PhD Position Collaborative Practices in Computer Science Education

Computer Science and Software Engineering students are often expected to develop software in teams. This trend for group projects can only become more common, due to the increasing amount of students pursuing CS degrees, as well as the software industry requirements for skills related to collaboration and teamwork.

The setup of group projects involves several decisions on their setup and monitoring, team formation policies, and grading strategies. The project setup is important, because it is known to affect learning outcomes, skill building, and the overall student experience. At the same time, group software projects provide unique monitoring opportunities due to the availability of both product and process data from source code repositories. This data can be used for monitoring student contributions, grading, and providing feedback to instructors.

This research will focus on practices applied by students and instructors for group software projects. You will explore several topics, such as skill development in student projects, best practices in group project setup, team formation and its effects, grade fairness, and gender effects via both qualitative and quantative studies. You will also develop and evaluate tools for monitoring project contributions and fair grading.

The candidate will be employed at the Delft University of Technology and closely work with the members of the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Center for Education and Learning.     

We are looking for a candidate who has:

• A Master’s degree in computer science, software engineering, or related fields
• Solid programming and data analysis skills
• Interest in education research
• Excellent oral and written skills in English

Prior experience in research is not mandatory but will be considered a plus.

Doing a PhD at TU Delft requires English proficiency at a certain level to ensure that the candidate is able to communicate and interact well, participate in English-taught Doctoral Education courses, and write scientific articles and a final thesis. For more details please check the Graduate Schools Admission Requirements .

Doctoral candidates will be offered a 4-year period of employment in principle, but in the form of 2 employment contracts. An initial 1,5 year contract with an official go/no go progress assessment within 15 months. Followed by an additional contract for the remaining 2,5 years assuming everything goes well and performance requirements are met.

Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, increasing from € 2541 per month in the first year to € 3247 in the fourth year. As a PhD candidate you will be enrolled in the TU Delft Graduate School. The TU Delft Graduate School provides an inspiring research environment with an excellent team of supervisors, academic staff and a mentor. The Doctoral Education Programme is aimed at developing your transferable, discipline-related and research skills.

The TU Delft offers a customisable compensation package, discounts on health insurance and sport memberships, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged.

For international applicants, TU Delft has the Coming to Delft Service . This service provides information for new international employees to help you prepare the relocation and to settle in the Netherlands. The Coming to Delft Service offers a Dual Career Programme  for partners and they organise events to expand your (social) network.

Delft University of Technology is built on strong foundations. As creators of the world-famous Dutch waterworks and pioneers in biotech, TU Delft is a top international university combining science, engineering and design. It delivers world class results in education, research and innovation to address challenges in the areas of energy, climate, mobility, health and digital society. For generations, our engineers have proven to be entrepreneurial problem-solvers, both in business and in a social context.

At TU Delft we embrace diversity as one of our core values  and we actively engage  to be a university where you feel at home and can flourish. We value different perspectives and qualities. We believe this makes our work more innovative, the TU Delft community more vibrant and the world more just. Together, we imagine, invent and create solutions using technology to have a positive impact on a global scale. That is why we invite you to apply. Your application will receive fair consideration.

Challenge. Change. Impact!

The Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science (EEMCS) brings together three scientific disciplines. Combined, they reinforce each other and are the driving force behind the technology we all use in our daily lives. Technology such as the electricity grid, which our faculty is helping to make completely sustainable and future-proof. At the same time, we are developing the chips and sensors of the future, whilst also setting the foundations for the software technologies to run on this new generation of equipment – which of course includes AI. Meanwhile we are pushing the limits of applied mathematics, for example mapping out disease processes using single cell data, and using mathematics to simulate gigantic ash plumes after a volcanic eruption. In other words: there is plenty of room at the faculty for ground-breaking research. We educate innovative engineers and have excellent labs and facilities that underline our strong international position. In total, more than 1000 employees and 4,000 students work and study in this innovative environment.

Click here  to go to the website of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science.

For more information about this vacancy, please contact dr. Fenia Aivaloglou  

Are you interested in this vacancy? Please apply before 3 July 2023 via the application button and upload your:

• Motivation letter;
• Detailed CV;
• One-page abstract of your MSc thesis written in English;
• Proof of English language proficiency.

Please note:

• A pre-employment screening can be part of the selection procedure.
• You can apply online. We will not process applications sent by email and/or post.
• Please do not contact us for unsolicited services.