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Exciting PhD Opportunity: Enhance Resilience in Critical Infrastructure and Counter Hybrid Threats with Advanced Operations Research

We are 

The Joint Research Centre (JRC), the European Commission's science and knowledge service, provides independent, evidence-based scientific support for EU policies to positively impact society. Partnering with Universität der Bundeswehr München, the JRC is launching a research program supervising a PhD student, fostering collaboration in multiple research areas.

The PhD will be awarded by Universität der Bundeswehr München, with the student gaining expertise from both JRC and university mentors. The role is in the JRC's Directorate for Space, Security and Migration and at the Chair of Operations Research at the university.

The position is in Unit E2, committed to EU resilience and trust in space, security, and connectivity. It involves rigorous research, assessing technological trends, and addressing security threats and risks.

Additionally, the role is linked with Universität der Bundeswehr München's COMTESSA research group, led by Prof. Dr. Stefan Pickl, focusing on Safety & Security in Operations Research. The joint setting merges strategic JRC research with COMTESSA's specialized academic focus, fostering innovation.

This opportunity offers candidates the chance to conduct significant research, protect critical services, and join a forefront team in Operations Research addressing global safety and security.

We propose 

We propose a post for a PhD student focused on resilience and the protection of critical entities, with a special emphasis on addressing Hybrid Threats within the scope of Operations Research.

The COVID-19 crisis and the conflict in Ukraine made it clear the building resilience is paramount in many fields of policy making. Regarding Critical Infrastructure (CI), focus has shift from the pure protection of CI to building resilience of Critical Entities, as reflected in the commission Directive on the “Critical Entities Resilience” (CER)[1]  which is replacing the limited scope European Critical Infrastructure (ECI) Directive[2]. Regarding Hybrid Threats, JRC in collaboration with the Centre of Excellence for countering Hybrid Threats (HCoE) has developed a conceptual model[3] to characterize and describe Hybrid Threat related activities and a model that allows to examine the effects of Hybrid Threats have in a holistic manner and also support resilience building through the whole of society approach[4].

To tackle Hybrid Threats from a unique Operations Research perspective, it's essential to gain a deeper insight into vulnerabilities and their root causes that adversaries might exploit. Beyond Hybrid Threats, implementing the CER Directive necessitates an all-hazards perspective that includes not just infrastructure interdependencies but also entities' preparedness, mitigation, adaptation, response, and recovery strengths. Decision analysis techniques, such as multi-criteria decision analysis (and multi-attribute utility theory) can then be used to assess resilience attributes and objectives to propose alternatives and strategies to enhance the resilience of the critical infrastructure system-of-systems.

We look for 

We are seeking a candidate with a strong background in the security domain, ideally an Operations Research (OR) analyst equipped with cutting-edge skills in machine learning, reinforcement learning, and prescriptive analytics. Experience in cybersecurity, physical security, critical infrastructure protection, and geopolitics will be highly valued as assets to our team.

Join us to leverage your expertise and contribute to pioneering solutions within a multidisciplinary environment where your knowledge will play a key role in shaping the future of global security measures. This is an exceptional opportunity to apply your technical expertise to real-world challenges and make a tangible impact on protecting critical systems and infrastructures.

Employment conditions

The post is located in Ispra, Italy as well as in Munich, Germany. The successful candidate will spend 1.5 years in Ispra and 1.5 additional years of the PhD program in Munich. For the 1.5 years spent at JRC Ispra, the candidate will we employed full-time by the JRC by a Grantholder Contract (Cat. 20) in accordance with Grantholder rules and the applicable Vademecum. Interested candidates will be able to find the Vademecum for Ispra and a draft of the Grantholder contract, among other useful information here: https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/working-with-us/jobs/temporary-positions/grantholders/contract-and-working-conditions

https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2014-08/jrc_grantholder_rules.pdf

Selection

The selection will be made in two steps, first by Universität der Bundeswehr München and afterwards by JRC (in agreement with the Universität der Bundeswehr München). The selection will be based on CV screening and an interview.

Eligibility criteria

Candidates must, prior to the start of the employment contract with the JRC:

• have the nationality of a Member State of the EU or a country associated to the Research Framework Programmes or being resident in a EU Member State since at least five years and
• be enrolled in the PhD programme („Promotionsliste“) with the Universität der Bundeswehr München.
• Candidates who are already enrolled in the doctoral study program with Universität der Bundeswehr München for fewer than 12 months can also be considered eligible.
• The selected candidate will have not more than 6 months from the request for confirmation of interest in the position, to produce proof of enrolment in the doctoral study program.

Selection Criteria

The following elements will be evaluated: 

• A Master's degree in Operations Research (OR), engineering , computer science or
• similar is a must
• Familiarity with EU policies in the field of security and defense and in particular
• critical infrastructure and Hybrid Threats
• Experience with OR-based analysis and data-driven optimization combined
  with state-of-the-art experience in machine learning and reinforcement learning is a must
• Experience with innovative Digital Twin concepts in Security is desirable
• Experience with Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis is desirable
• Very good knowledge of English language both written and spoken is a must.

Closing date

15.07.2024

How to apply

Please send your detailed application documents (CV and motivation letter) to Prof. Dr. Stefan Pickl,
E-Mail: stefan.pickl@unibw.de

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[1] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32022L2557

[2] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32008L0114

[3] https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC123305

[4] https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC129019