Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e)
Has a vacancy for
PhD student in
"Contract-Based Process Outsourcing in the Financial Industry (CoProFind)"
at the Information Systems Group of the Department of Industrial Engineering and Innovation Sciences
(formerly Department of Technology Management).
The Department of Industrial Engineering and Innovation Sciences (IE&IS) is a leading school
in the area of industrial engineering and management science as well as innovation sciences. IE&IS’s mission is closely tied to its pioneering work in developing an engineering perspective on business processes as well as its interdisciplinary research on transitions in societies in relation to technical changes. At the heart of our academic philosophy is the synergy between research and teaching. Moreover, IE&IS is a decidedly small-scale department in which scholars and students together with practitioners work on critical problems at the interface of engineering, management, innovation, and human behavior.
Project context
In the world of financial markets the complexity and dynamism of trading relations are constantly
increasing. The market circumstances require companies specialized in financial services to support shorter trading relations, for smaller amounts, under more complex conditions. The current financial crisis is an example for the inability of many financial institutions to adapt to these high levels of complexity and dynamism. In order to survive and stay competitive, financial institutions have to adapt to the new market reality by improving their efficiency and effectiveness as well as by supporting the new business models that become important in the new settings. In this project, we concentrate on asset-based financial services. Asset-based financial services are offered to companies (e.g., manufacturers, distributors and dealers) to finance their customers in purchasing capital goods through affordable regular payments. A well-known example is the lease financing service. Other, asset-based financial services aim at improving cash flows and releasing working capital (e.g., factoring, inventory finance, purchase order programs). Asset-based financial services are strictly contract-based. Important research questions in this context are how a company should adapt to the changing markets, what new business models are possible, and how these new business models can be reflected in organization and software architectures.
Tasks
In the CoProFind project, the PhD student researches and designs innovative operational models for the
establishment and cross-organizational enactment of asset based financial services. The models include highly dynamic, contract-based e business models, process models for bidirectional process outsourcing, and corporate e-business architectures to arrive at concepts like self-executing electronic contracts. Integration of models is a major aspect, as well as mapping to state-of-the-art information technology.
Research project
The research project will be conducted both at the Information Systems Group (part of the School of
Industrial Engineering at Eindhoven University of Technology) and at the headquarters of De Lage Landen located in Eindhoven.
The School of Industrial Engineering is part of the Department of Industrial Engineering and Innovation
Sciences (http://w3.tm.tue.nl/en/) and is a major member of the Beta Research School. The Information Systems Group (http://is.tm.tue.nl/) is a leading group in its domain with over 30 members performing research and teaching in the field of business information systems, specializing in information system architectures and business process management. The CoProFind project will be supervised by prof. dr. ir. Paul Grefen, chairman of the IS Group.
De Lage Landen is a leading global provider of high-quality asset-based financing products. It operates
in more than 30 countries worldwide and specializes in asset financing and vendor finance programs on a worldwide scale. De Lage Landen is a subsidiary of the Rabobank Group.
Requirements
- Master’s degree in Computer Science, Information Science, Business Science or similar study.
- A strong affinity with interdisciplinary research on the boundary of Computer Science and Business Science and an interest in state-of-the-art applications in the financial industry domain.
- The ability to work on a challenging topic that has both basic and applied research aspects.
- Good communication and team working skills plus a good mastering of the English language in writing and speaking.
Appointment and Salary
The appointment is for four years. As an employee of the university you will receive a competitive salary
as well as excellent secondary benefits (e.g. technical infrastructure, moving expenses, excellent sports
facilities, child care, and savings schemes). The research in this project must be concluded with the attainment
of a PhD degree. A salary is offered starting at €2042,- per month (gross) in the first year and increasing
up to €2612,- per month (gross) in the last year. Moreover 8% bonus share (holiday supplement) and
end-of-year bonus of 8.3% is provided annually.
Information and Application
Please send electronically a detailed curriculum vitae, an explanation of your interest in the proposed research
topic, your course program and corresponding grades, references and all other information that might be relevant to your application to the personnel department (pz@tue.nl).
Please use "CoProFind" and the job vacancy code (V39.472) in the subject line of your e-mail.
For further information on this vacancy please contact Samuil Angelov (s.angelov@tue.nl), tel: +31 40 247 2290.
The deadline for applications is January 05, 2009.