Doctoral Candidate (PhD) in Computer Science on Decentralised Markets for Digital Assets

Updated: almost 2 years ago
Deadline: ;

Successful candidates will join the young, vibrant, and interdisciplinary FINATRAX Research Group, which builds bridges between business research and information systems engineering. The group conducts research on the application and the impact of digital technologies like DLT/Blockchain, Digital Identities, Machine Learning/AI, and IoT/5G on organisations from both the private and public sectors. The group consists of doctoral and post-doctoral researchers from diverse backgrounds (e.g., policy, business, technology), united in pursuit of sustainable technologies that positively impact society. 

Successful candidates will pursue a Ph.D. degree (Doctorate) in Informatics while assigned to the PABLO project. PABLO (“Privacy-preserving Tokenisation of Artworks”) is a research project funded by the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR). PABLO is a collaboration between the FINATRAX group, led by Prof. Dr Gilbert Fridgen, and the SnT’s Applied Security and Information Assurance (APSIA) group, led by Prof. Dr Peter Ryan. PABLO’s contributors will study the privacy-preserving exchange of tokenised collectibles, such as physical and digital artworks, cross-platform gaming possessions, and virtual fashion items. More specifically, PABLO’s contributors will investigate how zero-knowledge proofs enable market participants to selectively disclose the minimum amount of identity information that is required by European regulators.

PABLO’s closely related topics include verifiable credentials for decentralised digital identities, and public ledgers like Ethereum as open platforms for the trading and settlement of digital assets. PABLO’s contributors will tackle problems that involve legal, organisational, and technical aspects: for example, how to implement a secure stakeholder voting system (via smart contracts), so that a tokenised artwork’s multiple owners can make decisions without needing to establish traditional, trust-based relationships and without publicly disclosing their identity information. PABLO’s contributors will design a “technology stack” that adds zero-knowledge proofs to DLT, NFTs, and verifiable credentials. They will then implement a proof of concept, assess its security, and acknowledge the crucial legal implications. The PABLO project engages directly with major stakeholders within cryptocurrency, art and collectibles markets that have officially expressed support for the project.

While tokenised artworks and digital collectibles are the main foci of PABLO, the project’s findings are relevant to a variety of digital asset markets with similar requirements. Successful candidates will construct a portfolio of cutting-edge research outputs that intersect privacy laws, digital asset markets, and digital ID technologies. The work will prepare graduates for a career within industry, regulatory agencies, privacy lobbies, or academia.



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