Netherlands : Two PhD candidates to work on Process Mining

The Architecture of Information Systems (AIS) group of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science of the Technische Universiteit Eindhoven (TU/e) in collaboration with Perceptive Software, a business unit of Lexmark International, are looking for

Two PhD candidates to work on Process Mining

The Data Science Centre Eindhoven (DSC/e) is TU/e’s response to the growing volume and importance of data (http://www.tue.nl/dsce/). One of the initiatives of DSC/e is the “Adding Value to Network and Web Data” Impulse program aiming at supporting excellent research and more intensive collaboration with innovative organizations such as Perceptive Software.

The AIS group is one of the leading groups in the exciting new field of process mining (www.processmining.org). Process mining techniques focus on process discovery (extracting process models from event logs), conformance checking (comparing normative models with the reality recorded in event logs), and extension (extending models based on event logs). The work resulted in the development of the ProM framework that is widely used in industry and serves as a platform for new process mining techniques used by research groups all over the globe. Moreover, many of the techniques developed in the context of ProM have been embedded in commercial tools. See also www.processmining.org.

Perceptive Software builds process and content management software that help organizations to bring business processes under control that deal with both structured and unstructured information (seehttp://www.perceptivesoftware.com/). Its products include state-of-the-art process management tools. The company and its predecessor in the Netherlands, Pallas Athena, have been closely working together with the AIS group for more than 15 years in areas like process modeling, case handling, simulation, and process mining. In 2012, the Perceptive BPM Research center was established at TU/e to strengthen the mutual cooperation.

In the context of DSC/e's Impulse program we are looking for two PhD candidates to work on process mining:

PhD 1 will work on the new process cube notion where ideas from process mining, big data, and OLAP technologies are combined to answer a variety of questions. Event data are sliced and diced and one can drill-down to apply more detailed process mining analyses. This is also closely related to managing collections of process models, dealing with huge data sets, and distributed process mining.

PhD 2 will work on analysis techniques that help organizations to detect trends within their own operations on the basis of the hybrid and vast amounts of data that are processed and stored by the enterprise systems they use. The idea is to integrate outcomes from process mining analyses, social network analyses, and natural language processing to obtain new insights on how they perform as a whole and for specific departments/products/customers.

These projects will be supervised by prof. Wil van der Aalst (vdaalst.com) and prof. Hajo Reijers (reijers.com).

Requirements

We are looking for two candidates that meet the following requirements:

• a solid background in Computer Science or Information Systems with an interest in process mining;
• knowledge of data mining and machine learning and/or process modeling and formal methods (demonstrated by a relevant Master);
• candidates from non-Dutch or non-English speaking countries should be prepared to prove their English language skills;
• good communicative skills in English, both in speaking and in writing;
• moreover, candidates are expected to realize research ideas in terms of prototype software, so software development skills are needed.

Note that we are looking for candidates that really want to make a difference and like to work on things that have a high practical relevance while having the ability to work in one of the strongest research groups in the world.

Appointment and salary

PhD 1 will be employed by the TU/e using the standard conditions for Dutch universities. Seehttp://w3.tue.nl/en/services/dpo/conditions_of_employment/tue_conditions_of_employment/for more information on working at TU/e, salary, fringe benefits, etc.

PhD 2 will be employed by Perceptive Software as a junior researcher. Seehttp://www.perceptivesoftware.com/company/careers for more information on a career within Perceptive Software.

Application: Interested candidates are requested to send an application by e-mail to Mrs. Ine van der Ligt (e-mail: wsinfsys@tue.nl) with the subject field “Process Mining Vacancies AIS”.

The application should consist of the following parts:

• motivational letter;
• a curriculum vitae;
• copies of diplomas.

Applications should be received by November 1st, 2013. In the application, candidates should relate their expertise to process mining research (cf.www.processmining.org) and describe their language and software development skills.

Further Information

Application Deadline : 1 November 2013

Finland : the Doctoral Programme in Computer Science (DoCS)

The University of Helsinki is one of the best multidisciplinary research universities in the world. The high-quality research carried out by the university creates new knowledge for educating diverse specialists in various fields, and for utilisation in social decision-making and the business sector. The University of Helsinki is an international academic community of 40,000 students and staff members. It operates on four campuses in Helsinki and at 17 other locations.

The University will introduce a doctoral education system consisting of four doctoral schools and 32 doctoral programmes at the beginning of 2014. The goal of the reform is to improve the quality and efficiency of the doctoral education.

The University of Helsinki invites applications for DOCTORAL STUDENT POSITIONS in the Doctoral Programme in Computer Science (DoCS) for a 1–4 year period starting from 1.1.2014.

The general theme of the DoCS doctoral programme is computer science. The focal areas are the same as those of the Department of Computer Science: data analysis (“Alko”), data networks and services (“Nodes”), and software research (“Softsys”). These also correspond to the three specialization areas or sub-programmes of the Department. At the university level, the programme directly supports the strategic focus area “Exact Thinking” (Precise Reasoning). The DoCS programme actively collaborates with Helsinki Institute for Information Technology HIIT, EIT ICT Labs, and computer science related department at the Aalto University.

The duties of a doctoral student are to work on his or her own doctoral thesis and to complete his or her postgraduate studies. The duties also include teaching and other tasks.

A doctoral student must hold a second-cycle degree and have an approved research proposal. Other requirements include the ability and motivation, as demonstrated in previous degree studies or otherwise, to pursue postgraduate studies and a doctoral degree according to the study plan and research proposal. The appointee must hold the right to pursue a doctoral degree at the University of Helsinki by the start of the appointment.

Good command of English is a necessary prerequisite for this position.

The University of Helsinki offers a salary dependent on qualifications and work experience. The salary will be based on levels 2–4 of the job requirement scheme for teaching and research personnel in the salary system of Finnish universities. In addition, the appointee shall be paid a salary component based on personal work performance. The salary will be EUR 2022–2970 per month, depending on the appointee’s qualifications and work experience. The appointment starts with a probationary period of four months.

The application material consists of (1) an electronic form to be filled in athttps://elomake.helsinki.fi/lomakkeet/45401/lomake.html, (2) a PhD studies portfolio in one pdf file attached to the form and including

·        a letter of introduction (including the contact information of the applicant),
·        a curriculum vitae,
·        relevant diplomas,
·        transcripts of studies,
·        an English language certificate,
·        a research plan and study plan for the whole period of PhD studies including a financing plan, and
·        a publication list with contribution explanations,

as well as (3) at most three recommendation letters (one from the supervisor and at most two from some other senior researchers).

All materials are to be submitted in English. The deadline for
submitting the abovementioned materials is 28th of October, 2013, at 15.45 pm EET. The application materials will not be returned.

For additional information on the application process, please contact Research Coordinator Pirjo Moen, +358 9 191 51389, researchcoordinator@cs.helsinki.fi.

Further Information

Application Deadline : 31 October 2013