LLM-Driven Automated Orchestration for Network Services in Next-Generation Mobile Networks

About the Project

Project Summary

As 6G mobile networks become more complex, orchestrating network services is becoming major challenge. This PhD research will explore how LLM and Agentic AI can transform human natural-language intent into secure automated controller actions, improving efficiency while providing cyber-protection capabilities.

Project Details

Research Challenge/Problem: The scale and heterogeneity of the next generation mobile network infrastructures make the orchestration and control of network service increasingly complex and error prone. This creates a need for more reliable automation.

We are interested in investigating how to implement LLM-based orchestration, which can translate administrator natural-language requests into secure network service actions , and enabling their automated execution through an agentic AI framework integrated with network controllers APIs via MCP servers.

Research Aim and Objectives: The main aim of the PhD is to create agentic system capable of interacting operationally with large-scale, 6G next-generation mobile infrastructures in order to provide cyber-protection capabilities to the infrastructure.

The aim will be achieved through the following objectives:

1. State-of-the-art review on agentic frameworks, network controllers, and the operational aspects of 6G networks.
2. Design and development of a set of MCP servers that expose AI tools related to network control, such as SDN controllers, O-RAN controllers, etc.
3. Creation of an architecture that allows users to execute actions in the network by interacting with the infrastructure in natural language.
4. Application of the architecture to a use case in order to demonstrate the feasibility of the approach.

Person Specification

Candidates should have been awarded, or expect to achieve, either:

a] a First or Upper Second Class award in their Undergraduate Degree, in a subject judged by Aston to be relevant to the proposed research.

or

b] a Merit or above in a Postgraduate Masters degree in a relevant subject AND a First or Upper Second Class Undergraduate Degree.

Qualifications from overseas institutions will be also considered but performance must be equivalent to that described above, and the University reserves the right to ascertain this equivalence according to its own criteria.

Any Desirable / Essential Skills or Experience

Good programming skills, and willingness to develop them throughout the PhD

Submitting an application

We can only consider applications that are complete and have all supporting documents. Applications that do not provide all the relevant documents will be automatically rejected.Your application must include:

1. English language copies of the transcripts and certificates for all your higher education degrees, including any Bachelor degrees.
2. A Research Statement detailing your understanding of the research area, how you would approach the project, and a brief review of relevant literature. Be sure to use the title of the research project you are applying for. There is no set format or word count.
3. A personal statement which outlines any further information which you think is relevant to your application, such as your personal suitability for research, career aspirations, possible future research interests, and further description of relevant employment experience.
4. A Curriculum Vitae (Resume) which details your education and work history.
5. Two academic referees who can discuss your suitability for independent research. References must be on headed paper, signed and dated no more than 2 years old. At least one reference should be from your most recent University. You can submit your references at a later date if necessary.
6. Evidence that you meet the English Language requirements. If you do not currently meet the language requirements, you can submit this at a later stage.
7. A copy of your passport. Where relevant, include evidence of settled or pre-settled status.

Contact Information

For enquiries about this project, contact Samara Mayhoub at s.mayhoub@aston.ac.uk or Jose M Alcaraz Calero at j.alcarazcalero@aston.ac.uk

Location

This position will be based on the Aston Campus in Birmingham, UK. The successful candidate will need to be located within a reasonable distance of the campus, and will be expected to visit in person regularly.

Interviews

Interviews will be conducted online via Microsoft Teams. If you are shortlisted, you will be contacted directly with details of the interview.

Key words

LLM; Agentic AI; O-RAN; SDN; Network Orchestration; Cybersecurity

Funding Notes

This project covers all tuition fees and includes an annual stipend of £21,805.

Please note that the successful candidate will be responsible for any costs relating to moving to Birmingham and/or visiting the Aston campus.