Aselsan - University of Twente cooperation

Duration: July 2013 until July 2020

Summary of the project

This is a cooperation framework between the University of Twente and Aselsan, Ankara, Turkey. The framework actually consists of a set of individual projects, which are carried out concurrently and cooperatively, each by a Master - PhD student or a PhD student.

Conditions for applying to one of the open projects are listed below.

Project descriptions

1. Time Performance Improvement with Parallel Processing Systems (TIPS): The project TIPS aims at developing methods, techniques and tools for mapping software systems onto parallel and/or multicore processor architectures in a convenient way. To this aim, the project develops expertise and skills in the following important topics: How to compute the most critical paths in software?; How to identify the parallelizable parts of the critical paths in software without changing its semantics?; How to compute the performance of the model of the software to be parallelized before the costly programming effort is carried out?; How to design the optimal task schedulers?; How to dynamically tune the parallelized software?; and experimentation.

   This project is underway; it is carried out by Bugra M. Yildiz

2. Productline for Optimal Schedulers (PLOS): The project PLOS proposes a productline architecture for designing optimal schedulers  for the digital receivers that takes care of application semantics in scheduling, can cope with dynamically changing context, can deal with variations in scheduling objectives, optimizes the scheduling criteria and causes an acceptable overhead. The productline approach enables to effectively reuse the basic building elements of the scheduler asset base in different application settings.

   This project is underway; it is carried out by Guner Orhan.

3. Reuse of event-driven service-oriented architectures (RESA): The project RESA aims at defining methods and techniques for enhancing reuse of event-driven service-oriented signal processing systems. To this aim, the project considers reuse with respect to new software adaptation and evolution requirements together with time performance requirements, since these two quality factors generally conflict with each other. Also, optimization techniques will be provided for the trade-off between these quality factors. Experiments will be carried out using industrial examples.

   We are currently looking for candidates for this project.

4. Communication and verification of architecture design and its rationale (CVAR): The project CVAR aims to define methods, techniques and tools for specifying, communicating and verifying software systems through the use of graphical notations. These notations have well-defined semantics and can be analysed through simulating the dynamics of the software models so that the software systems can be communicated easily and the possible errors can be detected conveniently before extensive programming effort is carried out. This project adopts design rationale analysis and model checking techniques.

   We are currently looking for candidates for this project.

5. Runtime verification of protocols (RTVPRO): The RTVPRO projects develops method, techniques and tools for the specification and verification of dynamically configurable software systems (such as systems with dynamically configured protocols); through the combined use of runtime verification, runtime model-driven engineering,  and model checking techniques. In addition, this project develops techniques to check the conformance of architecture models with respect to the actual execution of software that it represents.

   We are currently looking for candidates for this project.

6. Fault-Tolerant Architectures (FTA): The project FTA aims at defining methods, tools and techniques for the design of fault-tolerant architectures to enable software systems continue with their operation even in case of certain category of failures. To this aim, this project researches fault detection, diagnosis, fault isolation, and recovery techniques within the context of trade-offs among the relevant quality attributes such as cost, availability, time performance and reduced memory usage.

   We are currently looking for candidates for this project.

7. Model-based testing and debugging (MTED): The Project MTED aims to test and debug software systems with the help of the various models of the system so that the critical properties of the software systems can be detected and analysed and accordingly test patterns can be generated; the purpose here is to discover the errors which may not be easily detected in normal testing efforts. To this aim, combinations of various models are utilized, such as model-checking, runtime verification and static models.

    

8. Model-based system generation (MOGEN): The Project MOGEN aims to generate software and/or software templates from the models with the following properties: (a) correct in the sense that they have the same semantics as the models; (b) convenient so that not too much effort and skills are needed for the generation process; (c) composable so that multiple models can be combined where necessary to describe the system; (d) incremental meaning that if a part of the model is modified, the generation process does not have to be repeated totally.

    

9. Pattern-based architecture design and trade-off analysis (PADTA): The Project PADTA aims to develop communication, verification and trade-off techniques for the basic components of various predetermined design pattern and architectural style libraries. The purpose is to create applications from the components conveniently, through the use of built-in verification, generation and trade-off techniques.

    

10. Quality-oriented agile methods (QUAM): The Project QUAM aims to integrate various architecture communication, verification, generation and testing methods with the agile methods. As such the project defines a set of heuristics and guidelines to derive the necessary data to be used in modelling architectures, to analyse them, generate software, generate incremental test cases and finally to carry out agile runtime verification processes. The method also considers adopting of fault-tolerant architectures where necessary.

     

Applying to one of these projects

Each project can be carried out either as a combination of an MSc and PhD study or as a PhD study.

A combined MSc and PhD study normally takes 5 years, whereas a PhD study takes 4 years.

For a combined MSc and PhD study the candidates must have a BSc degree.

For a PhD study, an MSc degree is required.

We are seeking enthusiastic and creative students of Turkish nationality, with an outstanding MSc and/or BSc degree in Computer Science (or an equivalent qualification) and/or Electrical Engineering.

A PhD candidate should have thorough theoretical and practical background in software engineering methods, software architectures, programming languages and modeling techniques.

The candidates will be employed by Aselsan and will be assigned to carry on the MSc & PhD or the PhD program at University of Twente. After succesfully completing the PhD degree, they will continue with working at Aselsan.

The applicants who fulfill the conditions above should mail an application letter indicating the project(s) they are applying for, together with

• A clear motivation
• A CV with a list of courses taken and projects carried out previously
• An electronic copy of the thesis and of publications
• Two references

to Prof. Dr. Mehmet Aksit, Chair Software Engineering, with a CC to Mrs. Jeanette Rebel-de Boer.

Information about the position at Aselsan can be obtained from Hakime Hoç, ASELSAN, REHIS Mission Software Manager.