Australia - Swinburne University of Technology Software Engineering Research Scholarship

Project title:
Probabilistic Verification and Model-Based Quality Evaluation

Research topic:
Model Based Development (MBD) has established itself as the key approach to software engineering of increasingly complex systems in automotive and aerospace domains. It has proved successful at managing complexity associated with functionality. A new approach is to use model-based techniques also for quality evaluation and predictions. Since most of quality attributes such as performance, reliability, availability, safety, and security have a probabilistic nature, probabilistic verification techniques are the best solution to perform model-based quality evaluation. The research project shall explore the possibilities of probabilistic modelling and verification techniques to reason about quality attributes early in the software development lifecycle. To get a detailed introduction into this research project please have a look at the following background literature:

• Controller dependability analysis by probabilistic model checking (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.conengprac.2006.07.003)
• Quantitative risk-based security prediction for component-based systems with explicitly modeled attack profiles (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2007.11.716)
• Early quality prediction of component-based systems - A generic framework (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2006.08.014)

Your Benefits:
Basically, the benefits can be summarised as follows:

• You will work on real-world research problems. (There will always be opportunities to cooperate with major software and systems engineering companies.)
• You will be trained in all skills that are required to successfully finish you research project. Our goal is to help you develop the skills, connections, and opportunities required, that ensure a successful postgraduate career.
• You will create research outputs at the highest standards. In today’s world, it is not only enough to be good, students must be great and competitive compared to other graduate students. Please have a look at our own research outputs.
• You will get optimal and continuous supervision. My goal is to give you strong support on your research from a technical side. However, we also try to help my students to develop their personal skills. If you like to know more about my supervision style, we can provide contact details of recently graduated students as reference.
• You study in a friendly and cooperative environment. Australia is known for its friendliness.

We require:
We are interested in a PhD student who has a good academic record (first class honours or equivalent with marks above 85%) with background in one or more of the following areas:

• probabilistic logics and probabilistic verification
• probabilistic model checking
• quality attributes such as performance, reliability, availability, safety, and security
• software engineering (in the areas of embedded systems, robotics, etc. )
• software architectures and architecture evaluation
• formal methods in system design
• statistics

Since this project involves working with other PhD students and industrial partner, communication skills and the ability to work in a team environment are especially required.

The scholarship carries a value of AUS$20,000+ p.a., with fee exemption for both Australian and international students. The selection process will be competitive. If you are interested in the research project, please provide the following information via email to Lars Grunske ( lgrunske[ at ]swin.edu.au ):

• detailed curriculum vitae
• an (electronic) copy of undergraduate and postgraduate transcripts (first class honours or equivalent with marks above 85% or GPA 3.70/4)
• evidence of English proficiency for non native English speaker (officially required is an IELTS of 6.5 with no band below 6.0, practically scores above 7.0 are preferred).

Contact details:
Lars Grunske
School of ICT,
, Swinburne University of Technology
John Street, Hawthorn
Melbourne, Victoria 3122, Australia
Australia

Telephone: +61 3 9214 4758
Fax: +61 3 9819 0823
Email: lgrunske[ at ]swin.edu.au
Website: http://www.ict.swin.edu.au/personal/lgrunske/

Source

Australia - 2008 La Trobe University Postgraduate Research Scholarships (EIPRS and LTUFRRS)

Endeavour International Postgraduate Research Scheme (EIPRS) and La Trobe University Fee Remission Research Scholarship (LTUFRRS)

The EIPRS and LTUFRRS awards are open to international students who are seeking to undertake a higher degree by research at a Master’s or PhD level. The EIPRS are funded by the Australian Government and approximately 300 scholarships are awarded nationally each year. In 2008 40 LTUFRRS will be available for commencing research candidates.

Both scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic merit and are designed to cover tuition fees for a period of two years for a Master’s by Research degree and three years for a Doctoral (PhD) degree.

The closing date for these scholarships is 30 September 2008 for students who wish to begin their studies the following year.

Scholarship recipients must be ready to commence no later than 30 June in the year following application. Please note also that scholarship offers will be made conditional on evidence of English language proficiency.

International students may apply for this scholarship when they apply for admission to La Trobe University. A separate application form is not required, although applicants should note that they may be required to submit further documentation on request (e.g. thesis chapter/s in English translation).

Applicants who are currently studying on a scholarship sponsored by AusAID or have just completed study on such a scholarship are NOT ELIGIBLE to apply for the EIPRS.

Applicants for the EIPRS are also advised to apply for a La Trobe Postgraduate Research Scholarship (LTUPRS).

For more information, visit the website.

