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Postdoctoral/PhD position in Privacy-Preserving Data Processing and Analysis

Employer
NORWEGIAN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY - NTNU
Location
Gjøvik, Norway
Closing date
31 Jul 2020

About the position

This Postdoctoral/PhD position is at the Department of Information Security and Communication Technology (IIK), NTNU Gjøvik. For more information about the department, see https://www.ntnu.edu/iik. The Post Doctor/PhD candidate will work closely with the eHealth and Welfare Security group of the Center for Cyber and Information Security (CCIS) at the department, with a specific research interest in health data management infrastructure and enabling technologies. The Postdoctoral/PhD position will be under the main supervision of Associate Professor Bian Yang, with Dr. Julien Bringer and Associate Professor Els Kindt as co-supervisors.

The position will be funded by the Norwegian Research Council through the IKTPLUSS project Reinforcing the Health Data Infrastructure in Mobility and Assurance through Data Democratization (HealthDemocratization) and serves the project by offering health data management scenario modelling and enabling technology development. This research position will closely cooperate with other PhD/Postdoctoral researchers in the HealthDemocratization project towards project goal of establishing a trusted layer in the future national health data infrastructure.

This position is a fixed term, full time (100%) position for 3 years, starting in November 2020.

The position reports to the Head of Department.

Main duties and responsibilities

An increasing amount of health data is created on and by citizens and patients. These health data resources provide a cornerstone of the vision of Precision/P4 medicine. Sharing health data creates values for clinical care as well as healthcare research. It is vital to protect and promote the interests of individuals. Individuals should be able to control and share their health data according to their own interests, including monitoring of health status, research participation, and clinical use. On the other hand, a democratic data management system must also allow various other parties (health care service providers, researchers, Internet companies, insurance companies, etc.) to negotiate their benefits, rights and obligations to the health data, and facilitate data provenance and rights management across parties in a trusted way.

This PhD position aims to architect a health data management infrastructure that will technically empower individuals and all other parties to pursue their rights and fulfil their duties, incentivize sharing, trade and open access, through privacy-preserving data processing mechanisms and privacy-preserving data analysis methods, taking into account the varied regulatory needs in Norway, EU, and the international data transferring scenarios. The Postdoctoral or PhD researcher is expected to have experiences in software engineering, data system architecting, distributed computing, and information security. Knowledge and skills in existing privacy and security methods such as homomorphic encryption, secure multi-party computation, differential privacy methods, federated machine learning, etc., and also documented  sufficient skills in developing innovative crypto- and statistical methods for improving the data protection will be regarded as advantages.

The position is primarily interested in a Postdoctoral candidate but may consider applications from exceptional PhD candidates. The selection will be based on the applicant’s documented capacity to satisfy the requirements given in this position description.

Qualification requirements

Postdoctoral position:

A postdoctoral research fellowship is a qualification position in which the main objective is qualification for work in academic positions. Completion of a Norwegian doctoral degree closely related to the research problem (s), a foreign doctoral degree recognized as equivalent to a Norwegian doctoral degree is required.

Other qualifications:

  • Knowledge, skills and experience in software engineering, data processing and analysis, distributed computing, information security, privacy enhancing technologies and trust management
  • Documented experience in teamwork and project-based cooperation
  • Documented high motivation and skills in research training
  • Documented research experience and publication record
  • Written and oral fluency in English. Candidates for the PostDoc position from non-English speaking countries outside the Nordic countries can provide English proficiency evidence from academic publication, video recording of conference presentations, or other documented evidences.
  • Experience in health data management is considered as an advantage.

PhD position:

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 Computer Science, Cryptography, Information Security, Data Security, Cloud Security, Distributed Computing 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.

Other qualifications:

  • Knowledge, skills, and experience in software engineering, data processing and analysis, distributed computing, information security, privacy enhancing technologies, and trust management.
  • Documented experience in teamwork and project-based cooperation
  • Documented high motivation and skills in research training and project-based cooperation
  • Documented research experience and publication record
  • Written and oral fluency in English. Candidates for the PhD position from non-English speaking countries outside the Nordic countries must provide official documentation of their English competence. Approved tests and results are:
    • TOEFL: 600 / writing 4.5 (paper-based test), 92 / writing 22 (internet- based test)
    • IELTS: 6.5, with no section lower than 5.5 (only Academic IELTS tests accepted)
    • Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English (CAE) or Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE): grade A or B
    • Candidates from non-English speaking countries may also provide evidence of a Master or PhD degree program using English as the course and working language as the evidence of their English competence.  
  • Experience in health data management is considered as an advantage.

Emphasis will also be placed on:

  • Prior academic output
  • Prior relevant job experience, particularly project-based collaboration with multiple partners
  • Level of competence in digital technologies

For both positions:

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

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

Personal characteristics

  • Communication abilities
  • Motivation and personal aptitude

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

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.

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. Applicants will only be assessed based on the information submitted. The applicant is responsible to ensure that everything is submitted by the deadline of 31 July 2020.Applicants invited for interview must include certified copies of transcripts and reference letters.

Please complete the online application form. The applicant’s personal qualification and motivation for applying for the specific position must be mentioned in the cover letter. In addition, the following pdfs must be attached:

  • A 1-page cover letter explaining your motivation for this position, and how your skills and experience relate to the research project
  • A 1-page description of your previous work and academic interests
  • A 2-page draft research proposal outlining a possible approach
  • CV, including (only if applicable) a list of publications, English language test scores, and other supporting documents (like proof of the candidates’ study and language abilities)
  • Relevant transcripts of grades, diplomas, and certificates
  • Contact information of at least 2 persons of reference, preferably academic supervisor(s)

Chosen applicants will be invited to undergo an interview.

Candidates from universities outside Norway are requested to send a Diploma Supplement or similar official document, which describes in detail the study and grade system and the rights for further studies associated with the obtained degree: https://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/documents/european-skills-passport/diploma-supplement.

Candidates for the Postdoctoral position from non-English speaking countries outside the Nordic countries can provide English proficiency evidence from academic publication, video recording of conference presentations, or other documented evidences.

For further information about the position:

Associate Professor Bian Yang, email: bian.yang@ntnu.no

For enquires regarding the application procedure:

HR Consultant Stine Terese Ruen Nymoen, email: stine.t.r.nymoen@ntnu.no

Application deadline: 31.07.2020

Starting date: 01.11.2020

Salary and conditions

Postdoctoral candidates:

Postdoctoral candidates are remunerated in code 1352, and are normally remunerated at gross NOK 563 700 per year. From the salary, 2% is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund. The period of employment is for 3 years.

PhD candidates:

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

The period of employment is for 3 years, or 4 years with 25% duty work. Appointment to a PhD position requires admission to the PhD programme in Information Security.

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.

http://www.ntnu.no/studieavd/dok/PhD_regulations.pdf

For both positions:

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 criteria in the latter law will be prohibited from recruitment to NTNU.

Appointment takes place on the terms that apply to State employees at any time, and after the appointment you must assume that there may be changes in the area of work.

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 Information Security and Communication Technology

Research is vital to the security of our society. We teach and conduct research in cyber security, information security, communications networks and networked services. Our areas of expertise include biometrics, cyber defence, cryptography, digital forensics, security in e-health and welfare technology, intelligent transportation systems and malware. The Department of Information Security and Communication Technology is one of seven departments in the Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering .

Deadline 31st July 2020
Employer NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Municipality Gjøvik
Scope Fulltime
Duration Temporary
Place of service NTNU Campus Gjøvik

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