MSCA DIGITAL - Fraud detection in financial networks

Your personal path into a stellar Digital Finance career! Apply today!

The Job

WU Vienna University of Economics and Business and specifically the Research Institute for Computational Methods is looking for a highly motivated and creative Ph.D. candidate interested in Fraud detection in financial networks. During the project, you will closely collaborate with industry and a doctoral training network spread throughout Europe, including extended research stays abroad. The successful applicant will join the AI Team within WU Vienna.

Background

This Ph.D. position is one of two positions at WU Vienna in the context of the international Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions project DIGITAL. For the general description of DIGITAL and the Ph.D. positions, please check the official project webpage.

The main goal of DIGITAL

To significantly advance the methodologies and business models for Digital Finance through the use of five interconnected research objectives:

  • Ensure sufficient data quality to contribute to the EU’s efforts of building a single digital market for data - Address deployment issues of complex artificial intelligence models for real-world financial problems
  • Validate the utility of state-of-the-art explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) algorithms to financial applications and extend existing frameworks
  • Design risk management tools concerning the applications of the Blockchain technology in Finance
  • Simulate financial markets and evaluate products with a sustainability component

The outcome of this individual research project will contribute to the expanding body of knowledge concerning the applications of cutting-edge machine learning and artificial intelligence techniques to traditional financial problems.

Your profile

We look for a highly motivated, enthusiastic researcher who is driven by curiosity and has/is:

General skills

  • Master’s degree in Computer Science, STEM, Finance or related fields;
  • A strong passion and outstanding skills in data science and experience working with programming languages and statistical software such as R, Julia and/or Python, as well as knowledge of C++;
  • Knowledge of quantitative modeling of financial markets, econometric techniques, data science, machine learning, and quantitative empirical research methods;
  • The ability to work on real-world problems in an interdisciplinary and internationally oriented environment;
  • Good communication skills and an excellent command of English.

Interested and motivated candidates are encouraged to apply, even when not yet possessing all desired skills. Through self-driven learning and doctoral training, you will be able to develop relevant skills on the job.

Our offer

Benefits offered as part of this position include:

This PhD position includes two research stays. The first industrial research stay will be carried out at Raiffeisen Bank International in Vienna, Austria for 18 months, and the second research stay will be carried out at European Central Bank.

Any potential change from the initial plan regarding research stays will be dully notified to candidates and reflected in the job advert description.

How to apply

Are you interested to be part of our team? Please submit your application, and include:

Please ensure that your application is submitted by the deadline and note that we will start conducting interviews with short-listed candidates starting immediately; however, the application deadline is the 21st of July 2024.

To apply and for further enquires and questions, please email with CC to

Diversity and Inclusion

We encourage applications from minorities and underrepresented groups to enrich our diverse academic community. Candidates will be selected on the basis of their competence and ability, and all applicants will be given equal opportunities. We acknowledge the importance of diversity and inclusion for innovation and excellence in digital finance research.