PhD fellowship in Multivariate disease surveillance approaches for European livestock production

We are offering a PhD fellowship in Multivariate disease surveillance approaches for European livestock production commencing 31 December 2021 or as soon as possible hereafter.

Our group and research
The Herd Management group currently consist of six people, and is expanding. The areas of expertise within the Herd Management group is, most notably, multivariate and multilevel monitoring of time series data relating to production animals. These data can be collected with sensors or from other means, e.g. serological test results. Furthermore, the group is focused on advanced post-processing of the monitored data for purpose of early warning and/or detection of specific events related to the production animals, such as outbreak of disease or onset of farrowing. Lastly, expertise within deep learning and machine vision, applied to problems within animal production, is in the process of being built up within the group.

Project description

This PhD project will be part of a Horizon 2020 project entitled “Data-driven control and prioritisation of non-EU-regulated contagious animal diseases” (DECIDE). It is a collaboration project with 19 partner institutions in eight European countries and is led by Utrecht University in the Netherlands. The purpose of this PhD project is to contribute to the development of algorithms and models for monitoring respiratory and gastro-intestinal diseases in the three most important terrestrial livestock species (pigs, poultry, cattle) and on growth reduction and mortality in salmonids, an important aquaculture species. The focus of the PhD project is to build multivariate and multi-level models for creating early warning systems.

Supervisors
The Principal supervisorisProfessor Anders Ringgaard Kristensen, Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences. E-mail: [email protected] , Direct Phone: +45 35333091

A secondary co-supervisor and daily advisor is Dr. Dan Børge Jensen, Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences. E-mail: [email protected] , Direct Phone: +45 35333021.

Start:                  31 December 2021

Duration:             3 years as a PhD student

Job description
Your key tasks as a PhD student at SUND are:

• Carry through an independent research project under supervision

• Complete PhD courses or other equivalent education corresponding to approx. 30 ECTS points
• Participate in active research environments including a stay at another research team
• Obtain experience with teaching or other types of dissemination related to your PhD project
• Teach and disseminate your knowledge
• Write a PhD thesis on the grounds of your project

Key criteria for the assessment of applicants
Applicants must have qualifications corresponding to a Master’s degree (equivalent of the Danish candidate, 3+2 years) related to the subject area of the project e.g. veterinary science, animal science, or similar.

Certified copy of original Master of Science diploma and transcript of records in the original language, including an authorized English translation if issued in other language than English or Danish. If not completed, a certified/signed copy of a recent transcript of records or a written statement from the institution or supervisor is accepted.

As a prerequisite for a PhD fellowship employment, your master’s degree must be equivalent to a Danish master’s degree. We encourage you to read more in the assessment database: https://ufm.dk/en/education/recognition-and-transparency/find-assessments/assessment-database . Please note that we might ask you to obtain an assessment of your education performed by the Ministry of Higher Education and Science.”

Other important criteria are:

• The grade point average achieved
• Professional qualifications relevant to the PhD project
• Previous publications
• Relevant work experience
• Other professional activities
• Curious mind-set with a strong interest in livestock production and advanced modelling
• Language skills

Place of employment

The place of employment is at Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen. We offer creative and stimulating working conditions in dynamic and international research environment. Furthermore, the Herd Management group is a frontrunner in the field of precision livestock farming (PLF).

Terms of employment
The employment as PhD fellow is full time and for 3 years.

It is conditioned upon the applicant’s success­ful enrolment as a PhD student at the Graduate School at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen. This requires submission and acceptance of an application for the specific project formulated by the applicant.

The PhD study must be completed in accordance with The Ministerial Order on the PhD programme (2013) and the Faculty’s rules on achieving the degree. Salary, pension and terms of employment are in accordance with the agree­ment between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State. Depending on seniority, the monthly salary begins around 26.755 DKK /approx. 3.567 EUR (April 2018-level) plus pension.

Questions
For specific information about the PhD fellowship, please contact Dan Børge Jensen by e-mail.

General information about PhD study at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences is available at the Graduate School’s website: https://healthsciences.ku.dk/phd/guidelines/

Application procedure
Your application must be submitted electronically by clicking ‘Apply now’ below. The application must include the following documents in PDF format: 

1. Motivated letter of application (max. one page)

2. CV incl. education, experience, language skills and other skills relevant for the position

3. Master of Science diploma and transcript of records. If the Master’s degree has not been completed, a certified/signed copy of a recent transcript of records or a written statement from the institution or supervisor will do

4. Publication list (if applicable)

Application deadline:  14 October 2021, 23.59pm CET

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 the expiry of the deadline for applications, the authorized recruitment manager selects applicants for assessment on the advice of the hiring committee. All applicants are then immediately notified whether their application has been passed for assessment by an unbiased assessor.

The assessor makes a non-prioritized assessment of the academic qualifications and experience with respect to the above-mentioned area of research, techniques, skills and other requirements listed in the advertisement.

Once the assessment work has been completed each applicant has the opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment that relates to the applicant him/herself.

You can read about the recruitment process at https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/  

The applicant will be assessed according to the Ministerial Order no. 242 of 13 March 2012 on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities.

Interviews are expected to be held in week 44-46.

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.