together. At Western Sydney University, you would be one of my first students.

**Will I publish and go to conferences?** Yes. We aim for leading IEEE journals and conferences, and I help closely with your first papers. The DECRA project supports conference travel for its PhD student.

**Where will I work?** At Western Sydney University's Parramatta South campus; working from home some days is fine.

**Can I visit other groups or do an internship?** Yes, where it helps your research. I work with groups at Macquarie University, The University of Sydney, The University of Newcastle and RMIT University in Australia, and at Linköping University and Queen's University Belfast in Europe. I also support industry internships.

[How to apply](https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/future/study/how-to-apply/higher-degree-research-candidates.html) · [English requirements](https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/future/study/courses/research/english-requirements.html)