Traineeships

The CSIR Is Recruiting- Doctoral Studentship: Cybersecurity – South Africa

About the job:

The CSIR has a Doctoral Studentship opportunity in the Information and Cybersecurity Centre, within the Defence and Security Cluster. The incumbent will be responsible for undertaking original research and development in cybersecurity with the Data Security and Analytics, Governance, Privacy and Trust, Cybersecurity and/or Secure Identity Systems domains. This opportunity is based in Pretoria.

For more information about the Centre and Cluster, please visit https://www.csir.co.za/information-and-cybersecurity-research-centre and https://www.csir.co.za/defence-and-security respectively.

Research areas:

Data security and analytics
Secure digital identity systems
Mobile security
Artificial intelligence and machine learning in cybersecurity
Development of home-grown cybersecurity solutions
National cybersecurity capability development
Governance, privacy, and trust
Next-generation security operations centre
Emerging cybersecurity topics such as zero-trust
And other related topics
Key responsibilities:

Prepare a research proposal to be approved by both the CSIR and the university;
Prepare a written literature overview of the current state-of-the-art relevant to the research topic;
Perform original research to solve the open research problem(s) that the student identified in his/her proposal;
Produce sufficient quantity and quality of peer-reviewed publications based on the Doctoral research topic;
Compile the Doctoral thesis and defending the work successfully; and
Contribute to extra project activities that may be outside the scope of the doctoral research as per the needs of the research group. The amount of such work shall be limited to 20% of the total time.
Qualifications, skills and experience:

A Master’s degree in computer science/engineering, information technology, information systems or a related/relevant field;
Must be registered or be willing to register for a Doctoral qualification within the South African university (to be agreed upon with the CSIR co-supervisor);
All international qualifications require an evaluation report/certificate issued by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA);
Must have a strong background in computer systems, information security, cybersecurity and/or secure identity systems.
Knowledge of machine learning and/or artificial intelligence.
Working knowledge of related programming languages such as Python, R, Java, C# and the Linux operating system (and others applicable).
Must have confidence in working with big data and data analytics.
Must have experience in software development for experimentation and computer simulation with a hands-on approach.
Good understanding of the scientific method: design of experiments, running experiments, critical analysis of results, and dissemination of knowledge.
Good communication skills (verbal and written) and ability to interact efficiently with diverse teams of people; and
A good peer-reviewed publication record will be advantageous.
Applicants must attach the following documents:

A cover letter (maximum two pages) including a description of the applicant’s research interests, the problem statement, research statement or question(s), research objectives and expected outputs/outcomes/impact of the research;
Certified copies of the applicant’s latest academic results or transcript;
Certified copies of tertiary qualifications;
Curriculum vitae;
If applicable, proof of registration from the university or a confirmation letter from the university supervisor that she/he is willing to be involved in the candidate supervision; and
A recommendation letter would be advantageous.
Closing date: 11 May 2023

PLEASE NOTE THAT FEEDBACK WILL BE GIVEN TO SHORTLISTED CANDIDATES ONLY.

For more info, please email us at [email protected]. Please do-not send your application to this mailbox, it is only for inquiries.

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