2 PhD Fellowships within BigData Analytics in Norway | NTNU – Trondheim (Norwegian University of Science and Technology)

The Department of Computer and Information Science and the Department of Mathematical Sciences have openings for 2 PhD scholarships, respectively, in the area of BigData Analytics. The scholarship is for three years, with an opening for one additional year of work duties (as teaching assistant, etc.) for each department.

Our society has been overwhelmed with the explosion of information, where most data are available in digital form and the total amount of data grows exponentially. It is estimated that the amount of information will be doubled every ten to five years, and public information is becoming an increasingly important part of the information infrastructure for our society. Developing knowledge about and technology for modeling, storing, managing, searching, analyzing and protecting information is information technology’s greatest challenge. Information has increasingly become important as a raw material for all development. The emergence of BigData as a research area is a direct consequence of this. The BigData research initiative was established by the Faculty for Information Technology, Mathematics and Electrical Engineering to precisely address the related research and technological challenges incurred by the explosion of data in the society.

The BigData group’s research will primarily focus on two cases that have strong societal impact and address two strategically important thematic research areas: industry-relevant innovation, and improved healthcare for an aging society - spanning from mining the Web for trends to mining genomics and health record data for novel insights into age-related diseases. Specifically, we will develop a computational and statistical framework dealing with all aspects of web mining towards providing good predictions of social trends, and for mining genomics and health record data for novel insights into age-related diseases.

As part of this project we want to employ one PhD fellow in the following research areas:

• BigData analytical methods for Social Media
• Spatio-Temporal indexing and retrieval
• Spatio-Temporal aspects in Recommender Systems
• Content Personalization

The second fellowship will be within the following area:

• Statistical modelling and analysis of genomic data

Requirements

For both of the above, the PhD fellowship positions will be awarded on a competitive basis. Emphasis will be put on personal qualities and potential as a researcher. Foreign applicants must document proficiency in English with an IELTS score of 6.5 or TOEFL score of 600 or higher (or equivalent). Being a member of a project team, successful candidates should have strong communication and cooperation skills.

For the first position relevant degree at a Master level in Computer and Information Science or equivalent is required, and we specifically seek individuals with specialization in areas such as data management, distributed systems, information retrieval, algorithms or intelligent Systems. For the second position a Master degree in Statistics is required. Candidates with strong skills in computing and interests in bioinformatics will be preferred.

It is a prerequisite that the PhD scholar applies for and is granted admission to the NTNU PhD studies as soon as possible after employment. NTNUs PhD-rules require a Master degree or equivalent with at least 5 years of studies and an average grade of A or B within a scale of A-E for passing grades (A best).

We will only evaluate applications that include:

• A cover letter including an explanation about why your research interests and background would fit any of the positions.
• An essay (2 - 3 pages) describing some of the research challenges with BigData, in general. CV
• Grade transcripts

Formal regulations

The appointment is at code 1017, salary level 36-62 in the national salary scheme, gross NOK 343 700- 518 200 per annum (before tax). PhD students are normally remunerated at wage level 50. There will be a 2 % deduction to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund from gross salary.

Engagement as a PhD candidate is done in accordance with current appointment regulations with supplementary rules in force giving guidelines for scholarship appointments in universities and university colleges.

The goal of the announced position is to obtain a PhD degree. Applicants must agree to participate in organized doctoral study programs within the period of the appointment. The successful applicants must agree to the conditions laid down for public employees. A contract will be drawn up regarding the period of appointment and work-related duties for award holders.

The national labour force must reflect the composition of the population to the greatest possible extent. It is therefore a major political objective to achieve a balance of gender and to recruit persons with an immigrant background. Immigrants are encouraged to apply for this post.

NTNU wants to increase the proportion of women in its scientific posts. Women are encouraged to apply.

Application deadline: 2014-01-02