Post Doctoral | Scholarship for Nigerians and Africans - Part 121

PhD Research Fellowship in Network and Distributed Systems for International Students, Norway

The Department of Informatics (IFI) is one of nine departments belonging to the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at the University of Oslo. IFI is Norway’s largest university department for general education and research in Computer Science and related topics. You can read more about the Department here:. The Department has near 800 students on bachelor level, near 300 master students, and over 200 PhD students. The totall staff of the Department is close to 250 employees, about 150 of these are full time scientific positions: about 60 Professors and Associate Professors.

The fellowship is for a period of up to 3 years.

Job Description:

The scholarship is in the framework of the Tidal News (Middleware Platform for Adaptive and Dependable Data Dissemination) project.

We are witnessing a dramatic increase in the use of data-centric distributed systems such as the dynamic Web, sensor networks, network-monitoring systems, and various publish-subscribe systems. The ubiquitous presence of such systems creates very large application networks that spread over large geographical areas and diverse intra- and inter-organizational domains. The visions of massive demand-driven data dissemination, intensive processing, and intelligent fusion in order to build dynamic knowledge bases that seemed infeasible just a few years ago are about to come true.

However, the realization of this potential demands adequate support from middleware that could be used to deploy and support such systems. At this time, both COTS middleware software and even state-of-art research middleware lack the technological foundations to cope with the enormous volume of data, constantly changing underlying network connectivity, and dynamic system organization. Typically, numerous information transmitters produce continuous data flows as well as massive unpredictable bursts of data at geographically dispersed locations. This data needs to be rapidly processed, routed, and classified by the degree of criticality, and intelligently fused. A large number of potentially mobile clients can issue multiple concurrent queries of varying urgency, priority, and precision requirements. In order to build a system that is capable of handling such a demanding situation, there is a clear need to develop new middleware technologies for scalable, mobility, adaptive, and reliable handling of these high-volume dynamic information flows.

We are seeking a student who is interested in designing, developing, and evaluating techniques that address these issues.

Requirements:

Applicants must have a degree in Computer Science, or in a related study, with excellent results. They must also be able to demonstrate interest in scientific research. The ideal candidate for the position will have strong background in distributed computing.

The purpose of the fellowship is research training leading to the successful completion of a PhD degree.

The fellowship requires admission to the research training programme at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. An approved plan for the research training, including a project outline, must be submitted no later than two months after taking up the position, and the admission must be approved within three months. For further information see:

A good command of English is required of all students attending the University of Oslo.

The application must include:

  • Application letter
  • Project description
  • CV (summarizing education, positions and academic work – scientific publications),
  • Copies of transcripts of records, and educational certificates
  • List of publications and academic work that the applicant swishes to be considered by the evaluation committee
  • Names and contact details of 2-3 references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail and telephone number

Foreign applicants are advised to attach an explanation of their University’s grading system.

Please remember that all documents should be in English or a Scandinavian language.

Closing date for applications: September 17, 2010

PhD Position in Microbial Ecology and Biogeochemistry, University of Southern Denmark

We wish to fill one PhD mobility fellowships at the Institute of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, with the following description:
Activity study of microorganisms in marine environments using molecular ecology tools in combination with biogeochemical analysis.
Research will be on microorganisms living in marine water and sediments and it includes several field trips to marine environments around the world. We focus on microorganisms within the sulphur and methane cycle and combine microbial activity and molecular ecology with biogeochemistry and stable isotope analysis. The successful applicant should have interest in one or several of these areas and like to do both laboratory and field studies.
As this is a mobility fellowship, the student’s present degree must have been awarded from a university other than the University of Southern Denmark.

Contact Person: Kirsten Habicht,
Email: khabicht@biology.sdu.dk.

Contact Address:
Kirsten Habicht,
Department of Biology,
University of Southern Denmark,
Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense M
Denmark

Closing date: 10 September, 2010 at 12 noon.

Doctoral Research Fellowship in Faculty of Humanities, University of Oslo, Norway

The Faculty has approximately 130 Ph.D. students divided into seven departments and one center:
• Department of Archaeology, Conservation and History
• Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages
• Department of Philosophy, Classics, History of Art and Ideas
• Department of Literature, Area Studies and European Languages
• Department of Linguistics and Scandinavian Studies
• Department of Media and Communication
• Department of Musicology
• Centre for Ibsen Studies
The advertised positions are open for all research fields at the Faculty of Humanities. In the actual processing of the applications, however, strategic considerations may be applied in the selection process, such as imminent need for recruitment within certain disciplines or subjects. Applicants who have recently graduated with excellent results may also be given preference.
The person who is appointed will be enrolled in the Faculty’s organised researcher training. The academic study will terminate in a doctoral thesis which will be defended at the Faculty, leading to a Ph.D.-degree. The successful candidate is expected to contribute into a research group or network, and for a professional development in the environment.

The appointment is for a duration of 3 years. Any previous employment as a research fellow or appointment to another position will in whole or in part be deducted from the appointment time.

Qualifications and personal skills:
In assessing the applications, special emphasis will be placed on the quality of the project description and on the assumed academic and personal ability on the part of the candidates to complete the dissertation within the given time frame. The short-listed candidates may be called for an interview at the University of Oslo.

Qualifications:
A Master degree or equivalent in an area relevant to the topic of the doctoral dissertation. The masters degree or equivalent has to be achieved by the time of application.

We offer:
• Pay grade 48-55 (NOK 383 900 – 433 400 per year), depending on qualifications
• Academically stimulating working environment
• Good pension benefits under the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund scheme
• Good welfare benefits

Submissions:
Applicants must submit the following attachments with the electronic application:
• letter of application
• list of publications
• Curriculum Vitae including grades
• project description, including a detailed progress plan for the project (maximum 5 pages, see Guidelines for project descriptions)
Applications that do not meet these requirements will not be considered.

Educational certificates, master theses and the like are not to be submitted with the application, but applicants may be asked to submit such information or works later.
See also Guidelines for pertaining to the application asessment process for doctoral research fellowships and About the doctoral degree/PhD at The faculty of Humanities.

Admission to the PhD  programme requires that faculty has the necessary supervision capacity.
The faculty has one PhD programme with seven PhD fields. The applicant must choose which field to be associated with. Selection of field determines which PhD committee will consider the application.

The University of Oslo has an agreement for all employees, aiming to secure rights to research results a.o.
The University of Oslo aims to achieve a balanced gender composition in the workforce and to recruit people with ethnic minority backgrounds.