Full professor 'Cybersecurity'

Context
The position of Full Professor in Cybersecurity will be realized in the Department of Intelligent Systems (DIS) at Tilburg School of Humanities and Digital Sciences (TSHD). The department currently consists of 84 staff members and PhDs and is expected to grow further in the coming years. In collaboration with internal and external partners, the chair will establish a research program in cybersecurity that complements existing research strengths and will contribute to the development of offerings across the educational programs and specifically in the AI & Cybersecurity track of the MSc Cognitive Science and AI.

The field of cybersecurity is developing rapidly in areas that align with existing department strengths in human-centered AI. AI is increasingly a necessary tool for cybersecurity as well as a major and growing threat vector. This chair will lead and grow a research group that focuses on the development of technological systems that address the pressing questions emerging in the field. This includes, but is not limited to, autonomous and adaptive AI-integrated cyber systems that include intrusion detection, red-blue teaming (including modeling and accounting for human cognitive agents), as well as the development and evaluation of threat intelligence. 

Your position
 Within TSHD, the Department of Intelligent Systems collaborates closely with the Department of Computational Cognitive Science (DCS) in research and education. Both departments contribute to the Research Center for Cognitive Science and Artificial Intelligence (CSAI) that consists of five research units:

• Data Science, Safety and Security: The use of data science and AI methods and techniques within the security and cyber domain, with special focus on ethics and algorithmic transparency;
• Human-Technology Interaction: Developing robots, simulations, and games, which use a variety of AI technologies to learn from, collaborate with, support, or improve humans;
• Deep Learning for Perception: Use of deep learning algorithms for computer vision, image and audio processing, and models of perception. The focus is on contexts hallmarked by a high degree of complexity and uncertainty, to support human reasoning and decision making;
• Computational Linguistics and Psycholinguistics: Development and application of statistical machine learning, (hierarchical) Bayesian modelling, as well as advanced deep neural models for processing linguistic and visual data in humans and machines; and
• Computational Models of Brain and Behavior: The use of artificial intelligence methods and techniques in combination with non-invasive interfaces based on fMRI, EEG and sensors to collect and analyze neurophysiological data, with the goal of improving our understanding of the human brain.

The chair most closely works with researchers in the Data Science, Safety and Security unit but should have a relation of mutual benefit with all research units: cybersecurity and data security are topics that pervade human-centered AI and Cognitive Science. Collaboration takes the form of developing consortia-based grant proposals and research projects that can result in joint supervision of postdocs, PhD students, BA and MA thesis projects, as well as research assistants. 

The chair will take a leading role in strengthening collaborations with existing research partners, including the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. The Data Science, Safety and Security research group already has existing collaborations with these partners, especially through the Data Science Center of Excellence of the Ministry of Defense, on projects that include simulations, cyber ranges, and intrusion detection. The chair will be responsible for further developing and expanding these partnerships through collaborative grant applications.

The chair will also be involved in shaping the research agenda of the newly established Academic Collaborative Center for Resilient Democratic Society. This Collaborative Center is a strategic priority in the School of Humanities & Digital Sciences that aims to incubate and accelerate interdisciplinary research that prepares democratic societies to prevent and more effectively respond to a broad range of growing threats. Through this center, the chair’s attention to cybersecurity offers natural opportunities of collaboration with other departments within TSHD. For example, researchers in the department of Communication and Cognition develop interventions that rely on the secure and private utilization of sensitive patient data, while researchers in the department of Culture Studies work with marginalized groups that are at increased threat of cyberaggression.

Within Tilburg University, there are clear connections between the chair’s focus on cybersecurity and research taking place at Tilburg Law School, Tilburg School of Economics & Management, and Tilburg School of Social and Behavioral Sciences. The chair will collaborate with researchers in departments and institutes that strongly rely on data and system security as well as domains that evaluate the impact of breaches of security. This is most clear in the domains of health, law, and economics, where the liability and cost of implementing preventative cybersecurity measures or of not doing so are extensively explored. 

At a national and international level, the chair ensures that researchers in the CSAI research center are members of consortia with groups focusing on research in relevant domains. Specifically, the chair is a part of a strong network of cybersecurity researchers and application domains that include both academic partners as well as private companies and large public organizations. This builds on and compliments existing partnerships with the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Justice, Tilburg MindLabs, the Jheronimus Academy of Data Science in Den Bosch, and Brainport Eindhoven.

