<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=us-ascii"><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=us-ascii"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); margin: 0px; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><b>PhD Programme in Computer Science at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano</b></span></div><div style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "></span><br></div><p style="color: rgb(96, 96, 96); margin: 0px 0px 9px; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; ">The <a href="http://www.unibz.it/"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; color: rgb(96, 96, 96); ">Free University of Bozen-Bolzano</span></a> was founded in 1997 as a multilingual, internationally oriented institution. </span></p><p style="color: rgb(96, 96, 96); margin: 0px 0px 9px; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; ">A public competition for the allocation of PhD positions in the Faculty of Computer Science is announced, for 10 places, of which 6 places will be covered by grants. The PhD Programme lasts three years and the official language of the programme is English. </span></p><p style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); margin: 0px 0px 9px; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; ">PhD students are expected to work full-time on their research. During the PhD, it is advisable to spend a period of 6-12 months at a national or international research center. </span></p><p style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); margin: 0px 0px 9px; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; ">Candidates are strongly advised to contact their desired research centers at the Faculty of Computer Science before applying. This way, they can obtain a clear idea of the specific research carried out at the Faculty. It is expected that students are able to write and speak fluently in English. </span></p><p style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); margin: 0px 0px 9px; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; ">The Selection Committee selects PhD students based on a comparative assessment of the qualification of applicants, taking into account also feedback from potential supervisors, especially those who have grants available to support the PhD students, and determines the winners based on the merits of each candidate. The Selection Committee also selects those candidates who are qualified to start a PhD program at the Free University of Bozen/Bolzano, but who cannot be admitted for lack of space. Should a selected winner not accept the position, such candidates will be next in line for the position. </span></p><div style="color: rgb(96, 96, 96); margin: 0px; text-align: justify; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; ">Instructions for application (pre-enrollment) can be found here:</span></div><div style="color: rgb(96, 96, 96); margin: 0px; text-align: justify; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><br></span></div><p style="color: rgb(2, 30, 170); margin: 0px 0px 15px; text-align: justify; font-family: Courier; "><span style="text-decoration: underline; letter-spacing: 0px; "><a href="http://www.inf.unibz.it/~franconi/">http://www.unibz.it/en/inf/progs/phdcs</a></span></p><p style="color: rgb(96, 96, 96); margin: 0px 0px 15px; text-align: justify; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; ">The application must be complete by 13 September 2013, 12:00 a.m.</span></p><div style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); "><br></div><div style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); margin: 0px; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><b>Research Areas</b></span></div><div style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; "><br><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "></span></div><div style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); margin: 0px; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; ">Research in the Faculty of Computer Science is focused on three areas that are treated on a long-term basis by research groups whose members collectively examine topics related to each of the three research areas. The research areas, with a selection of their research topics, are: </span></div><div style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "></span><br></div><div style="margin: 0px; "><b><font color="#0096ff">Knowledge Representation and Databases</font></b></div><div style="color: rgb(2, 30, 170); margin: 0px; font-family: Courier; "><span style="font-family: Tahoma; letter-spacing: 0px; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); "><b><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "></span></b>- web page: <a href="http://www.inf.unibz.it/krdb/"><span style="font-family: Courier; letter-spacing: 0px; color: rgb(2, 30, 170); ">http://www.inf.unibz.it/krdb/</span></a></span></div><div style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); margin: 0px; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><b><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "></span></b>- contact person: Alessandro Artale <a href="mailto:artale@inf.unibz.it?subject=PhD%20info%20request"><span style="font-family: Courier; letter-spacing: 0px; color: rgb(2, 30, 170); ">artale@inf.unibz.it</span></a></span></div><ol><li style="margin: 0px; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; ">Logic based languages for knowledge representation</span></li><li style="margin: 0px; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; ">Intelligent database access</span></li><li style="margin: 0px; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; ">Foundations of controlled natural language</span></li><li style="margin: 0px; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; ">Temporal aspects of data and knowledge representation</span></li><li style="margin: 0px; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; ">Extending database technologies</span></li></ol><div style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); margin: 0px; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; ">The research topics in knowledge representation are focused on foundational and practical aspects of knowledge representation technologies applied to information systems. The whole life cycle ranging from the design to the deployment of such technologies is covered: the conceptual modeling of various types of knowledge, the linguistic and logical aspects of knowledge, the integration of heterogeneous knowledge sources, including information coming from the Internet, the usage of knowledge to support the intelligent retrieval of information, and the usage of knowledge to create virtual services on the net. </span></div><div style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "></span><br></div><div style="margin: 0px; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><b><font color="#0096ff">Databases and Information Systems</font><font color="#666666"> </font></b></span></div><ol><li style="margin: 0px; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; ">Management and analysis