CYD Master Thesis Fellowships – A Talent Program for Cyber-Defence Research

This program is designed to expand research and education in the area of cyber-defence. It is intended to bring together basic and applied research skills and hence encourage new solutions to major challenges in the fields of cybersecurity and data science.

The CYD Master Thesis Fellowships are open to researchers at master level who are willing to engage with issues cutting across the frontiers of cyber-security and data science.

CYD Master Thesis fellows are hosted by a higher education institution in Switzerland and conduct their research at the CYD Campus located on the premises of EPFL and ETHZ and in its office in Thun.

The CYD Campus is a cyber-competence center created by the Swiss Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport. It acts as an anticipation platform for identifying and assessing technologies, commercial and social cyber trends, as well as the subsequent usage scenarios. It is committed to innovative, application-oriented research and works to translate research findings into solutions alongside start-ups and established companies in the field of security.

Mission

• The CYD Fellowships are designed to significantly increase research activities around the security chain by funding talented early-stage researchers in Switzerland. They seek to address some of the most challenging research and translational issues in cyber-defence by bringing together university based researchers and cyber-defence stakeholders in Switzerland.
• Key goals of this Talent Program for Cyber-Defence Research include:
  • Providing enhanced cyber security and privacy solutions, thereby reducing the asymmetry between attackers and defenders in cyber-defence
  • Accelerating the development of cyber solutions while taking into consideration the characteristics and needs of the technology industry and the operational ecosystem
  • Nurturing the next generation of top researchers in the cyber domain
  • Increasing the competitiveness of the Swiss cyber-defence community by leveraging synergies between the partners involved and testing new solutions within the Swiss cyberdefence research ecosystem.

Funding

Eligible costs include and are limited to:

• Living allowance equal to CHF 2’000.- per month for a maximum duration of 6 months.
• Research costs: a maximum amount of CHF 1’500 can be granted for research costs (only for specific equipment needed for the project, not general IT material).

Eligibility and Requirements

• A rolling call for proposals is now open, and talented researchers in cyber-defence at master level are strongly encouraged to apply.
• CYD Master Thesis Fellowships provide a living allowance and research funds for six months, enabling CYD Master Thesis fellows to complete a Master thesis at the CYD Campus under the joint supervision of a professor at a higher education institution in Switzerland and of a CYD Campus researcher.
• Applicants must demonstrate that their project:
  • can significantly influence the research fields of security and data science and/or have significant impact on Swiss cyber-defence.
  • will bring together, in a collaborative effort, researchers from the CYD Campus and from at least one higher education institution in Switzerland.
• Citizens of any nationality may apply for the CYD Master Thesis Fellowships.
• No age restrictions apply.
• Applicants for CYD Master Thesis Fellowships must be enrolled in a Master program at a higher education institution (university or school of applied sciences) in Switzerland and have the endorsement of a professor employed in this institution willing to supervise them.
• This program is highly competitive, and the primary evaluation criterion is excellence, as measured by academic records and professional accomplishments. Candidates applying for a CYD fellowship are expected to have excellent grade transcripts.
• Proposals that contravene the rules of research integrity or good scientific practice will not be considered.

For more information, visit EPFL.