Educational Activities
DIS and DCS offer three undergraduate and graduate programs: (1) BSc Cognitive Science & Artificial Intelligence, (2) MSc Cognitive Science & Artificial Intelligence (including the track AI & Cybersecurity), and (3) MSc in Data Science & Society with four specializations in Health, Governance, Business and Media (including a premaster’s program). The new chair will be involved in teaching courses, supervising theses, coaching colleagues, and supporting educational developments in these programs. Themes closely related to the chair’s research and teaching are courses in the AI & Cybersecurity track within the MSc Cognitive Science & Artificial Intelligence program.

Job description
The chair holder:

• Provides substantive leadership for research projects on the topic of cybersecurity;
• Publishes in national and international high impact scientific journals;
• Supervises doctoral students in their research;
• Leads a research team;
• Teaches undergraduate and graduate students;
• Develops and manages research collaborations within own university;
• Develops and manages national and international research collaborations;
• In collaboration with others, acquires external funding for research projects and coaches junior staff members in funding acquisition;

Your profile

The candidate:

• Holds a PhD on a topic relevant to the field within a discipline relevant to the field;
• Has in-depth knowledge of cybersecurity methods and techniques, as well as in-depth knowledge of their application in human-centered AI systems;
• Has extensive experience in conducting and publishing scientific research in the field of cybersecurity;
• Has experience in translating scientific knowledge into practice and vice versa;
• Has experience in establishing and developing partnerships with industry, government, and/or non-government organizations;
• Has experience in supervising PhD students;
• Has excellent communication and social skills;
• Has proven didactic qualities and experience in teaching and information transfer;
• Has access to an appropriate (inter)national network;
• Has experience in successfully acquiring research contracts and grants, especially in collaboration with government ministries or private companies.
• Has experience in leading consortium-based multidisciplinary collaborations,

Our offer

Tilburg University offers excellent benefits in a pleasant working environment: 

• Employment of 1,0 fte (40 hours per week).
• Salary between €7.202 and €10.441 gross per month for full-time employment (UFO-profile Professor 2, salary scale HL2). Tilburg University uses a neutral remuneration system based on relevant work experience.
• This is a vacancy for a position in accordance with Article 2.3 paragraph 1 CLA DU. You will be given a temporary contract for the duration 18 months. If, in the opinion of the employer, you perform well, there is continuation in the same position and equal financial and organiza-tional conditions, you will be given a permanent contract after this.
• Vacation pay of 8% and a year-end bonus of 8.3%.
• Over 8 weeks of vacation leave.
• Hybrid working with home working allowance (€2 p/day) and internet allowance (€25 p/month).
• Reimbursement sustainable commuting: walking, cycling, and public transport.
• Options model for additional leave, pension, a bicycle or personal training.
• Moving allowance (subject to conditions).
• 30% rule for international employees (if applicable).
• Pension through ABP.
• Ample training offer: personal development, leadership, education, research or language courses.
• Inclusive work culture: everyone welcome, equal opportunities.
• A green, inviting campus that’s easily accessible by public transport.

For more information, please see our website and the CLA Dutch Universities.

Tilburg University is an academic, inclusive, and engaged community. Together with nearly 3,000 employees, we are committed to broad prosperity, sustainably, and inclusion. For current and future generations. We develop and share knowledge for the requirements of people and our society. This is how we contribute to solving complex social issues and help society move for-ward.

We educate our 19,500 students of 110 nationalities to become responsible leaders with knowledge, skills, and character. With our education and research for broad prosperity, we ex-ceedingly focus on themes such as mental and preventive care, an inclusive labor market, the energy transition, and digitalization.

About Tilburg School of Humanities and Digital Sciences 

Research and education at the Tilburg School of Humanities and Digital Sciences (TSHD) has a unique focus on humans in the context of the globalizing digital society, on the development of artificial intelligence and interactive technologies, on their impact on communication, culture and society, and on moral and existential challenges that arise. The School of Humanities and Digital Sciences consists of four departments: Communication and Cognition, Cognitive Science and Artificial Intelligence, Culture Studies and Philosophy; several research institutes and a faculty office. Also the University College Tilburg is part of the School. Each year around 275 students commence a Bachelor or (Pre) Master Program. The School has approximately 2000 students and 250 employees.

Tilburg School of Humanities and Digital Sciences