PhD Scholarship - Recognising Taonga with AI: Facial Recognition for Kākā Conservation Management

This PhD scholarship offers an opportunity to join a research project aimed at creating the world's first artificial intelligence (AI)-based tool for recognising individual birds in complex real-world images, without the need for manual marking. The successful candidate will contribute to developing new deep learning and computer vision approaches that allow for reliable, efficient, and explainable recognition of individual kākā in Wellington. The scholarship is part of the MBIE Smart Ideas funded project 'Recognising Taonga with AI: Facial Recognition for Kākā Conservation Management'. Tikanga Māori will underpin this research to ensure that the development and use of an AI tool for recognising this taonga species adhere to kaupapa Māori values. The cross-disciplinary team consists of experts in behavioural and urban ecology, applied AI, and kairangahau Māori. The candidate will also collaborate with conservation practitioners from Zealandia Te Māra a Tāne, Wellington City Council, and Greater Wellington Regional Council to ensure the effective translation of research into conservation management practices.