close

EngD position on Implementation and Testing of Virtual Knowledge Graph Infrastructure

Updated: 31 Jan 2025

link
provider logo
Research / Academic
Enschede

The University of Twente and the Netherlands’ Cadastre, Land Registry and Mapping Agency (Kadaster) set up a collaboration project to advance the existing data infrastructures so they can support the extended application of analytical algorithms over authoritative data. The project team is seeking an Engineering Doctorate (ENGD) candidate with a genuine interest in inter- and cross-organisational data integration. Your work will result in designing and implementing (virtual) knowledge graph (VKG) infrastructures that allow efficient data querying without data replication. A challenge is enabling performant (spatial) querying (spatial access) across such data sources.

The project team will help you gain the required methodological and technical knowledge to conduct the project, which includes design science, knowledge graphs, semantic technologies, ontologies, and natural language processing.

The Netherlands’ Cadastre, Land Registry and Mapping Agency – in short, Kadaster and the University of Twente (UT) have joined forces to operate at the forefront of knowledge about federated data; the goal is to advance the research field and develop methods and techniques to extract, combine, and analyse information from distributed data sources, while accounting for the principles of ethical conduct, scientific integrity, and open science, to benefit the society.

To realise that goal, Kadaster and UT work together on the UTKa Datalab project under the umbrella of the Centre for Security and Digitalisation (CVD), a collaborative knowledge centre based in Apeldoorn, uniting educational institutions, businesses, and public organisations to address challenges in security and digital transformation. The project aims to work on trusted federative data infrastructures based on knowledge graph (KG) technology and simultaneously explore the potential of mutual augmentation of AI (particularly LLMs) and KG for Land Administration applications. The project will be conducted by a scientific team from Kadaster and UT, where five young researchers will join the team as EngD and PhD candidates, including the candidates employed through this call.

From the UT side, two departments of Geo-Information Processing (GIP) from Faculty ITC and Semantics, Cybersecurity & Services (SCS) from Faculty EEMCS will supervise the PhD and EngD candidates. The supervisory team will also include colleagues from the Kadaster Data Science team.

About Kadaster
Kadaster collects and registers administrative and spatial data on property, rights, and assets such as ships, aircraft, and telecom networks, ensuring legal certainty. As the responsible body for national mapping, maintaining the national reference coordinate system, and advising on land use and spatial data infrastructures, Kadaster provides information primarily through online services to civil-law notaries, local authorities, businesses, financial institutions, and individuals. As the custodian of the Key Registers Cadastre and Topography, Kadaster performs its public tasks transparently and in service of society. For further information about Kadaster check: https://www.kadaster.nl/ & https://labs.kadaster.nl/about/

About GIP
The GIP department at the UT’s Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC) focuses on creating actionable geo-information for diverse stakeholders. GIP addresses critical societal challenges by designing methods to process heterogeneous spatio-temporal data and developing open geo-information solutions. Their interdisciplinary approach combines Geographic Information Science, Remote Sensing, Computer Science, and Digital Humanities, emphasising co-creation with domain experts to ensure societal relevance and scientific validity.

Requirements:

  • A MSc in a related field (e.g., Software Development, Computer Science, Geo-Information Science)
  • Strong background in Semantic Web Technologies (e.g., RDF, OWL, SPARQL, GeoSPARQL)
  • Knowledge of Geospatial Information Processing, e.g., working with vector data and spatial database management systems, is a plus
  • Knowledge of Ontology-Based Data Access is a plus
  • Programming skills (e.g., Python, Java, C#)
  • Analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to work collaboratively in a multidisciplinary team
  • Strong communication skills, with proficiency in English

Salary Benefits:

  • We offer you a contract for 24 months.
  • Competitive salary in accordance with the Dutch Universities’ Collective Labor Agreement (CAO-NU): gross monthly salary of € 2.872, -;
  • Employee status at the UT, including pension and health care benefits. UT is an equal opportunities employer.
  • 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% year-end bonus.
  • Solid pension scheme.
  • A minimum of 41 holiday days for full-time employment.
  • Professional and personal development programs through Twente Graduate School.
  • Hybrid working opportunities across CVD (1 day per week), Kadaster (1 day per week), and the University of Twente (2 days per week)


For more information about the EngD program at UT, check the UT EngD information page.

Work Hours:

40 hours per week

Address:

Drienerlolaan 5