PhD Student Open Innovation Platform (f/m/d)

Work environment

We are looking for a motivated PhD student to scientifically analyze and optimize our existing Open Innovation Platform. The Open Innovation Platform was developed to promote innovation activities, leverage synergies across brands and regions and ultimately develop ideas that will lead to a compelling customer experience in our future vehicles or services. Join Group Innovation and secure the innovation leadership of our Group brands in a dedicated team as part of a three-year PhD project. The aim of the project is to analyze our Open Innovation Platform according to the latest scientific findings with regard to user behavior and to develop metrics that ensure the sustainable success of the platform. A particular focus is on optimizing the design as well as the lifecycle and stakeholder management of the platform. The insights gained will be implemented as a prototype and integrated into the existing Open Innovation Platform in close coordination with our development team.

Possible Tasks within this Role

• Scientifically analyzing the platform with regard to user behavior and identifying usage patterns
• Developing and validating metrics to measure the success of the platform
• Optimizing the design of the Open Innovation Platform, taking into account lifecycle and stakeholder management aspects
• Implementing the research results in a prototype and integrating the developed solutions into the existing platform
• Presenting the research results at international conferences and publishing them in scientific journals

The final doctoral topic is defined together with the professor. The prerequisite for the cooperation is the confirmation of supervision as well as a confirmed delimitation of topics by the professor of a university or research institution entitled to confer a doctorate.

Qualification requirements

• Good to very good university degree qualifying for doctoral studies in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, Business Administration, or a related field
• Initial experience in planning, testing, operating, and further developing IT applications
• Knowledge in data analysis, statistics, and prototyping
• Solid Linux skills and programming experience in Python, Java, or comparable languages
• Initial experience with one or more DevOps technologies such as Git (e.g. Bitbucket), build server technologies (e.g. Jenkins or Bamboo), container technologies (e.g. Docker), container runtime environments (e.g. Rancher or Kubernetes), and/or cloud providers (e.g., AWS) is desirable
• Excellent analytical and communication skills
• German and English language level B2

Keywords

Open innovation hub, data science, data analytics, prototypical implementation, prototype implementation

What we offer

• Attractive salary & 30 vacation days (+ 24.12. and 31.12. off)
• 35-hour week, flexible working hours, remote work
• Special conditions for the purchase and leasing of vehicles
• Free seminars on scientific work and interdisciplinary qualifications
• Participation in the doctoral network for scientific exchange with science representatives and other doctoral candidates within the Volkswagen Group

Contact person for this posting: Fabian Wenzel