The use of computing and data science is revolutionizing research, industry, government and society. New skills are needed to be competitive in research and innovation. The EU digital single market estimates that all professionals will need digital skills. There was an unfilled need for 630.000 digital leaders in 2018 - leaders with high-tech leadership and innovation skills. In the context of science and innovation this means that all researchers should build solid skills in computing and data science, in addition to a disciplinary basis. This requires training and skill sets that are different from the traditional training of computer science experts, which is difficult to transfer and apply in a disciplinary setting. It requires an integration between research and methods training. An experimental bioscientist or materials scientists must learn computing and data science with methods and examples that are adapted to their field of research in order for the candidate to be able to apply these methods effectively in their field. This will give them the combination of competences in a discipline and in digital skills needed to impact research and education in their discipline, bring a new cross-disciplinary approach to research and innovation, and digitally transform academia and industry. It will also provide researchers with skills and competence that answer the call for a digitally competent workforce and improve their employability across all sectors.
CompSci is a 5-year program with 31 PhD positions of 36 months each in two calls over the program period. The candidates go through an initial intensive training in scientific programming, computational science and data science. The candidates will then apply and develop these skills in a research project in their science discipline – mathematics, bioscience, geoscience, chemistry, materials science, astronomy or physics – in research groups at the University of Oslo. The research groups and supervisors are experienced supervisors on a top international level, have a track record in interdisciplinary research, and integrate computational and disciplinary approaches. This provides the candidates with skills that significantly improve employability and their impact in their field of research, forming a basis for an exceptional career in research or innovation. CompSci is training a cohort of computationally proficient researchers to become Europe’s digital leaders across disciplines and sectors.
