PhD positions Data Science and Systems Complexity COFUND Programme (10.0 fte) (217201-10)

The Data Science and Systems Complexity COFUND Doctoral Programme (DSSC COFUND) at the University of Groningen offers 10 early stage researcher (ESR) positions co-funded through the Marie Sklodowska Curie COFUND action under the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 Work Programme. The DSSC aims to train highly skilled graduates who will use state of the art data methodology to understand the behaviour of complex systems and who can handle data and complexity problems for society at large.

In their application the candidates are invited to select one or several from the 18 projects available at the DSSC in which they are interested and which cover various topics in the areas Adaptive Models and Big Data, Complex Systems and Engineering, Advanced Instrumentation and Big Data such as: system reconstruction, the learning of models and large scale computing, methods to predict and control the behaviour of complex systems, and methods and techniques for high data volumes and high data transmission speeds involved in complex instrumentation. All 18 projects involve interdisciplinary collaboration between at least 2 DSSC institutes at the University of Groningen, and temporary internships with the DSSC partners. Several of the projects are aimed at students with a background in astronomy.

If selected, the candidates will be matched to one of the projects they opted for in their application. Thus, the 10 selected candidates will conduct research on 10 of the 18 interdisciplinary projects offered at the DSSC. The complete list of projects is given at the link below.

At the DSSC, the ESRs will conduct interdisciplinary research that combines mathematics, computer science, artificial intelligence, engineering, and systems and control, with applications in fields such as astronomy, medicine, bioinformatics, or theoretical high-energy physics. In the course of their projects they will develop methods, models, and algorithms for the three interdisciplinary and interconnected areas of the DSSC: Adaptive Models & Big Data; Complex Systems & Engineering; Advanced Instrumentation & Big Data. All projects concern highly relevant massive scientific data sets. The ESRs will also be placed on temporary internships with our partners and will apply their expertise in fields such as energy and smart grids, smart industry healthcare, safety and security, and scientific instrumentation. The ESRs are expected to become active in international networks through participation in summer schools, short visits with international partners and attendance of conferences. As DSSC PhDs, they will publish articles in peer-reviewed journals, develop methods and algorithms as required by their project and as agreed with their supervisors, participate in DSSC meetings and scientific events, and write a dissertation.

Eligibility and evaluation criteria are given on the application website (linked below).  Here also the conditions of employment, and details on how to apply, are given.
Successful applicants are expected to begin their appointment no later than 1 March 2018.

All DSSC PhDs are required to complete a PhD thesis by the end of the employment period. The appointment requires that the PhD employee will devote up to 10% of the time to teaching.