of large data sets</span></li><li style="margin: 0px; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; ">Temporal data models and databases</span></li><li style="margin: 0px; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; ">Data evolution and integration</span></li><li style="margin: 0px; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; ">Approximation techniques for large databases</span></li><li style="margin: 0px; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; ">Machine learning techniques for searching and selecting information</span></li></ol><div style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); margin: 0px; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; ">The research activities in the area of database and information systems focus on key aspects of applied computer science, including data warehousing and data mining, the integration of heterogeneous and distributed databases, time-varying information, data models, and query processing. The research approach is primarily constructive in its outset, and it includes substantial experimental and analytical elements. The development activities cover the design of data models and structures, and the development of algorithms, data structures, languages, and systems. The experimental activities verify real world artifacts with the help of prototypes and simulations. The analytic activities include the analysis of the algorithmic complexity and the evaluation of languages. The main goal is theoretically sound results that solve real world problems. </span></div><div style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "></span><br></div><div style="margin: 0px; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><b><font color="#0096ff">Software Engineering</font><font color="#666666"> </font></b></span></div><ol><li style="margin: 0px; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; ">Agile methodologies, lean management, and open source</span></li><li style="margin: 0px; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; ">Measurement and assurance of software quality, reliability and development</span></li><li style="margin: 0px; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; ">Distributed computing and distributed service-oriented architectures</span></li><li style="margin: 0px; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; ">Information technology and business alignment</span></li><li style="margin: 0px; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; ">Component-based development and reuse of software</span></li><li style="margin: 0px; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; ">Cooperative systems and interoperability of software</span></li></ol><div style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); margin: 0px; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; ">The research topics in software engineering are focused on the empirical and quantitative study of innovative models for software development. The target analysis techniques include both traditional statistics, and new approaches, such as computational intelligence, Bayesian models, and meta-analytical systems. The innovative software development techniques include (a) methods based on lean management, such as agile methods, with a specific interest for benchmarking and identification of defects, and (b) open source development models, with specific attention for self organizing systems and the analysis of the resulting qualit <br><br>The doctoral works treat topics from the three research areas that develop from the ongoing work of the groups. <br><br><b>The following list contains possible topics for doctoral work:</b> </span></div><ol><li style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); margin: 0px; ">Data-centric business processes</li><li style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); margin: 0px; ">Data Quality for Linked Open Data</li><li style="margin: 0px; "><font color="#666666">Process-Aware Business Intelligence</font></li><li style="margin: 0px; "><font color="#666666">Management of Business Processes and Data</font></li><li style="margin: 0px; "><font color="#666666">Graph-structured Data Management</font></li><li style="margin: 0px; "><font color="#666666">Knowledge driven information access</font></li><li style="margin: 0px; "><font color="#666666">Databases and Ontologies</font></li><li style="margin: 0px; "><font color="#666666">Game-based technology-enhanced learning</font></li><li style="margin: 0px; "><font color="#666666">Semantic interoperability in distributed environments</font></li><li style="margin: 0px; "><font color="#666666">Query processing in Ontology-based systems</font></li><li style="margin: 0px; "><font color="#666666">Knowledge discovery in bioinformatics</font></li><li style="margin: 0px; "><font color="#666666">Efficient querying of data under temporal constraints</font></li><li style="margin: 0px; "><font color="#666666">Conceptual modeling and reasoning with temporal information</font></li><li style="margin: 0px; "><font color="#666666">Optimizing a sequence of recommendations</font></li><li style="margin: 0px; "><font color="#666666">Lifestyle change enforcement and support</font></li><li style="margin: 0px; "><font color="#666666">Analysis and similarity search in time series data</font></li><li style="margin: 0px; "><font color="#666666">Efficient OLAP over very large temporal datasets</font></li><li style="margin: 0px; "><font color="#666666">Extending Database Systems with Similarity Operators</font></li><li style="margin: 0px; "><font color="#666666">Robust query optimization for database management systems </font></li><li style="margin: 0px; "><font color="#666666">Itinerary planning for tourist applications</font></li><li style="margin: 0px; "><font color="#666666">Methodologies in Computer Science Education</font></li><li style="margin: 0px; "><font color="#666666">Software Measurement</font></li><li style="margin: 0px; "><font color="#666666">Agile and lean software development methods</font></li><li style="margin: 0px; "><font color="#666666">Innovation in software business</font></li><li style="margin: 0px; "><font color="#666666">Software estimating and performance measurement</font></li><li style="margin: 0px; "><font color="#666666">Mobile Software Engineering </font></li><li style="margin: 0px; "><font color="#666666">Software measurement of open source systems </font></li><li style="margin: 0px; "><font color="#666666">Software Reliability</font></li><li style="margin: 0px; "><font color="#666666">Internet-based Software Engineering</font></li><li style="margin: 0px; "><font color="#666666">Energy-aware software systems</font></li><li style="margin: 0px; "><font color="#666666">Open source Software Engineering</font><div><br></div></li></ol><div style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); margin: 0px; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; ">Doctoral candidates can furthermore specify their own topics together with their designated supervisor, as long as they remain related to the research areas outlined above. </span></div></body></html>