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Lancaster University Management School 

Department of Management Science & Centre  for Forecasting

 

Research Assistant & Part-time PhD 

£24,588-£28,839 pro rata

Forecasting & Data Mining with Neural Networks

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Applications are invited for a four-year part-time PhD student & Research Assistant position, funded by the Research Centre for Forecasting, Department of Management Science, Lancaster University Management School, to commence January 2008.

 

Applicants will be expected to work 3 days per week for the Lanacster Centre for Forecasting under the supervision of Dr. Sven F. Crone, and will be paid pro rata. Applicants will have the opportunity to pursue a part-time PhD (duration 4 years) in the remaining time. PhD tuition fees (equivalent of up to £9,200 for overseas students) will be covered in addition to the salary for four years. A formal review after year one will determine continuation of the PhD and access to the remaining 3 years of the position. Successful candidates will work with colleagues, external clients, and students whilst developing their research agenda, and will undertake all aspects of academic research, applied research projects, teaching, supervision and administration in forecasting and data mining. 

 

We seek applicants that should have the potential to develop academic and applied research of international standard within our team. Candidates should have an excellent first degree and be completing a Master’s degree or equivalent in management, engineering or computer science, or even hold a first Ph.D. in a related subject area. Corporate experience is also valued. Candidates should have excellent verbal/written communication skills, a strong quantitative background, basic computer programming experience (in C#, mathlab etc.) and some initial expertise in the areas of forecasting and /or data mining with neural networks, preferably in the context of management science, operational research or operations management. 

 

Please initially apply for the Research Associate position by either applying online at http://www.personnel.lancs.ac.uk/vacancydets.aspx?jobid=A121 or alternatively telephone Human Resources, quoting reference A121 on 01524 846549 (answerphone) to request an application pack. Application deadline is the 3rd of December 2008!

 

Candidates selected to go through to the next stage of recruitment will be asked to provide a complete research proposal for a possible study in the area or forecasting or data mining with computational intelligence according to the guidelines provided online which can be found at : www.lums.lancs.ac.uk/departments/ManSci/Research/

 

Enquiries on administrative aspects of the application process should be directed to Gay Bentinck at [log in to unmask] Enquiries on the research topics should be directed to Dr. Sven F. Crone, Deputy Director, Lancaster Centre for Forecasting, Tel. +44 (0) 1524 592991 or mobile +49 (0) 171 4910100 - Email: [log in to unmask] 

 

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About the Forecasting Centre & the Management School: 

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Lancaster University Management School (LUMS, www.lums.lancs.ac.uk) is a world-ranked international management school, consistently ranked among the UK's top four. LUMS has been ranked equal 1st in the UK for research for nearly two decades, and 1st for student satisfaction in most years. The Financial Times January 2008 ranking of the world's top 100 global schools ranks LUMS' PhD and doctoral programmes 5th in the world, and 2nd in the UK, with over 100 full-time PhD students and many part-time ones currently enrolled (see www.lums.lancs.ac.uk/phd). 



The Lancaster Centre for Forecasting (LCF, www.lums.lancs.ac.uk/research/centres/Forecasting) is the pre-eminent focus of forecasting research in Europe. Our objective is to develop applied research with companies, to facilitate knowledge-transfer between academia and business and to establish and disseminate best practices in methods, processes and systems. Founded as a cross-departmental research centre in 1990, our 18 years of success in developing high-profile applied research with companies have led to hundreds of corporate projects. LCF currently consist of 6 senior academics and 10 PhD students in various areas of forecasting.



We have particular strengths in forecasting with methods of computational intelligence such as neural networks and support vector machines, and in application areas of business forecasting for managerial decision making (e.g. for inventory planning in supply chains, call centres etc.). We do not engage in research into financial forecasting. We actively recruit top graduate and PhD students to support our projects and disseminate non-confidential findings in leading international journals and at the most reputable international conferences.