About the position

We have a vacancy for a PhD candidate in Privacy Preserved Machine Learning at The Department of Computer Science (IDI)

The Department of Computer Science (IDI) in Gjøvik invites applications for a PhD/Early Stage Researcher position in Computer Science. The position will be based at The Norwegian Colour and Visual Computing Laboratory.

The main task of the PhD student in the doctoral work will be twofold. First, to study and investigate the classical machine learning approaches and enable them with the privacy preserving ability. Secondly, to develop meaningful techniques that facilitate the privacy preserving mechanisms (for e.g., Homomorphic Encryption) for deep learning approaches for classification and prediction tasks using images. Depending on the skills of the candidate, different aspects may be emphasized, for instance by focusing on:

• Privacy preserving for signal/image processing under classical machine learning
• Privacy preserving for deep learning and transfer learning
• Privacy preserving/enhancing techniques resilient against model inversion attacks
• Differential privacy preserving for machine learning and deep learning

The position reports to Head of department

Place of work is Gjøvik.

Main duties and responsibilities

The candidate is expected to work towards combining knowledge from machine learning, signal/image processing and privacy preserving/enhancing approaches to define new methods for deriving privacy preserved machine learning, and to publish the results in scientific journals and conferences.

During the employment period, the candidate may spend a stipulated period for internship at the other reputed universities/groups working on similar domain.

Main supervisor: Associate Professor Kiran Raja (NTNU).

Qualification requirements

PhD candidate:

The PhD-position's main objective is to qualify for work in research positions. The qualification requirement is completion of a master’s degree or second degree (equivalent to 120 credits) with a strong academic background in [subject area] or equivalent education with a grade of B or better in terms of NTNU’s grading scale. Applicants with no letter grades from previous studies must have an equally good academic foundation. Applicants who are unable to meet these criteria may be considered only if they can document that they are particularly suitable candidates for education leading to a PhD degree.

The appointment is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants and national guidelines for appointment as PhD, postdoctor and research assistant

Candidates who have completed their master’s degree in an institution where English is not the language of instruction must present one of the following Secure English Language Test (SELT) results as follows:

• TOEFL Internet-Based (iBT) – minimum 95 with a writing score of at least 24
• Academic IELTS – minimum 6.5 with a minimum of 6.0 in each element
• Advanced Cambridge Certificate at grade C or better

The test results must not be older than 24 months on the date of the application deadline

NTNU is committed to following evaluation criteria for research quality according to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment - DORA.

Other qualifications

• A masters or background in machine learning is required
• Good programming skills is required (C++/Python/Matlab)
• Good written and oral English language skills
• Background in privacy preserving approaches/data protection is highly beneficial

Personal characteristics

• High motivation for research work and ability to work independently
• Ability to work both individually and in a (virtual) team environment and a high level of personal responsibility, initiative and leadership skills
• Flexibility and ability to take direction and accommodate feedback from diverse stakeholders.
• Ability to meet deadlines and produce work of a consistently high standard.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills and an ability to communicate effectively
• Eagerness to disseminate research results through publications and presentations at international conferences.

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal suitability, as well as motivation, in terms of the qualification requirements specified in the advertisement

We offer

• exciting and stimulating tasks in a strong international academic environment
• an open and inclusive work environment with dedicated colleagues
• favourable terms in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• employee benefits

Salary and conditions

PhD candidate:

PhD candidates are remunerated in code 1017, and are normally remunerated at gross from NOK 479 600 before tax per year. From the salary, 2 % is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

The position is for 3 years or 4 years with 25 % duty work (e.g., teaching activities). Appointment to a PhD position requires admission to the PhD programme in Computer Science (https://www.ntnu.edu/studies/phcos).

As a PhD candidate, you undertake to participate in an organized PhD programme during the employment period. A condition of appointment is that you are in fact qualified for admission to the PhD programme within three months.

The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants, and the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and attachment are seen to conflict with the criterias in the latter law will be prohibited from recruitment to NTNU. After the appointment you must assume that there may be changes in the area of work.

General information

A good work environment is characterized by diversity. We encourage qualified candidates to apply, regardless of their gender, functional capacity or cultural background. Under the Freedom of Information Act (offentleglova), information about the applicant may be made public even if the applicant has requested not to have their name entered on the list of applicants

The national labour force must reflect the composition of the population to the greatest possible extent, NTNU wants to increase the proportion of women in its scientific posts. Women are encouraged to apply.

Questions about the position can be directed to Assoc. Prof. Kiran Raja, phone number +47 61 13 53 74, e-mail: kiran.raja@ntnu.no  or group leader Prof. Marius Pedersen, phone number +47 61 13 52 46, e-mail: marius.pedersen@ntnu.no  or Head of the Department Professor John Krogstie, e-mail: john.krogstie@ntnu.no

About the application:

Publications and other academic works that the applicant would like to be considered in the evaluation must accompany the application. Joint works will be considered. If it is difficult to identify the individual applicant's contribution to joint works, the applicant must include a brief description of his or her contribution.

Please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no with your CV, diplomas and certificates. Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered.

• Curriculum vitae (CV) with information about the candidate’s prior training, exams, and work experience.
• A research statement (max. 3 pages), detailing research interests and initial plans with regard to the specific project description for this position provided above. The statement should also describe why the applicant is suited for the position, and how the project relates to previous education, research and competence.
• If the candidate wishes to take up 4-year position, a brief motivation for mandatory 25% services (e.g., teaching) must be included in the application.
• Names and contact information of at least 2 reference persons
• A copy of the master thesis (in PDF), or, for those who are near to completion of their MSc, an extended abstract combined with a statement of how and when the applicant plans to complete the thesis.
• Certified copies of transcripts and diplomas of the bachelor and master’s degree. The documents have to be translated to English unless they are in Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, German or English.
• Applicants from universities outside Norway are kindly requested to send a diploma supplement (for European Master Diplomas outside Norway) or a similar document that describes in detail the study and grading system and the rights for further studies associated with the obtained degree.
• Chinese applicants are required to provide confirmation of Master Diploma from China Credentials Verification (CHSI): http://www.chsi.com.cn/en/).
• Pakistani applicants are required to provide information of Master Diploma from Higher Education Commission (HEC) https://hec.gov.pk/english/pages/home.aspx
• Applicants with degrees from Cameroon, Canada, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Ghana, Nigeria, Philippines, Sudan, Uganda and USA have to send their education documents as paper copy directly from the university college/university, in addition to enclose a copy with the application.

Incomplete applications will not be considered for evaluation. Applicants invited for interview must include certified copies of transcripts and reference letters. Please refer to the application number when applying.

Application deadline: 01.12.2019

NTNU - knowledge for a better world

The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) creates knowledge for a better world and solutions that can change everyday life.

Department of Computer Science 

We are the leading academic IT environment in Norway, and offer a wide range of theoretical and applied IT programmes of study at all levels. Our subject areas include hardware, algorithms, visual computing, AI, databases, software engineering, information systems, learning technology, HCI, CSCW, IT operations and applied data processing. The Department has groups in both Trondheim and Gjøvik. The Department of Computer Science is one of seven departments in the Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering .

Deadline 1st December 2019
Employer NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Municipality Gjøvik Trondheim
Scope Fulltime
Duration Temporary
Place of service Gjøvik