The Career Work | Scholarships and Grants

The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) is offering up to 4 PhD positions as part of the Microsoft-led centre on Information Access Disruptions (iAD).

Partially funded by the Research Council of Norway as a Centre for Research-based Innovation (SFI), iAD is the only centre of its kind led by a commercial company. iAD is directed by Microsoft Development Center Norway (MDCN) in collaboration with Accenture, and leading universities: Cornell University, Dublin City University, BI Norwegian School of Management and the universities in Tromsø (UiT), Trondheim (NTNU) and Oslo (UiO).

Information access technology has emerged as one of the most innovative technology areas impacting a wide range of industries, business models and even social patterns. The iAD Centre targets core research for next generation precision, analytics and scale the information access domain.

As part of iAd, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) wants to employ up to 4 PhD students.

The NTNU-led subproject of iAD focuses on activities to create schema agnostic indexing services. There is strong convergence in approach and principles for information access across databases, XML repositories, text search and multimedia access. Still, different design targets are predicted to enable completely different technologies and use patterns for information access.

Going forward the iAD project at NTNU will focus on the areas listed above in a cloud based setting. The industry at large and Microsoft and others are all moving quickly towards a cloud versus on-premise model for software delivery in general. In information access this is driving a unique set of challenges and opportunities. Examples include extreme scale across distributed systems, fault tolerance, multi-tenancy, elasticity, schema agnostic flexibility, balancing index/query load, low power consumption, security and service integration.

The research problems of the PhD positions should be within these target areas:

1. Cloud as a platform for next generation information access
2. Content based multimedia retrieval
3. Temporal and spatial information retrieval

The applicants should address one or more of the listed fields within their application.

We seek a highly motivated individual holding a Master’s degree in Computer and Information Science with a strong background in either algorithms, information retrieval or database management systems. Additional background in distributed systems is preferable. Due to the high profile of the iAd Centre, the right candidates must demonstrate evidence of significant research potential beyond a strong academic degree. The internationally distributed nature of the Centre, including partners from research and industry, requires the right candidate to have very good communication skills in English and the ability to fill in a heterogeneous team environment. Very good skills in scientific and popular presentation and writing will also be considered in employment decisions.

Relevant education as Master in Computer and Information Science or equivalent is required. Applicants must satisfy the formal grades requirements for admission to the PhD studies at NTNU. See http://www.ime.ntnu.no/Dr.gradsstudier/ for detailed information on the PhD programs administrated by IME.

PhD grants at NTNU are normally 3 years, but may – if the Department has the need – be extended by one additional year. With a 4 year grant, the candidates are expected to spend 25% of their time on teaching or research assistance duties. These duties are commonly distributed over the 4 years, with a larger proportion in the first two years..

Applicants have to provide a project description (5-10 pages). This description is to document theoretical and methodological knowledge about the research area together with a sketch of important research problems. The evaluation of applicants will be based on their education, job experience, possibly other relevant experience and scientific publications. Applicants must satisfy the formal requirements for admission to the PhD studies at NTNU. NTNUs PhD-rules require a master degree or equivalent with at least 5 years of studies and average grade of A or B within a scale of A-E for passing grades (A best). See http://www.ime.ntnu.no/english/research/phd for detailed information on the PhD programs administrated by IME.

Every application must include:

1. Curriculum vitae with information about the candidate’s prior training, exams, and work experience.
2. A 5-10 page project description where the applicants outline his/her theoretical, practical and methodological approach, including motivation, to one of the problem areas of the PhD fellowship outlined above.
3. Certified copies of transcripts and diplomas must be enclosed, Candidates from universities outside Norway are kindly requested to send a Diploma Supplement or a similar document, which describes in detail the study and grade system and the rights for further studies associated with the obtained degree.
4. Publications and any other work that the applicant wishes to be taken into account should be enclosed. Please list the submitted publications in the application. Joint works should clearly indicate the applicant’s contributions.
5. Foreign applicants must document an English language test TOEFL score of 600 or higher.

Incomplete applications will not be taken into consideration.

The appointment is at salary code 1017, which currently corresponds to a yearly gross income of NOK 391 100 (pay scale level 48). From this 2% will be deducted for mandatory membership in the National Pension Fund.

The appointment will be made in accordance with current regulations with supplementary rules for research fellowship appointments in universities and polytechnics. Applicants must agree to participate in organized doctoral study programs within the period of the appointment. The successful applicant must agree to the conditions laid down for public employees. A contract will be drawn up regarding the period of appointment and work-related duties for award holders.

NTNU is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from both EU/EEA and non-EU candidates. The university is strongly committed to diversity within its community and encourages applications from members of ethnic minorities and women.

Interested candidates are encouraged to contact Professor Svein Erik Bratsberg (email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , phone: +47 99539963) or Adjunct Associate Professor Øystein Torbjørnsen (email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , phone +47 48011172).

For more detailed information about the department, see: http://www.idi.ntnu.no/

Applications are to be submitted electronically through this page.

Preferably, we want the attachments in one file.

Applications should be marked IME-002-2012

Further Information

Application Deadline : 17 February 2012

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