Program Overview

Doctoral Study in Computer Systems Engineering

Introduction

The University of Auckland offers a doctoral program in Computer Systems Engineering, providing students with the opportunity to pursue high-calibre research in a supportive and stimulating environment.

Why Study with Us?

• Enrolment at the highest-ranked Engineering faculty in New Zealand and 107th in the world (QS World University Rankings by Subject, 2025)
• Opportunities to be supervised by experts in the field, such as pioneers in Wireless Power Transfer and world-class collaborators at the Centre for Automation and Robotic Engineering Sciences
• Connections to professional, industry, and research organisations, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the Association of Computing Machinery
• Access to Postgraduate Research Student Support (PReSS) funding for research expenses

Research Opportunities

Pursuing a PhD at our University gives you access to a high-calibre research community you may have the opportunity to publish papers, attend international conferences, and develop your network in academia and industry.

Key Research Areas

• Embedded systems, emphasising hardware/software design, real-time systems, low-power design, application-specific processors, system-level languages and compilers, ubiquitous and wearable computing, smart sensors, medical devices, intelligent transportation systems, the Internet of Things, and hardware acceleration of artificial neural networks
• Robotics, focusing on areas such as human-robot interaction, software systems and tools, and applications in essential sectors such as healthcare and agriculture
• Digital health, modelling biological cells, pacemaker testing, and emulating human organs on Field Programmable Gate Arrays
• Ultra high-speed computations, exploring advanced techniques for processing high bandwidth datastreams and big data
• Software methodologies, employing Agile and Lean techniques, data-mining, cloud computing, and scalable machine learning
• Applied Deep Learning, focusing on impaired speech processing and recognition systems, and intelligent health diagnostic and screening systems

Our People

The faculty includes renowned researchers such as:

• Associate Professor Catherine Watson
• Dr Avinash Malik
• Professor Bruce MacDonald
• Dr Kelly Blincoe
• Dr Kevin Wang
• Dr Morteza Biglari-Abhari
• Dr Nasser Giacaman
• Dr Nitish Patel
• Associate Professor Oliver Sinnen
• Professor Partha Roop
• Associate Professor Waleed Abdulla
• Dr Reza Shahamiri
• Professor Zoran Salcic

Research Expertise

Read more about our research expertise in the field of Computer Systems Engineering.

Past Research Topics

• Improving the security of multiprocessor-based embedded system designs | Supervised by Dr Morteza Biglari-Abhari and Professor Zoran Salcic
• The computers have a thousand eyes: Towards a practical and ethical video analytics system for person tracking | Supervised by Dr Morteza Biglari-Abhari and Dr Kevin Wang
• Contributions towards dynamic intelligent software systems | Supervised by Professor Zoran Salcic and Dr Kevin Wang
• Context-aware activity recognition for elderly healthcare using wearable sensors embedded in the environment | Supervised by Professor Zoran Salcic and Dr Kevin Wang
• Timing analysis and design optimization for GALS systems on time-predictable multi-core architectures | Supervised by Professor Zoran Salcic, Dr Avinash Malik, and Dr Morteza Biglari-Abhari
• Safety analysis of human car following models | Supervised by Professor Partha Roop and Dr Avinash Malik
• _Cloud computing with Annotation Parallel Task ( @PT) _| Supervised by Associate Professor Oliver Sinnen and Dr Nasser Giacaman
• Optimal task scheduling on parallel systems | Supervised by Associate Professor Oliver Sinnen and Professor Matthias Ehrgot
• Knowledge transformation and reflective practice in two major Agile software development practices | Supervised by Dr Rashina Hoda and Professor Robert Amor
• Programming behaviour of personal service robots with application to healthcare | Supervised by Professor Bruce MacDonald and Professor Elizabeth Broadbent

Scholarships and Awards

There are several scholarships you may be eligible for when you decide to pursue your PhD in Computer Systems Engineering, including the University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarships.

Help and Advice

For general student enquiries, please contact a Student Hub. If you would like to find out more about studying Computer Systems Engineering, you can contact a Postgraduate Adviser.

Faculty of Science

The Doctoral program in Computer Systems Engineering is offered under the Faculty of Science, which includes the School of Computer Science.

Doctoral Programmes

The University offers a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Computer Systems Engineering.

Related Subjects

Related subjects include Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Software Engineering.

Related Links

More information about the program can be found through the University's resources on how to apply.