PhD Research Fellow in Technology with specialization in ICT

The University of Agder invites applications for a full-time fixed-term appointment as PhD Research Fellow in Information and Communication Technology for a period of three years, at the Department of Information and Communications Technology, Faculty of Engineering and Science. The position is located in Grimstad, Norway. The starting date is negotiable.

The Department of ICT offers bachelor level programmes in Computer Engineering, Electronic and Electrical Engineering Multimedia Technology and Design, as well as a master programme in ICT and a PhD programme in Technology, with ICT as a specialization area.

The department has 3 large and active research groups in Information and Communication Technology including 7 Professors and 10 Associate Professors. In addition, there are about 20 Research Fellows on the PhD programme in ICT. Other members of the research group in ICT include a Professor II and an Associate Professor II.

The Department of ICT pursues a variety of research interests, focusing especially on ICT and crisis management, eLearning and eHealth. The department has successfully led a number of large research projects funded by the Research Council of Norway and the EU research programme FP7.

This open position is associated with a newly established research centre, Centre for Integrated Emergency Management (CIEM), targeting at developing novel solutions for peer-to-peer communications in crisis situations. Potential research topics for this PhD project include:

• Traffic modeling and network dependability analysis of ad hoc networks in crisis situations
• Medium access control mechanisms in spectrum-agile and environment-aware multi-hop cooperative and cognitive radio networks
• Performance analysis and evaluation of multi-hop wireless networks for mission-critical applications

The successful applicant must have qualifications in all the following fields:

• Solid background in mathematics and performance evaluation of communication systems using Markov modelling
• In-depth knowledge on cognitive radio networks (CRNs) especially channel aggregation techniques in multi-channel CRNs
• Documented research experience by published or submitted papers
• Excellent programming skills in MATLAB and NS2

The PhD Research Fellow must be admitted to the PhD Programme in Technology, with ICT as specialization within three months of appointment. More information about the programme and a complete list of admission requirements can be found on: http://www.uia.no/en/portals/about_the_university/engineering_and_science/phd/phd_in_ict

Applicants who already hold a Ph.D degree will normally not be considered for the position.

The following admission requirements apply to the PhD programme:

• The average grade for courses included in the bachelor's degree (or equivalent) must be C (or equivalent) or higher;
• The average grade for courses included in the master's degree (or equivalent) must be B (or equivalent) or higher;
• The master's thesis (or equivalent) must have a grade B (or equivalent) or higher when the candidate is admitted to the PhD program.

A high level of oral and written proficiency in English is required. Applicants from some countries must document their English proficiency through one of the following tests with the stated results or better:

• TOEFL – Test of English as a Foreign Language with a minimum score of 550 on the Paper-based Test (PBT), or 80 on the Internet based Test (iBT);
• IELTS – International English Language Testing System, with a result of at least 6.0.

Please check the following list to see if an English test is required:

http://www.nokut.no/Documents/NOKUT/Artikkelbibliotek/Utenlandsk_utdanning/GSUlista/GSU-listen_ENG_030212.pdf

The appointee must have the ability to work in a goal-oriented, organised, focused and independent manner. In the assessment process, emphasis will be placed on the applicant’s examination results as well as any previous research and development work. Relevant practical experience, personal suitability and good collaborative skills will also be emphasised.

Short-listed applicants will be invited for interviews. With the applicant’s permission, UiA will also conduct a reference check before appointment.

Women are especially encouraged to apply.

The Norwegian public service is committed to reflecting the diversity of society, and the personnel policy of the University of Agder aims to achieve a balanced workforce. All qualified persons are therefore encouraged to apply for the position, irrespective of cultural background, gender, age or disability.

Appointment is made by the University of Agder’s Appointments Committee for Teaching and Research Positions. The successful applicant will have rights and obligations in accordance with the current regulations for the public service.

The position is remunerated according to the State salary scale, salary plan 17.515, code 1017, salary grade 48 (NOK 391 300). A 2 % compulsory pension contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund is deducted from the pay according to current statutory provisions.

Applicants must submit their application and CV online. Please click on the link “Send application”.

The following documentation should be submitted as attachments to the online application:

Certificates and/or grades for all post-secondary education, up to and including the bachelor's level;

• Master's degree/higher degree certificate, with a summary of the courses/subjects included in the degree;
• Applicants with a foreign higher education must attach an official description of the grading system used at the issuing institution;
• Summary (approximately 1-2 pages) of the master's thesis;
• Applicants who are required to document their English proficiency must submit their TOEFL or IELTS test results (these may be forwarded after the closing date);
• Summary or links to the applicant's scientific publications (if any);
• A description of the candidate’s research interests and background for the project applied for.

Original documents of the certificates/diplomas and transcripts of records or authenticated copies of the original documents with stamp, date, and readable signature from a public office (e.g. university, college, or police) must be presented before appointment. In cooperation with the applicant, documents will be requested directly from the issuing institution/university.

The applicants are also fully responsible for successfully uploading the documentation, and must ensure that the documents are within a reasonable size and in a format (PDF, PNG, JPEG, ODF, DOC) suitable for attachment. Files that are overly large or in an irregular format will not be included in the documents that will accompany the application through the appointment process. Furthermore, please make sure that the documents are uploaded only once.

The applicants are fully responsible for submitting complete documentation within the closing date.

All documentation and publications must be in English.

Please note that the application form, with all the documentation must be sent through our electronic application system. Email attachments are not accepted.

In accordance with §25(2) of the Freedom of Information Act, applicants may request that they are not identified in the open list of applicants. The University, however, reserves the right to publish the name of applicants. Applicants will be advised of the University’s intention to exercise this right.

Closing date: 31.03.2012

For further information please contact Professor Frank Y. Li, tel. +47 3723 3213, email: frank.li@uia.no, or Head of Department Professor Andreas Prinz, tel. +47 3723 3220, email: andreas.prinz@uia.no . The full text of this announcement is also available online at www.uia.no/vacancies. For more information on working at UiA, see www.uia.no/work

In case of discrepancies between the Norwegian and the English version of this description, the Norwegian version takes precedence

Further Information
Application Deadline : 31 March 2012