Mathematics and Physics

Description

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The PhD programme in Risk Management and Societal Safety is a cross-faculty cooperation between the Faculty of Science and Technology and the Faculty of Social Science.

The area covers a broad risk perspective with focus on risk management in projects and companies, as well as general structures and societal safety. The programme makes use of technical, economic, financial and social science approaches in order to give a holistic approach to risk in complex systems and to make good use of resources.

Key topics are risk and vulnerability analyses, risk acceptance problems, risk management, emergency planning and crisis management, societal planning, regulation and security; contracts and types of trading, vulnerability, technology and organization; risk perception; management of uncertainty and decision-making analysis.

The programme has been divided into the following specialization areas: risk analysis and management, financial risk management and societal safety.

Contents

PhD Programme in Risk Management and Societal Safety - technological science
The area covers a broad risk perspective with focus on risk management in projects and companies, as well as general structures and societal safety. The programme makes use of technical, economic, financial and social science approaches in order to give a holistic approach to risk in complex systems and to make good use of resources.

Key topics are risk and vulnerability analyses, risk acceptance problems, risk management, emergency planning and crisis management, societal planning, regulation and security; contracts and types of trading, vulnerability, technology and organization; risk perception; management of uncertainty and decision-making analysis.

The programme has been divided into the following specialization areas: risk analysis and management, financial risk management and societal safety.
The area of risk analysis and management has traditionally focused on a technical risk approach to risk and vulnerability analyses and risk management, but in recent years, the specialist environment has used broader perspectives on risk and vulnerability in accordance with development of the field of Risk Management and Societal Safety. The oil industry has been important with regard to applied problems. A lot of research has also increasingly focused on other applications and includes topics such as traffic, patient and aircraft safety, and operational risk in finance.

The area of economic risk management employs an economic and financial approach to the impact of risk, uncertainty and risk management and the importance of regulation. The oil industry has also been an important area here for applied problems, but studies involve numerous other industries, sectors and markets, including fish and fish farming, electricity, finance, agriculture, medicine and on different levels of the value chain, such as the supplier industry, retailers, exporters.

In the area of societal safety, the research topics are mainly angled toward risk and vulnerability analysis and management, especially in relation to public authorities and regulatory problems and in areas, such as transport, communication, health and emergency preparedness.

The PhD programme in Risk Management and Societal Safety is linked to research within each of these specialist areas, in addition to problems that involve multi-disciplinary approaches. In the area of societal safety, the programme is also closely linked to a corresponding programme in the Faculty of Social Science.

PhD programme in Risk Management and Societal Safety - social science background
Societal Safety is part of the PhD programme "Risk Management and Societal Safety", which is an interdisciplinary co-operation between the Faculty of Social Science and the Faculty of Science and Technology. During the course, Social Science students will acquire a basic knowledge of technological and economic perspectives of risk and vulnerability, even if the main focus is in a social studies perspective.

This programme is a response to the emergence of new threats and changed risks in the wake of, for example, globalization processes, increasingly more complex and mutually dependent technological systems, terrorism, pandemics, new travel patterns, etc. There has been rapid development in this specialist environment and there is enormous interest for risk management and societal safety, both within the public authorities and private companies. EU, among others, has prioritized research in this field.

One of the aims of the PhD programme is to acquire scientific knowledge and methods in order to understand, prevent and respond to crisis situations or threats to society.
The PhD programme has been based on the following four thematic areas

* Risks, regulation and social planning
* Vulnerability, technology and organization
* Accident and crisis management
* Risk analyses and decision making

Research in the four areas has been focused on different sectors such as transport, petroleum activity, ICT, food, health, information preparedness, etc. At the same time, many of the projects are cross-sector, as risks and threats in society are usually interdisciplinary and cross-sector in nature. Whereas threats and risk usually have international roots, these generally have an impact locally, at the same time, as it is the nation state, which has the most important means of prevention or response. Consequently, local, national and international problems and perspectives are important in the research.

Societal Safety has interfaces with other security related areas, such as national security (security policy), sustainable development and routine handling of everyday accidents. In order to maintain societal safety, we will increasingly face situations where there is no clear answer to complex problems. Such problems may be:

* The relationship between freedom and security
* Technological possibilities and the social consequences of using these
* Expectations to the authorities about creating a safe society and the potential for meeting these expectations
* Knowledge about risk and hazards and the possibilities for doing something about these
* Long-lasting sense of security that leads to growing vulnerability
* Responsibility for running a critical infrastructure and for maintaining societal safety

It is difficult to find "final" solutions to such dilemmas and problems. They can identify most projects that deal with societal safety and that is why the research should challenge such topics.

Requirements

Before you can apply for admission to one of the PhD programmes at the University of Stavanger, certain requirements must be fulfilled.

In order to be admitted to one of our PhD programmes, you need to secure your funding in advance or apply for this along with the application for admission. The most common source of funding is research fellow positions at UiS. These are advertised under "Job vacancies" at the University of Stavanger's web site. You may also apply for scholarships from external sources of funding, such as the Research Council of Norway or relevant commercial or industry companies.
You also need to fulfil the set requirements for previous education (in order to be admitted to a PhD programme applicants typically need to have a five year Master´s degree with an average grade weighted at B or better). Applicants must also write a good project description that falls within the subject area of one of our programmes.
Only applications signed by the applicant´s main supervisor will be considered in full. Applicants who have not found a supervisor at the time of application, but fulfil the remaining requirements for admission, may submit their application form as a preliminary application. If your project description falls within the subject area of one of our programmes, the research training secretariat will be happy to put you in contact with a relevant supervisor.
Applications without enclosed project description, certified documentation of previous relevant studies or a complete plan for funding, will normally be rejected.
There is no deadline for applications to the doctoral programmes. Applicants are admitted continuously.

Funding

PhD students who are accepted at one of the UiS PhD programmes can apply for mobility scholarships to finance research visits lasting from three to six months at acknowledged institutions abroad.

The mobility scheme includes all academic programmes at UiS, and the scholarship is calculated according to the Norwegian Research Councils rates for overseas research grants. The scholarship is intended to cover expenses in connection with getting established abroad, as well as additional expenditures. Travel expenses should be covered by the student´s financial resources.

PhD students who submit complete application forms are guaranteed funding for three months, but may apply for extra funding (se below) for extended stays up to six months, or visits shorter than three moths.

Additional funding

Applications for additional funding will be processed at the end of the budget year and are prioritized as follows:
1. Extended stays beyond three months or stays shorter than three months (for students who are unable to go abroad for three months due to family or other social commitments)
2. Application for incoming mobility to UiS (mainly for PhD students who are staying at an institution in a developing country that has a collaboration agreement with UiS)
3. Travel expenses (can only be applied for if your annual capital equipment (30 000 NOK) are insufficient and your travel methods are as cheap as possible).
The Doctoral Committee at the Faculty will consider equal applicants according to progress and relevance in the dissertation work.