PhD in Computer Science

PhD in Computer Science with focus on User-centric Code Review Tooling, participating in research projects and third cycle courses.

Lund University was founded in 1666 and is repeatedly ranked among the world’s top 100 universities. The University has around 44 000 students and more than 8 000 staff based in Lund, Helsingborg and Malmö. We are united in our efforts to understand, explain and improve our world and the human condition.

Lund University welcomes applicants with diverse backgrounds and experiences. We regard gender equality and diversity as a strength and an asset.

Project description

We are offering one Ph.D. student position to a qualified applicant with an interest in software engineering, software technology and human-computer interaction, with funding provided by the WASP-funded DAPPER project.

Code review is widely accepted as an essential part of professional software development practice and is one of the key collaborative activities that occur within teams of developers. However, despite this key role in software development and organisational practice, it is a relatively under characterised activity, especially with regard to the developer experience and to what extent tools are supporting the code review process. In our past work in this area, we have seen developers implicitly taking on different roles as code reviewers and with that they have different questions and information needs. However, despite varying reviewer needs the code review tooling is the same. DAPPER (Seamless, Tailored Code Review) is a research project with the goal of exploring how code review tooling can be made fit to purpose. Work in the project includes activities like the following:

• Studying empirically how code review is carried out in practice by professionals.
• Designing new code review tooling based on insights from empirical data.
• Extraction of information from source code and other artefacts relevant to the code review task.
• Evaluation of prototypes in experiments and case studies.

The research in the project is interdisciplinary and combines theories and methods from different research fields. The project brings together researchers with backgrounds in software engineering, software technology, and human-computer interaction. The work in the project is carried out in close collaboration with industry.

For more information about DAPPER, see https://emso.gitlab.io/projects/dapper/.

The doctoral student position is part of the Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and Software Program (WASP), which is a large research programme on autonomous systems and software, involving multiple disciplines at multiple Swedish universities and close collaboration with industry. Doctoral students participate in a national research school and international study trips and exchange.

Work duties

The main duties of doctoral students are to devote themselves to their research studies which includes participating in research projects and third cycle (Ph.D. level) courses.. The work duties also include teaching and other departmental duties (no more than 20% of the time) to facilitate well-rounded development and to enable future academic appointments.

Admission requirements

A person meets the general admission requirements for third-cycle (Ph.D. level) courses and study programmes if the applicant:

• has been awarded a second-cycle (comparable to M.Sc. level) qualification, or
• has satisfied the requirements for courses comprising at least 240 credits of which at least 60 credits were awarded in the second cycle, or
• has acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad.

A person meets the specific admission requirements for third cycle studies in Computer Science if the applicant has:

• at least 60 second-cycle credits at an advanced level with relevance for the research topic, or
• an M.Sc. in Engineering in Computer Science and Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Information and Communication Technology, Engineering Physics or Engineering Mathematics.

Additional requirements:

●      Very good oral and written proficiency in English.

Assessment Criteria and Other Qualifications

Selection for third-cycle studies is based on the student’s potential to profit from such studies. The assessment of potential is made primarily on the basis of academic results from the first and second cycle. Special attention is paid to the following:

1. Knowledge and skills relevant to the thesis project and the subject of study.
2. Ability to work independently and to formulate and tackle research problems.
3. Written and oral communication skills.
4. Other experience relevant to the third-cycle studies, e.g. professional experience.

Other qualifications :

• Knowledge of software engineering, particularly code review and code analysis.
• Knowledge of human-computer interaction or cognitive science.
• Knowledge of programming languages and their implementation.
• Strong programming and math skills.
• Experience of working with interaction design.
• Experience of working with programming tools.
• Strong systems understanding, preferably through industrial experience.
• Interest and willingness to work with industry partners.
• Experience with inter-personal research methodology.

Consideration will also be given to good collaborative skills, drive and independence, and how the applicant, through his or her experience and skills, is deemed to have the abilities necessary for successfully completing the third cycle programme.

Terms of employment

Only those admitted to third cycle studies may be appointed to a doctoral studentship. Third cycle studies at LTH consist of full-time studies for 4 years. A doctoral studentship is a fixed-term employment of a maximum of 5 years (including 20% departmental duties). Doctoral studentships are regulated in the Higher Education Ordinance (1993:100), chapter 5, 1-7 §§.

Instructions on how to apply

Applications shall be written in English and include a cover letter stating the reasons why you are interested in the position and in what way the research project corresponds to your interests and educational background. The application must also contain a CV, degree certificate or equivalent, and other documents you wish to be considered (grade transcripts, contact information for your references, letters of recommendation, etc.).

You are also asked to answer the selection questions.

Don’t delay your application since we want to start interviewing as soon as possible.

LTH forms the Faculty of Engineering at Lund University, with approximately 9 000 students. The research carried out at LTH is of a high international standard and we are continuously developing our teaching methods and adapting our courses to current needs.

We kindly decline all sales and marketing contacts.

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