This must be a joke...

Why would anyone want to become a "Ph.D. student in the field of speech
 and audio compression" having all the listed qualifications ?

To be severely underpaid and to drastically narrow prospects for future
career ?

Unless a person is really desperate to leave his/her own country and
come to France...

Or, maybe , in France some Ph.D. students get 80-100K annual stipends ?
Then I made a mistake in choosing the country for my Ph.D studies long
time ago :)

sragot wrote:
> France Telecom R&D is looking for a Ph.D. student in the field of speech
> and audio compression. This 3-year PhD studentship will be funded by
> France Telecom.
>
> The subject of this thesis consists in exploring new techniques for audio
> coding allowing quality improvements, especially at low bit rates for both
> speech and music signals. Based on an analysis of existing codecs, and in
> strong relationship with standardization bodies, such as MPEG, the studies
> will aim at extending the operating range of existing coding algorithms.
> Lossless coding will be particularly examined and integrated in order to
> reach high quality audio representation (in a perceptual sense),
> continuously according to the bit rate. Stereo coding techniques will be
> also studied within this framework.
>
> We are looking for an outstanding and highly motivated applicant, meeting
> the following requirements:
> - Experience in speech and audio coding desirable
> - Knowledge of existing coding standards such as MPEG AAC, 3GPP AMR-WB+ /
> HE-AAC+
> - Have an M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science or Applied
> Mathematics
> - Good programming skills in C/C++, knowledge of MATLAB
> - Good command of English
>
> This work will be located in Brittany, France (either Lannion or Rennes).
> Knowledge of French is a plus, but not necessary. The salary is in
> accordance with the France Telecom R&D rates for a PhD student fellowship
> (early stage research engineer).
>
> The work will be co-supervised by Stephane Ragot and Pierrick Philippe.
> Applications, including a resume and contact details of at least two
> referees, should be sent before Sept. 15, 2006 to:
>
> Stephane Ragot
> France Telecom R&D /TECH
> Speech & Sound Technologies Processing Lab (SSTP)
> 2, av Pierre Marzin
> 22307 LANNION Cedex
> France
> Phone: 33 2 96 05 07 51
> Fax: 33 2 96 05 35 30
> E-mail: stephane.ragot [at] orange-ft [dot] com

France Telecom R&D is looking for a Ph.D. student in the field of speech
and audio compression. This 3-year PhD studentship will be funded by
France Telecom.

The subject of this thesis consists in exploring new techniques for audio
coding allowing quality improvements, especially at low bit rates for both
speech and music signals. Based on an analysis of existing codecs, and in
strong relationship with standardization bodies, such as MPEG, the studies
will aim at extending the operating range of existing coding algorithms.
Lossless coding will be particularly examined and integrated in order to
reach high quality audio representation (in a perceptual sense),
continuously according to the bit rate. Stereo coding techniques will be
also studied within this framework.

We are looking for an outstanding and highly motivated applicant, meeting
the following requirements:
- Experience in speech and audio coding desirable
- Knowledge of existing coding standards such as MPEG AAC, 3GPP AMR-WB+ /
HE-AAC+
- Have an M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science or Applied
Mathematics
- Good programming skills in C/C++, knowledge of MATLAB
- Good command of English

This work will be located in Brittany, France (either Lannion or Rennes).
Knowledge of French is a plus, but not necessary. The salary is in
accordance with the France Telecom R&D rates for a PhD student fellowship
(early stage research engineer).

The work will be co-supervised by Stephane Ragot and Pierrick Philippe.
Applications, including a resume and contact details of at least two
referees, should be sent before Sept. 15, 2006 to:

Stephane Ragot
France Telecom R&D /TECH
Speech & Sound Technologies Processing Lab (SSTP)
2, av Pierre Marzin
22307 LANNION Cedex
France
Phone: 33 2 96 05 07 51
Fax: 33 2 96 05 35 30
E-mail: stephane.ragot [at] orange-ft [dot] com