PhD Studentship in Computing Science: Developing Transparency-Enhancing Technologies using Formal Methods

Award Summary

100% Home fees covered and a minimum tax-free annual living allowance of £17,668 (2022-23 UKRI rate)

Overview

We are seeking a highly motivated PhD student to conduct research related to transparency-enhancing technologies with the purpose of improving security self-efficacy. This project will develop trustworthy methods to build sound models describing the system behaviour, design techniques and theories for transparency analysis, and develop tools and technologies to implement them.

You will join the Secure and Resilient Systems (SRS) group, a thriving and growing team engaged in cyber security research at the School of Computing, Newcastle University. SRS is at the core of Newcastle ACE-CSR, an accredited Excellence Centre in Cyber security Research, one of only 19 accredited centres of excellence in the UK. 

Number of awards: 1

Start date: September 2023

Award duration: 3.5 years

Sponsor: School of Computing, Newcastle University

Supervisors: Dr Narges Khakpour

Eligibility Criteria

You must have, or expect to gain, a minimum 2:1 Honours degree or international equivalent in Computer Science or related subject relevant for this project. The successful candidate should have strong analytical, conceptual and problem solving skills and familiarity with at least two of the areas of security, formal methods, program analysis and software engineering.

Applicants whose first language is not English require an IELTS score of 6.5 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in all sub-skills.

The studentship covers fees at Home rate (UK and EU applicants with pre-settled/settled status and meet the residency criteria). International applicants are welcome to apply but will be required to cover the difference between Home and International fees.

International applicants may require an ATAS (Academic Technology Approval Scheme) clearance certificate prior to obtaining their visa and to study on this programme.

How to apply

You must apply through the University’s Apply to Newcastle Portal

Once registered select ‘Create a Postgraduate Application’.

Use ‘Course Search’ to identify your programme of study:

• Search for the ‘Course Title’ using the programme code: 8050F 
• Research Area: Computing Science  
• Select PhD Computer Science as the programme of study 

You will then need to provide the following information in the ‘Further Questions’ section: 

• A ‘Personal Statement’ (this is a mandatory field) - upload a document or write a statement directly in to the application form
• The studentship code COMP2142 in the ‘Studentship/Partnership Reference’ field 
• When prompted regarding your research proposal - select ‘Write Proposal’. You should then type in the title of the research project from this advert. You do not need to upload a research proposal.   

As part of your application please can you upload a CV, degree transcripts and two references.

Contact details: Dr. Narges Khakpour

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