We are looking for a PhD candidate who is interested in the field of automated testing at the User Interface. The  candidate will carry out research within the context of a new EU ITEA funded research project “TESTOMAT : The Next Level of Test Automation”. This is a three-year research project between 7 EU countries and 42 academic and industrial partners. The research goal at OU is to investigate new advanced methods for test automation at the Graphical User Interface level using the TESTAR.org tool together with artificial intelligence, search-based algorithms or machine learning techniques. The research will consider large industrial test repositories as “big data”, and will look for ways to maintain and optimize legacy test suites, as well as automatically generating new and more efficient test suites. The  candidate will be expected to collaborate closely with our Dutch industrial partners, including TNO, Axini and Testwerk.

The candidate is expected to study the literature in various disciplines thoroughly, develop and test etc. The study will mainly involve qualitative research, possibly extended with a quantitative study etc.

The candidate is also expected to participate for 10 to 15% of his/her time in educational activities within our Master Software Engineering and the Bachelor Computer Science. Also, valorization activities form a considerable part of the daily activities of the candidate.

Preferably the candidate holds an MSc degree in Computer Science or Software Engineering with proven affinity to testing. The candidate is flexible, able to work independently and is result driven. Preferably, the candidate has good communication skills (oral and written) in Dutch; fluency in English (oral and written) is required. Relevant specializations in one or more of the following areas are desirable: artificial intelligence, search-based algorithms or machine learning techniques. Evidence of experience and commitment to any of these areas, such as substantial project work, would also be an advantage.
Applicants must be strongly motivated for doctoral studies, possess the ability to work independently and perform critical analysis and also possess good levels of cooperative and communicative abilities. Teaching experience and publications are not required, but are considered an advantage if the candidate can demonstrate experience in these areas. 

Fixed-term contract: for 1 year with intention to extend to 4 years.

The PhD candidate will be appointed for a period of 12 months. The appointment will be extended to four when progress and performance are good. The salary is € 2.325,= gross per month in the first year and is expected to increase to € 2.972,= in the fourth year, for a full time appointment, contingent on satisfactory performance.

The Open Universiteit provides good secondary benefits such as training, mobility, part-time employment and paid parental leave.

Open Universiteit

Studying online anywhere in the Netherlands and Belgium (Flanders)
The Open University of the Netherlands (OUNL) is the university in the Netherlands where students study part-time and follow online and activating education in bachelor and master degree programmes in seven fields of study. Characteristics of the education are openness, flexibility and quality. Enhancing the study success of students is an important point of focus. More than 14.000 students are studying at the OUNL and it has 655 employees. The OUNL has a network of regional study centres in the Netherlands and in Belgium (Flanders) (https://www.ou.nl/studiecentra). The head office is situated in Heerlen.
The most modern technologies and educational insights are applied in bachelor and master programmes and courses and also in projects and programmes with partners. Nationally and internationally the OUNL plays a key role in the innovation of higher education. Education and research are closely interrelated which guarantees that the current state of science is applied. The OUNL not only invests in research in the various academic disciplines, but also in research in the field of learning, teaching and technology.

Satisfied students
For several consecutive years, the OUNL has achieved a top position among the fourteen Dutch universities in the National Students Survey, the Dutch university guide ‘Keuzegids Universiteiten’ (in which the ratings by students and experts of the bachelor studies of the fourteen universities are compared), and the Dutch university guide ‘Keuzegids Masters’. In addition all studies score high in the rankings of the universities for these studies. All ratings are available on the website (www.ou.nl).

http://www.ou.nl

Faculty of Management, Science & Technology

The faculty of Management, Science & Technology (MST) is one of the three faculties of the Open University of the Netherlands (OUNL). Education, research and valorisation are the main tasks of the faculty. MST offers academic bachelor and master programmes in the fields of management, environmental science and computer science. Additionally the faculty offers a Liberal Arts & Sciences bachelor program as well as short programmes for professionals (certified professional programs), who aim at gaining more in-depth knowledge. The research program centers on Learning and Innovation in Resilient Systems and is characterized by its multidisciplinary approach. The faculty has a large number of PhD-students who conduct research on various current topics within this research program. As a result of the interdisciplinary focus on education and research, as well as the close link with practice, work at this faculty provides innovative and challenging opportunities