PhD fellowship in Formal Verification

PhD Project: Trustworthy Stream Processing

Department of Computer Science
Faculty of SCIENCE
University of Copenhagen

The Department of Computer Science invites applicants for a PhD fellowship in Formal Verification. The project Trustworthy Stream Processing is part of a Start Package Grant, which is financed by the Novo Nordisk Foundation.

Start date is (expected to be) January 1st, 2022 or as soon as possible thereafter.

The project
Today’s software and hardware systems produce massive amounts of data. Stream processing frameworks are vital tools for software engineers and data scientists to tame this data. They provide convenient programming abstractions that allow their users to express the desired data analysis. From the expressed analysis, they generate a distributed program and deploy it on computing clusters, which enables the massively parallel processing of data. Apache Flink, Apache Spark, and Google Cloud Dataflow are examples of mature stream processing frameworks that are widely used in industry. For thousands of users these frameworks serve as both the programming language and the operating system. Yet, these systems exhibit unreliable and unpredictable behavior, which prohibits their use in scenarios that cannot tolerate errors such as data loss. The goal of the PhD project is to contribute to an ongoing formalization effort using the Isabelle proof assistant towards the first formally verified system for the analysis of big data.

Who are we looking for?

The ideal candidate for this position is an enthusiastic student with a strong background and interest in one or more of the following areas:

• formal methods, specifically interactive theorem proving,
• data stream processing
• distributed systems

Candidates with a strong theoretical background in related areas are also encouraged to apply.

Our group and research- and what do we offer?

The PhD project will be hosted by the Software, Data, People & Society (SDPS) Section, which performs research in software, process, and data management systems. We focus in particular on methods for the development of trustworthy software systems that closely match the needs of developers, users, and society. More information on the section can be found online: https://di.ku.dk/english/research/sdps/ .

The University of Copenhagen was founded in 1479 and is the oldest and largest university in Denmark. It is often ranked as the best university in Scandinavia and consistently as one of the top places in Europe.

Principal supervisor isAssociate Professor Dmitriy Traytel, Department of Computer Science, [email protected] .

The PhD programmeDepending of your level of education, you can undertake the PhD programme as either:

Option A: A three year full-time study within the framework of the regular PhD programme (5+3 scheme), if you already have an education equivalent to a relevant Danish master’s degree.

Option B: An up to five year full-time study programme within the framework of the integrated MSc and PhD programme (the 3+5 scheme), if you do not have an education equivalent to a relevant Danish master´s degree – but you have an education equivalent to a Danish bachelors´s degree.

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Option A: Getting into a position on the regular PhD programme

Qualifications needed for the regular programme
To be eligible for the regular PhD programme, you must have completed a degree programme, equivalent to a Danish master’s degree (180 ECTS/3 FTE BSc + 120 ECTS/2 FTE MSc) related to the subject area of the project, e.g., Computer Science. For information of eligibility of completed programmes, see General assessments for specific countries and Assessment database .

Terms of employment in the regular programme
Employment as PhD fellow is full time and for maximum 3 years.

Employment is conditional upon your successful enrolment as a PhD student at the PhD School at the Faculty of SCIENCE, University of Copenhagen. This requires submission and acceptance of an application for the specific project formulated by the applicant.

The terms of employment and salary are in accordance to the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State (AC). The position is covered by the Protocol on Job Structure.

Salary range starts at DKK 27,871.38 per month incl. PhD supplement (1 October 2021 level).

Option B: Getting into a position on the integrated MSc and PhD programme

Qualifications needed for the integrated MSc and PhD programme

If you do not have an education equivalent to a relevant Danish master´s degree, you might be qualified for the integrated MSc and PhD programme, if you have an education equivalent to a relevant Danish bachelor´s degree. Here you can find out, if that is relevant for you: General assessments for specific countries and Assessment database .  

Terms of the integrated programme
To be eligible for the integrated scholarship, you are (or are eligible to be) enrolled at one of the faculty’s master programmes in Computer Science.

Students on the integrated programme will enroll as PhD students simultaneously with completing their enrollment in this MSc degree programme.

The duration of the integrated programme is up to five years, and depends on the amount of credits that you have passed on your MSc programme. For further information about the study programme, please see: www.science.ku.dk/phd , “Study Structures”.

Until the MSc degree is obtained, (when exactly two years of the full 3+5 programme remains), the grant will be paid partly in the form of 48 state education grant portions (in Danish: “SU-klip”) plus salary for work (teaching, supervision etc.) totalling a workload of at least 150 working hours per year.
A PhD grant portion is DKK 6,243.
Salary is DKK 222.00 per working hour (+ 12.5% holiday pay).(1 October 2021 level)

When you have obtainedtheMSc degree, you will transfer to the salary-earning part of the scholarship for a period of two years. At that point, the terms of employment and payment will be according to the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State (AC). The position is covered by the Protocol on Job Structure. Salary range starts at DKK 27,871.38 per month incl. PhD supplement.

Responsibilities and tasks in both PhD programmes

• Complete and pass the MSc education in accordance with the curriculum of the MSc programme

•  (ONLY when you are attending the integrated MSc and PhD programme)Carry through an independent research project under supervision

• Complete PhD courses corresponding to approx. 30 ECTS / ½ FTE
• Carry out dissemination and teaching activities
• Participate in active research environments, including a stay at another research institution, preferably abroad
• Teaching and knowledge dissemination activities
• Write scientific papers aimed at high-impact conferences and journals
• Write and defend a PhD thesis on the basis of your project

We are looking for the following qualifications:

• The grade point average achieved
• Professional qualifications relevant to the PhD project
• Relevant publications
• Relevant work experience
• Other relevant professional activities
• Curious mind-set with a strong interest in Formal Verification and Distributed Systems
• Language skills

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Application and Assessment Procedure

 Your application including all attachments must be in English and submitted electronically by clicking APPLY NOW below.

Please include: 

Application deadline: The deadline for applications is 10 October 2021, 23:59 GMT +2

We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline, and not to consider applications that do not live up to the abovementioned requirements.

The further process
After deadline, a number of applicants will be selected for academic assessment by an unbiased expert assessor. You are notified, whether you will be passed for assessment.

The assessor will assess the qualifications and experience of the shortlisted applicants with respect to the above mentioned research area, techniques, skills and other requirements. The assessor will conclude whether each applicant is qualified and, if so, for which of the two models. The assessed applicants will have the opportunity to comment on their assessment. You can read about the recruitment process at https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/ .

Interviews with selected candidates are expected to be held in weeks 46–47.

Questions
For specific information about the PhD fellowship, please contact the principal supervisor.

General information about PhD study at the Faculty of SCIENCE is available at the PhD School’s website: https://www.science.ku.dk/phd/ .

The University of Copenhagen wishes to reflect the surrounding community and invites all regardless of personal background to apply for the position. 

Part of the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU), and among Europe’s top-ranking universities, the University of Copenhagen promotes research and teaching of the highest international standard. Rich in tradition and modern in outlook, the University gives students and staff the opportunity to cultivate their talent in an ambitious and informal environment. An effective organisation – with good working conditions and a collaborative work culture – creates the ideal framework for a successful academic career.