Primary Objective

The primary objective is to extend and systematize the collaboration with leading computer science departments and laboratories in Brazil, Canada and the US in the area of designing dependable and secure cutting-edge distributed systems. The involved research groups will be more internationally visible, and both research and education will be strengthened.

Secondary objectives

• To bolster the quality of research and education in the five associated research projects, centers and strategic programs
• To build a solid foundation for the planned research group on blockchain technologies
• To help young female researchers in their careers, and in particular securing tenured university positions
• To apply for and obtain external projects, nationally and internationally
• To help the research groups at UiS and UiO in building a centre of international quality on dependability and security of distributed systems

Our collaboration network includes renowned academic partners from Brazil, Canada and the US, with female PIs from 50% of the partner institutions. The project is aligned with Brazil’s strategy for research in security and dependability. It is poised to serve as an important catalyst for Brazil’s efforts in this direction. The proposal encompasses institutionalized collaboration with partners such as University of Stavanger (Norway), University of Oslo (Norway), McGill University (Canada), École de technologie supérieure (Canada), Cornell University (US), University of Maryland (US), University of California (US) and Federal University of Bahia (Brazil), known for their excellence in research and education.

While the consortium is primarily technological, some PIs specialize in socio-technical systems. Thus, the project serves as a bridge between technology and social sciences.

The collaboration will strengthen the research projects and strategic initiatives at both UiS and UiO by technologically advancing design and validation of security and reliability-critical distributed systems such as smart homes and cities, cloud computing, smart energy and cryptocurrency systems. The partners have collaborated in the past on individual research activities. The partnership allows us to build a systematic and institutionalized collaborative network, and will bolster the quality of research and education in the associated projects.

Activities planned

1. workshop and summer school,
2. mutual research visits, including by PhD students,
3. development of courses and tutorials, and
4. joint research collaboration, resulting in publications involving PhD students.

In terms of education, the partnership will enhance the curricula in dependable distributed systems at each partner institution by means of complementary expertise, mutual guest lectures, student mobility, joint student projects and remote lecturing. Several PIs got best teaching awards. In terms of research, mobility, joint projects and joint supervision of graduate students will give a boost in quality, beyond what is currently attainable through the existing projects.