The Institute of Statistics of the Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, is offering 2 full time PhD grants for a period of 1 year, three times renewable. Starting date of the position : 1st September or 1st October 2007.

Description of the position
The research activities of the Institute cover a large number of fields. A major part of the activities are centered on mathematical statistics (semi- and non-parametric statistics, bayesian statistics, multivariate analysis, regression estimation, mixtures models, survival analysis, time series, …) with important implications in various fields of application (econometrics, biostatistics, insurance, industrial statistics, … ).

The objective of these research grants is to prepare a PhD thesis in statistics at the Institute of Statistics of the UCL related to:

• one position in general statistics financed in the framework of the IAP project which the Institute is coordinating (see http://www.stat.ucl.ac.be/IAP);
• one position in statistics/econometrics financed in the framework of the PARC project in which the Institute is involved;

The candidate will become member of the Graduate School in Statistics and Actuarial Sciences (described at http://www.stat.ucl.ac.be/edt) and complement his/her work on the thesis by following the doctoral programme offered by this Graduate school.

Most courses in this programme are taught in English.

The candidate could be asked to do some teaching assistance related to some courses offered by the Institute to statistics students (no more than 45 class-hours per year).

Required qualifications

• Degree in mathematics or physics, engineer in applied mathematics, commercial engineer, engineer in agronomy, degree or masters in applied economical sciences (quantitative orientation). A complementary diploma in statistics will be an advantage for the candidate.
• The candidate must be younger than 30 years at the moment the position starts.
• The diploma must be obtained with at least distinction or an equivalent grade.

To apply, the following documents must be sent to the administrator of the Institute of Statistics, Christine Denayer, Institut de statistique, Voie du Roman Pays 20, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium or denayer@stat.ucl.ac.be (before June 10, 2007):

• a curriculum vitae including the list of the relevant courses followed in a previous programme (including evaluation marks).
• two reference letters to be sent by email directly by the referee or by mail in a sealed envelope.

For further information please contact Professor Ingrid Van Keilegom (e-mail: vankeilegom@stat.ucl.ac.be) and/or professor Rainer von Sachs (e-mail: rvs@stat.ucl.ac.be).