The Korteweg-de Vries Institute for Mathematics (KdVI) at the University of Amsterdam invites you to apply for a postdoc position for 2 years within the Gravitation programme NETWORKS.

What are you going to do?

Transportation, traffic, communication and energy networks form the backbone of our modern society. To deal with the uncertainty, variation, unpredictability, size and complexity inherent in these networks, we need to develop radically new ways of thinking. The ultimate goal of the NETWORKS programme is to build self-organizing and intelligent networks.

The position is funded by NETWORKS, a 10 year nationwide collaborative project to investigate stochastic and algorithmic aspects of networks. This postdoc position has a focus on the stochastic side, but will include algorithmic aspects as well. Topics that may be covered relate to the use of branching processes in the context of stochastic-process theory and random graphs.

Special attention will be paid to the investigation of random graphs with random dynamics, with a potential focus on establishing a sample-path large deviation principle. In addition, a branch of research could be devoted to developing techniques to statistically estimate model parameters from periodic observations of population process, e.g., based on branching-process results.

You will have the opportunity to participate in activities related to this project, which include training weeks and various workshops organized by NETWORKS. Strong interaction with the NETWORKS research teams at Eindhoven University of Technology and Leiden University is envisaged.

You will also be involved in teaching in our Bachelor and/or Master programmes in Mathematics. An appropriate travel budget will be provided to attend conferences and present relevant publications.

• A PhD in Mathematics or a related field with a firm background in stochastics;
• Experience in teaching is a plus;
• Fluency in English, both written and spoken.

Fixed-term contract: 1 year.

We offer you a temporary contract for 38  hours a week. Initially we will appoint you for one year. Subsequently we offer you an extension of the employment contract of one year if we assess your performance positive.

The salary, depending on relevant experience before the beginning of the employment contract, will be €2.709 to €4.274 (scale 10) gross per month, based on fulltime (38 hours a week), exclusive 8 % holiday allowance and 8.3 end-of-year bonus. A favorable tax agreement, the ‘30% ruling’, may apply to non-Dutch applicants. The Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities is applicable.

Are you curious about our extensive package of secondary employment benefits like our excellent opportunities for study and development? Take a look at our website. 

University of Amsterdam

With over 5,000 employees, 30,000 students and a budget of more than 600 million euros, the University of Amsterdam (UvA) is an intellectual hub within the Netherlands. Teaching and research at the UvA are conducted within seven faculties: Humanities, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Economics and Business, Law, Science, Medicine and Dentistry. Housed on four city campuses in or near the heart of Amsterdam, where disciplines come together and interact, the faculties have close links with thousands of researchers and hundreds of institutions at home and abroad.  

The UvA’s students and employees are independent thinkers, competent rebels who dare to question dogmas and aren’t satisfied with easy answers and standard solutions. To work at the UvA is to work in an independent, creative, innovative and international climate characterised by an open atmosphere and a genuine engagement with the city of Amsterdam and society.

Faculty of Science – Korteweg-de Vries Institute for Mathematics

The Faculty of Science has a student body of around 6,500, as well as 1,600 members of staff working in education, research or support services. Researchers and students at the Faculty of Science are fascinated by every aspect of how the world works, be it elementary particles, the birth of the universe or the functioning of the brain.

The Stochastics group of the Korteweg–de Vries Institute at the University of Amsterdam is participating in the Gravitation programme NETWORKS. NETWORKS is a 10-year programme funded by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science through the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research.

NETWORKS is hosted by four research institutions:

• University of Amsterdam (UvA, coordinator);
• Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e);
• Leiden University (UL) and
• Center for Mathematics and Computer Science (CWI).

It counts almost 50 researchers and 30 affiliated members.