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PhD Research Fellow in Formal Methods and Software Engineering for Digital Twins

Deadline: 28.02.2023

Universitetet i Oslo

The University of Oslo is Norway’s oldest and highest rated institution of research and education with 28 000 students and 7000 employees. Its broad range of academic disciplines and internationally esteemed research communities make UiO an important contributor to society.


The Department of Informatics (IFI) is one of nine departments belonging to the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. IFI is Norway’s largest university department for general education and research in Computer Science and related topics.


The Department has more than 1800 students on bachelor level, 600 master students, and over 240 PhDs and postdocs. The overall staff of the Department is close to 370 employees, about 280 of these in full time positions. The full time tenured academic staff is 75, mostly Full/Associate Professors.

Job description

Position as PhD Research Fellow in Computer Science available at Department of Informatics.

No one can be appointed for more than one PhD Research Fellowship period at the University of Oslo. Starting date no later than October 1, 2023.

The fellowship period is three (3) years. A fourth year may be considered with a workload of 25 % that may consist of teaching, supervision duties, and/or research assistance. This is dependent upon the qualification of the applicant and the current needs of the department.

More about the position

This position will investigate the use of sensor data from systems to decide how to compose models of those systems in a digital twin. The aim of the project is to establish principles for on-the-fly model composition that combine semantics and sensor data, and to develop solutions that work in practice.

The work will be conducted in the context of the project “Climate Barometer for the Oslo Fjord” in collaboration with researchers in applied mathematics and oceanography. The project will develop a digital twin to study the effects of extreme weather on the Oslo Fjord. In the project, the digital twin will be used to analyze the effects of extreme weather events on water circulation in the Oslo Fjord by combining models from oceanography and fluid dynamics. Digital twins are one of the central pillars of digitalization in engineering and are now increasingly used as a tool for natural science.

The project is conducted at an active research group at the Department of Informatics, which works on digital twin solutions from the perspective of software engineering and formal methods. This position is ideal for applicants who are interested in logic and formal descriptions as well as in software engineering and programming. In addition, by participating in the “Climate Barometer for the Oslo Fjord” project, you will contribute to the development novel digital twin solutions to help scientists understand and potentially tackle effects of climate change on ecosystems.

Qualification requirements

The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences has a strategic ambition to be among Europe’s leading communities for research, education and innovation. Candidates for this fellowship will be selected in accordance with this, and expected to be in the upper segment of their class with respect to academic credentials.

Essential Qualifications:

  • Master’s degree or equivalent in Computer Science or equivalent fields
  • Foreign completed degree (M.Sc.-level) corresponding to a minimum of four years in the Norwegian educational system
  • Excellent skills and experience in logic, formal methods or theoretical computer science
  • Excellent skills and experience in software engineering and programming in languages such as Java, Scala, Haskell, Erlang or Python

Desired Qualifications:

  • Interest or experience with mathematics and/or natural sciences
  • Experience with knowledge representation and semantic technologies
  • Experience with sensor data and timed streams
  • Experience with models of cyber-physical systems
  • Experience with scientific publication
  • Experience with teamwork and/or interdisciplinary research

Candidates without a Master’s degree have until 30 June, 2023 to complete the final exam.

Grade requirements:

The norm is as follows:

  • the average grade point for courses included in the Bachelor’s degree must be C or better in the Norwegian educational system
  • the average grade point for courses included in the Master’s degree must be B or better in the Norwegian educational system
  • the Master’s thesis must have the grade B or better in the Norwegian educational system
  • Fluent oral and written communication skills in English
  • English requirements for applicants from outside of EU/ EEA countries and exemptions from the requirements

The purpose of the fellowship is research training leading to the successful completion of a PhD degree.

The fellowship requires admission to the PhD programme at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. The application to the PhD programme must be submitted to the department no later than two months after taking up the position. For more information see:

Personal skills

  • Ability to work structured, creative, independently and in a team
  • Enthusiasm, readiness to learn new knowledge, and ability to take initiative
  • Flexibility, ability to handle pressure and meet deadlines
  • The candidate should be highly self-driven and able to take responsibility for his/her own work, including troubleshooting and acquiring additional skills required to reach the project goals

We offer

  • Salary NOK 501 200 – 544 400 per year depending on qualifications and seniority as PhD Research Fellow (position code 1017)
  • Attractive welfare benefits and a generous pension agreement
  • Vibrant international academic environment
  • Career development programmes
  • Oslo’s family-friendly surroundings with their rich opportunities for culture and outdoor activities

How to apply

The application must include:

  • Cover letter - statement of motivation and research interests
  • CV (summarizing education, positions and academic work - scientific publications)
  • Copies of the original Bachelor and Master’s degree diploma, transcripts of records and
  • Documentation of English proficiency
  • List of publications and academic work that the applicant wishes to be considered by the evaluation committee
  • Names and contact details of 2-3 references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail and telephone number)

The application with attachments must be delivered in our electronic recruiting system (please follow the link “Apply for this job”). Foreign applicants are advised to attach an explanation of their University's grading system. Please note that all documents should be in English or a Scandinavian language.

Applicants will be called in for an interview.

Formal regulations

Please see the guidelines and regulations for appointments to Research Fellowships at the University of Oslo.

No one can be appointed for more than one PhD Research Fellowship period at the University of Oslo.

According to the Norwegian Freedom of Information Act (Offentleglova) information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure.

The University of Oslo has an agreement for all employees, aiming to secure rights to research results etc.

Inclusion and diversity are a strength. The University of Oslo has a personnel policy objective of achieving a balanced gender composition. Furthermore, we want employees with diverse professional expertise, life experience and perspectives.

If there are qualified applicants with disabilities, employment gaps or immigrant background, we will invite at least one applicant from each of these categories to an interview.

Contact information

For further information please contact: Einar Broch Johnsen, phone: +47 228 2509, e-mail: einarj@ifi.uio.no

For questions regarding Jobbnorge, please contact HR Adviser Therese Ringvold, e-mail: therese.ringvold@mn.uio.no

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