Source

Prepare Before Applying a Scholarship

Getting a scholarship for an overseas study is a competitive process. This is because many people like you want the scholarship, but not all can be awarded. The cholarship money is simply not enough to fund all at once. Also, the scholarship providers want to ensure that only the best, well prepared applicants are selected and so the money is spent rightly and efficiently to what it is intended for. So, you have to be a winner!


Lots of people have won scholarship. You hear this every time. But how have they done this good job? Are they luckier or more superior or intelligent than others? No, they are not! If you ask them about the winning secrets are, they may simply give you the following lists: things to prepare or consider before applying a scholarship.


Academic certificate and transcriptSoon after graduation, do not wait. Obtain your original academic certificate and transcript, and make some copies of them.

You need to certify them and, remember, that people at university are some times going somewhere when you need their signatures. More importantly, you need to translate both your academic certificate and transcript. Check around, there maybe some people have done the same.

This will ease the task. If not, they are yours anyway. When you are done, it is wise to get other people to see them. They may give you valuable inputs, even correcting misspelled course names. Again, you need signatures of dean and rector on the translated version of your academic certificate and record.

Research proposal

You need to decide earlier which study route you are going to undertake - course or research or both. If you prefer a course-based study, you do not need a proposal. But if you are going to do a research, you definitely need a research proposal.


Good research proposal require time and energy to construct. So it is always better to prepare it earlier. Basically, the proposal will not be much different to the one you have done previously in your research as part of your undergraduate study. This will include background, objective, problems or questions to answer, hypothesis, methodology, and references. These are the essences of a proposal.


When you are done with those basic requirements, ask suggestions from others. When the application is open, check if the scholarship provider requires a bit more to what you have prepared.


Letter from intended university and supervisorsDownload application form from the university website and fill it before send it back to the university. The university will respond you and issue you with a letter of acceptance. You may indicate in the form that you will begin your study next year, waiting for a scholarship which you are now struggling for. Most likely they will issue you with a conditional acceptance. They will keep reissuing this until you succeed with your scholarship application.


While your are in the website, go to your targeted department or school to find your potential supervisor. Even, this needs to be done first before filling in a admission form. The reason you will not studying in this university unless you have got an academic staff willing to supervise you.

So get their email address, and make contacts with them. In the first time, you just need to introduce yourself, mention your academic background and your research proposal, and ask if he/she is available to supervise you. If they are busy because there are many students already under their responsibilities, don't panic. Ask him/her if they know people around there who are still able to take additional students.


The good with the letter from university and supervisor when you have them at hand is that you can attach them to your application form and present them to the interviewers. These letters will increase your chances of winning the scholarship because the interviewers will so impressed that you are better prepared and have taken more advanced steps compared to other candidates.


Family


For those who are married, this must not be overlooked. Not all scholarship providers allow you to bring family members (spouse and children) with you. The majority is yes, but you need to ensure whether additional funds for family members are available or not. If not, this means you have to be prepared to fund them yourself. Even if they do provide additional funds for family members, there are always cost to be funded using your own money.

This is because the scholarship, usually, will only fund basic needs such living expenses, health insurance, health clearance before departure and visa. Other than these such as cost of transportation - international or domestic - are usually not covered and so funds for these have to be prepared.

More need to think if your spouse is working, especially if it is in a government institution or department. Will she be allowed to go with you or not? If, how are you going to overcome this. A discusion with spouse is needed here.


Work


If you are currently working, you need to check if your employer support you for a further study or not. If yes, it will allow you to go and may provide you with financial supports as well. Generally, government bodies support for human resource development of their employees and so this is not usually a problem for public servants. This is not the case for private enterprises, so many candidates working in these commercial bodies have had to maka a tough decision.

Health

Health status is another consideration for successfully obtaining a scholarship. Some people are fail or at least postponed to start their study because of health problems. So, if you intend to apply for a scholarship, keep practicing those healthy habits. Most scholarship providers will provide a health insurance to their awardees, but you need to make sure about what all this insurance covers. Does it cover dental and eyes-related health problems? If it not, then it is cheaper for example going to a dental practitioner or buying glasses here than there.


Driving license


It is advantageous to have a car there, not only to support your daily academic activities but also for your leisures. This is especially true if you are going there with your family members. But to do this, you need to have a valid license. Check with the scholarship or with experienced people whether a foreign license can be used in the intended country or not. This include different policies from one state to another. If students are allowed to use a foreign license, get one here or revalidate your old one. Obtaining a driving license there is expensive and time demanding.


So, these are things that you may prepare or consider before applying a scholarship. Remember that a good preparation equals to halfway through the whole process. Be prepared and win the scholarship!