A continuation of the Aalto Speech Technology Post Doc Programme (APOS)
The APOS project, initiated in September 2021, offers post-doctoral opportunities at Aalto University for qualified Indian Ph.D. graduates aiming at academic careers in India. The focus lies on speech technology, with a specific interest in biomarking diseases using artificial intelligence (AI). This research aligns with Aalto’s strategic emphasis on "ICT and digitalisation" and "health and wellbeing." The continuation project underscores Aalto's commitment to long-term collaboration with Indian institutions, particularly IIT Kharagpur and IIIT Hyderabad.
In the upcoming phase, the project aims to intensify research efforts towards regression problems related to disease severity prediction, employing classical machine learning models, convolutional neural networks, and long short-term memory nets. Utilizing pre-trained self-supervised models like wav2vec and HuBERT will further enhance the effectiveness of the research.
APOS is not confined to academic pursuits alone. The project's potential extends to societal and industrial realms, offering accessible, cost-effective methods for early disease detection. With plans to seek commercialization funding, APOS envisions a future where its innovations positively impact healthcare accessibility and reduce societal healthcare expenditures.
The second phase of APOS will see the recruitment of two post-doctoral researchers, both graduates from IIT Kharagpur, who will delve into cutting-edge research on biomarking PD and HF from speech signals. The collaborative effort between Aalto and Indian universities has yielded significant outcomes, including 21 peer-reviewed articles and 7 conference papers during the first phase.
Aalto's APOS project epitomizes international collaboration aimed at addressing global health challenges, underscoring the pivotal role of research in advancing societal well-being and technological innovation. As the project enters its next phase, it heralds promising prospects for academia, industry, and public health alike.
More information about the first phase of the project is available here.
A continuation of the Aalto Speech Technology Post Doc Programme (APOS) is seed-funded as part of the India Pilot initiative from the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture. Aalto is coordinating the India Pilot Network FICORE (Finnish Indian Consortia for Research and Education) which involves 38 higher education institutions from Finland and India.