MISSA (More Integrated and cost efficient Systems Safety Assessment) PhD Studentship

 

 

Programme:               PhD in Computer Science

 

Research Topic:        Justifying, Integrating and Presenting Safety Analyses through Structured Argumentation

 

Type of funding:       Full studentship (full tuition fees and stipend)

 

Intended Start date:  1 April 2008

 

Nationality

Restrictions:               NONE

 

Academic

Requirements:           Minimum Class 2:1 (or equivalent) degree in Computer Science or related engineering discipline

 

Other

Conditions:                English as a first language, or satisfaction of the University of York’s minimum English Language Requirements for Graduate Students (see http://www.york.ac.uk/admin/gso/gsp/apply/englang.htm)

 

The successful candidate will be required to contribute time into project coordination and management activities (up to 15 hours a week)

 

                                    The successful candidate will not normally be allowed to seek paid employment during the funded period of the PhD programme.

 

Supervisor &

Contact Person:         Dr Tim Kelly (tim.kelly@cs.york.ac.uk)

 

Funding Body:          EU FP7 programme & The University of York

 

 

 

 


MISSA (More Integrated and cost efficient Systems Safety Assessment) PhD Studentship – Further Details

 

Introduction

 

A PhD Studentship for a full-time PhD student is currently available as part of the 3-year MISSA (More Integrated and cost efficient Systems Safety Assessment) project.

 

Funded by the European Union’s Framework 7 programme, the MISSA project will develop and evaluate methodologies for semi-automated model-based safety assessment of complex, heterogeneous and integrated systems.

 

Under supervision of Dr. Tim Kelly, the successful studentship candidate will conduct PhD research under Work Package 6 of the MISSA programme.  This work package is concerned with the use of structured argumentation to support the synthesis, justification and maintenance of safety analysis results. This work is likely to build up on existing University of York research in the areas of safety case management, and the development and presentation of safety arguments using the Goal Structuring Notation (GSN). The PhD candidate will be expected to liaise with all project partners (and especially with Airbus UK, High Integrity Solutions Ltd, APSYS SA and Dassault Aviation). The successful candidate will have an opportunity not only to conduct research of immediate relevance to industry, but also to build up a network of contacts throughout Europe as well as to develop a very strong portfolio of transferable skills.

 

Requirements

 

The successful candidate will:

-          Hold an honours degree in Computer Science or other related engineering discipline (normally with no lower that 2:1 class degree or equivalent)

-          Have an interest in System Safety Engineering and/or aerospace applications and engineering

-          Be prepared to travel regularly within Europe for project meetings and meetings with individual partners

-          Have English as a first language or satisfy the University of York’s minimum English Language Requirements for Graduate Students (see http://www.york.ac.uk/admin/gso/gsp/apply/englang.htm)

 

The ideal candidate will have some knowledge of safety analysis methods (e.g. Fault Tree Analysis and Failure Modes and Effects Analysis), modelling and simulation environments (e.g. MatLab Simulink and/or SCADE), general principles of safety engineering, and will possess excellent communication and inter-personal skills.

 

Early career professionals interested in returning to academia are particularly encouraged to apply.

 

Funding

The grant covers both academic fees (at the rate applicable to the candidate[1]) and subsistence for three years. The stipend in each of the funded three years of the studentship is £12,600, tax exempt. In addition, all expenses for project related travel (including attendance of relevant conferences) will be covered.

 

Further information

Further information can be obtained from Dr Tim Kelly (PhD Supervisor and University of York Principal Investigator for MISSA) – tim.kelly@cs.york.ac.uk

 

 



[1] No restrictions on candidate’s nationality / fees status are placed.