PhD programme in Information Technology


The programme encompasses the design, construction, validation and evaluation of IT systems. The ever increasing complexity and sophistication of systems brings both basic and applied research challenges. Understanding the needs of users, customers and businesses starts with understanding people in context, which in turn drives the management of IT projects and the design of innovative IT solutions and information systems. Research in these areas relies on and is inspired by theories of organizational behaviour, sociology, psychology and management. The construction of reliable, intelligent, resource-efficient systems requires basic research in the mathematical and logical foundations of knowledge representation, algorithms, programming tools and languages.

The purpose of the programme is to provide PhD education in informatics and computer science at a high, internationally recognized level with the objectives:

  • to maintain a stimulating research environment at Roskilde University that is able to attract students and researchers from all parts of the world,
  • to provide highly competent supervision of PhD students, many of whom are affiliated with major national and international research projects,
  • to organize and conduct courses, workshops and seminars in the areas covered by the programme,
  • to establish a network of international relations as a basis for short and long student visits to at foreign universities.


The programme organizes its own advanced PhD courses in the subject areas and students can attend a wide range of postgraduate courses given at the universities in the Greater Copenhagen area. Students are also encouraged to attend PhD schools or consortia in relation to international conferences or workshops.
 

Associated research groups

PhD students are associated with one of two research groups, Programming, Logic and Intelligent Systems (PLIS) and Sustainable Digitalization (UDI).

The PLIS group (Programming, Logic and Intelligent Systems) investigates foundations, tools and languages for the development of adaptable, reliable, human-oriented computer systems. The group's research covers theoretical foundations, languages, tools and semantic models together with application areas. The main research topics are:

  • Knowledge-based systems and intelligent interaction with systems

  • Logic and knowledge representation

  • Programming languages and tools.


The UDI group (Sustainable Digitalization) focuses on how organizations manage, design, implement, and use IT to support users' needs and business strategies. The goals of the research are to achieve more successful IT projects and greater benefits of using IT. Main research topics are:

  • Evaluation and effects-driven IT development

  • Computer-mediated communication and coordination in complex organizational contexts

  • Software process improvement

  • Diffusion and adoption of IT.
     

Contact

Head of PhD programme: Jesper Simonsen: simonsen@ruc.dk
PhD administration: Bente Larsen: forskerskolen@ruc.dk