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  4. Languages and Tools for Safe Programming of Distributed Dynamic Software Updates

Languages and Tools for Safe Programming of Distributed Dynamic Software Updates

Supervisor: Dr Raymond Hu, School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science, Queen Mary University of London

Application Deadline: 1 July 2026

Start of the position: 1 October 2026

Salary: The PhD position is fully funded by QMUL for a PhD student with home fee status.  The PhD student will receive tuition fees at the home rate and a London stipend at QMUL stipend rates (£22,618 per year, for 2026/27) annually during the PhD period, which can span for 3 years.  Students with international fee status may be considered but will be required to pay the difference in fees between international and home rates.

Description:

This PhD position will be part of a new research project, DymSUM – Distributed Dynamic Software Updates using Multiparty Session Types, working with Dr Raymond Hu and our industrial partners at Monzo Bank and SAP.  It will be based at the Mile End campus of QMUL with the supervisor and his group.  The PhD candidate will have the opportunity to submit and present work at international conferences and work closely with other researchers and our industrial partners.

Further to DymSUM, the PhD candidate will also be a member of the Theory Group in the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), and the Centre for Fundamentals of AI and Computational Theory.  The candidate will be very welcome to participate in the activities of the Group and Centre in addition to the wider school and university.

Project Overview:

Distributed systems are at the heart of our infrastructures and society, encompassing, for example, the many Internet and mobile applications that we rely on in our daily lives. A crucial characteristic of modern Distributed Systems is dynamic evolution: many important Distributed Systems are designed to evolve - while the system remains running - in both their program source code (e.g., updates to add or improve features and fix bugs) and execution configuration (e.g., migration of communication links and processes).

The aim of DymSUM is to develop new theoretical foundations and practical tools for formal specification and safe programming of dynamically evolving distributed systems.  The project will build on the area of Multiparty Session Types (MSTs), a type systems approach to concurrent and distributed message passing programming.  The aim of MST research is to develop languages and techniques for safe programming of communications-oriented systems, analogous to the established approaches to ensuring type safety in everyday programming languages for functional and imperative programming.

The most relevant research areas are session types, behavioural types, programming language theory (type systems), concurrency theory (process calculi), and distributed programming.  Examples of recent relevant publications:

See Raymond Hu’s Scholar for further relevant background: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=b08Zz1kAAAAJ&hl=en

Feel free to contact Raymond Hu (r.hu@qmul.ac.uk) for more info.

Candidate Profile:

We are seeking highly motivated, intellectually curious and creative candidates who enjoy studying problems in depth.  Applicants should have strong academic background in one or more of the following areas:

  • Programming languages theory
  • Compilers
  • Distributed systems and distributed programming
  • Process calculi and concurrency theory
  • Session types and behavioural types

About the School of EECS:

As a multidisciplinary School, we are known for our pioneering research and pride ourselves on our international reputation. We are equal first in the UK for the impact of our Computer Science research, and second for our Electronic Engineering research output according to the most recent iteration of the UK’s Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021). 

How to apply

Queen Mary University is interested in developing the next generation of outstanding researchers and decided to invest in specific research areas. Applicants should work with their prospective supervisor and submit their application following the instructions at: http://eecs.qmul.ac.uk/phd/how-to-apply/   

The application should include the following: 

  • CV (max 2 pages)  
  • Cover letter (max 4,500 characters) stating clearly in the first page whether you are eligible for a scholarship as a UK resident (https://epsrc.ukri.org/skills/students/guidance-on-epsrc-studentships/eligibility)   
  • Statement of Research Interest (max 500 words) 
  • 2 References  
  • Sample of your written work
  • Certificate of English Language (for students whose first language is not English)  
  • Other Certificates  

Please note that to qualify as a home student for the purpose of the scholarships, a student must have no restrictions on how long they can stay in the UK and have been ordinarily resident in the UK for at least 3 years prior to the start of the studentship. For more information please see: (https://epsrc.ukri.org/skills/students/guidance-on-epsrc-studentships/eligibility)

 Shortlisted candidates will be invited for online interviews to take place in the second half of July (estimated).

 For specific enquiries about the DymSUM project please contact Dr Raymond Hu directly at r.hu@qmul.ac.uk.

For general enquiries contact Mrs Melissa Yeo at m.yeo@qmul.ac.uk (administrative enquiries) or Dr Arkaitz Zubiaga at a.zubiaga@qmul.ac.uk (academic enquiries) with the subject “EECS 2026 PhD scholarships enquiry”. 

 

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