About the position

The Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) has a vacancy for a Computer Science Ph.D. fellowship at the Department of Computer Science (IDI). The position will research the security and privacy issues of blockchain and blockchain-based applications.

The position is jointly funded by PaaSforChain (Platform as Service Technologies for High-performance Blockchain-based Supply Chain Management Systems) project, hosted by NTNU IDI. The PaaSforChain project is a Chinese-Norwegian Collaborative Project on Digitalisation financed by the Research Council of Norway and the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China. The Norwegian partners in this project include NTNU, SINTEF Digital, DNV GL, and Hermes AS, and the Chinese partners include Tsinghua University, Nanjing University. Southeast University, and two Chinese companies, namely, Transwarp, and Zhongcheng research institute. The project objectives include studying core technological, ethical, social, and cultural issues of using blockchain and other related IT technologies to develop blockchain-based supply chain applications, especially for the seafood industry and studying core IT technologies, such as architecture, security, performance, and scalability of developing a supply chain domain-specific PaaS platform.

The Ph.D. candidate will be supervised by Associate Prof. Jingyue Li and report to the head of Department

Duties of the position

• Perform research on security and privacy issues of large-scale blockchain-based supply chain management systems.
• Work closely with researchers in other work packages, who will work on architecture design of blockchain-based supply chain management systems, on-chain and off-chain data storage, management, and analysis, and advanced blockchain consensus models.
• Deal with the security and privacy issues of blockchain-based applications from a holistic point of view.

The research and development will mainly take place in NTNU IDI in Trondheim, Norway. The candidate will have possibilities to do short-term visiting research at the Chinese university partners. The candidate will also have possibilities to participate in other relevant research activities through our collaborators worldwide.

Required selection criteria

The PhD-position's main objective is to qualify for work in research positions. The qualification requirement is the completion of a master’s degree or second degree (equivalent to 120 credits) with a strong academic background in computer science 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 Ph.D. degree

• The applicants should have a solid background in blockchain technology, information security, data privacy, or software verification and validation.
• A research-oriented master thesis within blockchain technology, information security, data privacy, or software verification and validation is required
• Good programming skills are required
• Good written and oral English skills. Applicants must provide evidence of good English language skills, written and spoken. The following tests can be used as such documentation: TOEFL, IELTS or Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English (CAE) or Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE). Minimum scores are:
  • TOEFL: 600 (paper-based test), 92 (Internet-based test),
  • IELTS: 6.5, with no section lower than 5.5 (only Academic IELTS test accepted),
  • CAE/CPE: grade B or A
• In extraordinary circumstances, formal documentation of language skills can be relinquished. In such cases the candidate’s language skills will be assessed in a personal interview

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, post doctor and research assistant.

Preferred selection criteria

• Experience in high-quality scientific publications
• Experience in developing blockchain-based applications

Personal characteristics

• Ability to work and think independently
• Enthusiasm and passion
• Perseverance and commitment
• Critical thinking

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal suitability.

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

The period of employment 4 years with 25%  duty work and is expected to start fra July 2020.

Appointment to a PhD position requires that you are admitted to the PhD programme in [subject area] (Link to website, if applicable) within three months of employment, and that you participate in an organized PhD programme during the employment period.

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. After the appointment you must assume that there may be changes in the area of work.

The position is subject to external funding by the PaaSforChain project.

It is a prerequisite you can be present at and accessible to the institution on a daily basis.

About the application

The application and supporting documentation to be used as the basis for the assessment must be in English

Publications and other scientific work must follow the application. Please note that applications are only evaluated based on the information available on the application deadline. You should ensure that your application shows clearly how your skills and experience meet the criteria which are set out above. 

Joint works will be considered. If it is difficult to identify your contribution to joint works, you must attach a brief description of your participation.

The application must contain the following:

• Curriculum vitae (CV) with information about the candidate’s prior training, exams, and work experience
• Certified copies of transcripts and diplomas for the whole bachelor and master’s degree. An English translation of all education documents is required unless the documents are in Norwegian.
• Research statement (max. 4 pages) including:
  • A short presentation of the motivation for a Ph.D. study
  • How the applicant sees his/her background suitable
  • The applicant’s view of research challenges within security and privacy issues of blockchain-based application, in particular, what are typical security and privacy risks of the blockchain-based application and how to identify and mitigate the risks.
  • How the competence of the applicant can contribute to solving these challenges
  • A proposed research plan including appropriate research methods and/or theories could be relevant to examine the security and privacy issues of blockchain-based applications.　
• 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
• Attachments of any other relevant documents (e.g., awards)
• List of scientific publications and max four papers published in the last five years

Incomplete applications will not be considered.

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. 

The city of Trondheim is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. Trondheim is the innovation capital of Norway with a population of 200,000. The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world. Professional subsidized day-care for children is easily available. Furthermore, Trondheim offers great opportunities for education (including international schools) and possibilities to enjoy nature, culture and family life and has low crime rates and clean air quality.

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

As an employee at NTNU, you must at all times adhere to the changes that the development in the subject entails and the organizational changes that are adopted.

Information Act (Offentleglova), your name, age, position and municipality may be made public even if you have requested not to have your name entered on the list of applicants.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Associate Professor Jingyue Li, telephone +47, 91897446, email jingyue.li@ntnu.no or the Head of the Department Professor John Krogstie, e-mail: john.krogstie@ntnu.no.

If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact , e-mail: anne.kristin.bratseth@ntnu.no

Please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no with your CV, diplomas and certificates. Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered. Diploma Supplement is required to attach for European Master Diplomas outside Norway. Chinese applicants are required to provide confirmation of Master Diploma from China Credentials Verification (CHSI).

If you are invited for interview you must include certified copies of transcripts and reference letters.

Please refer to the application number 2013/10413 when applying.

Application deadline: 30.04.20

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 30th April 2020
Employer NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Municipality Trondheim
Scope Fulltime
Duration Temporary
Place of service Trondheim