22 November 2024

On October 4, Klervie Toczé at the Department of Computer and Information Science (IDA) successfully defended her thesis on the use of computing resources and sustainability in edge computing. Now she has moved to Amsterdam for a postdoc in sustainable urban gardening.

Woman sitting at desk with flowers and laptop during dissertation

Congratulations on your PhD! What was your background when you started your doctoral studies?

"Thank you! I had a computer science engineering degree from the Université de Technologie Compiègne in France and a computer science master degree from Linköping University (LiU). I was part of a dual-degree program between the two universities, this is how I came to Sweden in the first place. After finishing my master and starting my PhD studies, I worked as a Product developer at Ericsson in Linköping for 2,5 years."

What is it like to be a PhD student at IDA?

"It is challenging and you learn a lot. Compared to other countries, the working conditions in Sweden are usually really good. In Sweden you, as a PhD student, also have the possibility to influence your education, if you are interested. I became a PhD student representative in different boards to make sure the good parts are kept and improve what is functioning less well. It was really interesting to see how a university works. To be a PhD student means that one can easily get trapped in one’s own research corner but because IDA is a large department, it is possible to find others who can help broaden one’s research. It also made it possible to be a group of PhD students within my labs and the ones close by to for example have lunch together and we became really close friends. It helps a lot not to feel alone when one experiences difficulties."

Smiling woman holding her thesis
Photographer: Maurice Toczé

What do you want to do next?

"I have already started a postdoc with a professor I collaborated with during my PhD studies. It is at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam so I have moved there. I will be doing research within an EU project which is about sustainable urban gardening and where computer science is used in different ways to support the people working in the gardens. It is connected to what I did during my PhD studies but there are also many new dimensions and perspectives so it is very interesting. I don’t know yet what I will be doing afterwards but to come back to Sweden and LiU is definitely an option!"


Klervie Toczé's summary of her thesis

My thesis looks into computing resources from different angles, in what is called edge computing. It is a complement to cloud computing, thought to handle applications requiring a service located in close proximity to the end user. This can be because the service should be provided very fast e.g., in autonomous driving, or because the data has to be taken care of locally e.g., for privacy reasons. I have been studying how different applications are using the edge in order to know what resources are needed. I have also proposed different methods to make sure the resources are available when needed, especially when many users want to use the edge at the same time. Finally, I have studied edge computing from a sustainability-related angle: what are the challenges and how can we create a system which is sufficient i.e., which does not use more resources than what is actually needed.

More about the subject and doctoral studies

Organisation

Latest news from LiU

En kvinna sitter i snön med en handväska.

Political polarisation blocks more sustainable transport

Trains and planes have become part of our polarised social climate one is often set against the the other. This political gridlock hinders progress towards a more sustainable transport system. This is the conclusion of a doctoral thesis at LiU.

En man står framför en byggnad.

Digital services can increase exclusion

When public agencies introduce digital services, one goal is to improve accessibility for citizens. But for residents in disadvantaged neighbourhoods, this may create new barriers to integration. This is shown in a doctoral thesis from LiU.

Manlig forskare i labbmiljö.

Electric motors are transforming hydraulics

Electrifying hydraulics on, for example, an excavator can significantly improve efficiency. However, it requires major technical changes. Electric machines have different characteristics compared to combustion engines.