Doctoral student : "Advanced data access contract negotiation in data spaces" - Doctoral contract 3 years

Sur site
- SAINT ETIENNE, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France
Informatique et Système d'information

Description de l'offre d'emploi

Presentation of Mines Saint-Etienne

Joining Mines Saint-Étienne means committing to an institution where science and innovation build a more sustainable future. It is a school of excellence where everyone has the opportunity to unlock their full potential and contribute to tackling the challenges of tomorrow.

Ranked among the top engineering schools in France and recognized worldwide, our school, a member of the Institut Mines-Télécom, educates the talents of tomorrow while actively addressing major industrial, digital, and environmental challenges. By joining us, you become part of a community of 500 members of staff, 2,500 students and take part in an ambitious project: combining academic excellence, cutting-edge research, and positive societal impact.

The Institut Mines-Télécom brings together France’s leading Grandes Ecoles to tackle major industrial, digital, energy, and environmental challenges. With its eight public Grandes Écoles and two affiliated Graduate Schools, it is the leading public institute dedicated to engineers and managers. Together, we imagine and build a sustainable future by educating the leaders who will shape tomorrow’s transitions.

JOB ENVIRONMENT AND JOB DESCRIPTION :

1.Thesis title and fields

Advanced data access contract negotiation in data spaces

· Disciplinary field and speciality: Computer Science, Data Management

· Keywords: semantic web, knowledge representation, data spaces, open digital rights language, data profile

2. Host structure(s) and/or laboratory(ies)

Mines Saint-Étienne, Institut Henri Fayol, 29 rue Pierre et Dominique Ponchardier, 42000 Saint-Étienne, France

3. Thesis registration

· Doctoral school: Ecole nationale supérieure des mines de Saint-Etienne

· Attached doctoral school: ED 488: SCIENCES INGÉNIERIE SANTÉ (SIS)

· Host laboratory: LIMOS UMR 6158

4. Framing

Antoine Zimmermann, IMT Professor at Mines Saint-Étienne,
Maxime Lefrançois, IMT Senior Assistant at Mines Saint-Étienne.

5. Background and

The European data strategy aims to strengthen EU sovereignty and competitiveness by facilitating the exchange and exploitation of data within data spaces (Curry et al., 2022) . These spaces consist of distributed infrastructures defined by a governance framework, enabling reliable data transactions between participants while supporting data trust and sovereignty (Data Spaces Support Centre, 2023). The challenge is thus to create a global ecosystem where data flows are as fluid and controlled as traditional supply chains, implying challenges in terms of reliable sharing, usage control and business models (Bacco et al., 2024).

The work of Theissen-Lipp (2024) highlights the semantic foundations of data spaces. Various frameworks are emerging - Gaia-X, IDS, EOSC, Solid Data Spaces - all based on web standards, and employing semantic web technologies to facilitate data management in line with the FAIR principles (Hauff et al., 2024; Meckler et al., 2023). For example, the IDS-IM vocabulary (Bader et al., 2020) takes up and extends DCAT for data catalog description (Albertoni et al., 2024), DQV for data quality (Debattista et al., 2016), or Open Digital Rights Language (ODRL) for data access conditions (Iannella and Villata, 2018). Data structure could be described more finely with formalisms such as JSON-Schema (Schema, 2022) or SHACL (Knublauch and Kontokostas, 2017), potentially generated automatically via frameworks such as Semantic Data Link, which employs LinkML (Stäbler et al., 2024).

In a data space, an access contract is negotiated between a data provider and a data consumer. An unexplored research direction to date is to imagine the variety of negotiation types possible, in particular, flexible data negotiation processes where the format or semantics of the data itself can be negotiated. For example, a customer might only need a subset of a dataset offered by a supplier. He might offer a lower rate on the basis that he doesn't have access to all the data, but the supplier will have to carry out additional processing on the data, which could justify a higher rate.

The concept of content negotiation on the web describes mechanisms that enable different versions of a document to be served to the same URI (Svensson et al., 2024). In his thesis, Taghzouti (2024) defended the interest of fine-grained and flexible content negotiation, taking into account the fact that content negotiation is not a monolithic process, but rather composed of several stages. Applied to data exchange contracts in data spaces, content negotiation can serve as a starting point for certain advanced mechanisms that enable exchanges to be tailored to the specificities of the parties involved, their preferences and their technological capabilities. In particular, we will be looking at profile-based approaches to content negotiation (Taghzouti, 2023).

The aim of this thesis is to propose a formalization and a methodological framework for advanced data access contract negotiation mechanisms within a data space. The central hypothesis is that the enrichment of dataset descriptions and contract offers and requests would enable the exploration of new negotiation scenarios, adapted to the specific needs of the actors involved. The ambition is for the proposals to be based on open Web standards, so that they can be integrated into emerging data space frameworks (Gaia-X, IDS, EOSC, Solid Data Spaces).

6. challenges

The advanced negotiation of data access contracts in data spaces raises several scientific challenges, at the crossroads of data interoperability, semantic modeling and exchange governance mechanisms. Work will be structured around the following two axes:

A1. Semantic modeling of datasets, offers and access requests. Flexibility in negotiating data access contracts requires precise formalization of the metadata describing datasets, including information about their structure (e.g. JSON Schema) and semantics (e.g. vocabulary, shape SHACL). This information should be able to be used in descriptions of offers and access requests expressed in ODRL (e.g. to define that data must satisfy a structural or semantic constraint).

A2. Advanced contract negotiation mechanisms. For an agreement to be satisfactory for both parties, dynamic compromise calculation mechanisms need to be defined on the basis of contract offers and requests. Possible contributions lie in the dynamic adaptation of the structure and semantics of datasets, in parallel with the adaptation of associated permissions, prohibitions and duties (including the mode of calculation of financial compensation).

7. Innovative character

This thesis proposes an innovative approach by exploring advanced mechanisms for negotiating datasets in data spaces, where a compromise can result from a sequence of exchanges of offers and counter-offers. To our knowledge, no past or current work considers that the structure and semantics of the data itself can be the object of negotiation, and adapted according to the preferences and capabilities of the stakeholders. By mobilizing semantic web technologies and web exchange mechanisms, this research paves the way for new use cases in data sharing, while guaranteeing interoperability and sovereignty for stakeholders, and thus fostering the creation of value in data spaces.

8. Expected results and

The work of this thesis should lead to :

· Formalization of data access contract negotiation, integrating different types of information about the data, including its structure and semantics, as well as associated permissions, prohibitions and duties

· A methodological framework and a prototype for an advanced contract negotiation mechanism, exploiting this information to dynamically calculate trade-offs

· Concrete evaluation scenarios, testing the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed framework in synthetic or real data exchange environments, in connection with initiatives such as IDS.

· Contributions to academic and industrial standards and communities, by publishing results in semantic web or distributed knowledge graph conferences and journals.

· Technological enhancement through the publication of open source code, paving the way for the integration of semantic negotiation into future data space architectures.

9. Impact

This thesis will have a scientific impact by advancing the state of the art on the negotiation of data access contracts. Technologically, it will provide avenues for improving emerging data space frameworks. Furthermore, its economic impact will lie in enabling new business models based on fine-tuned transaction personalization, paving the way for the creation of more value in data spaces. In so doing, this thesis will contribute in particular to Sustainable Development Goals n°9 (9.1, 9.2, ...)

10. Possible partnerships

Possibility of cooperating on different research projects on related themes, while advancing independently (no involvement in deliverables). Example: LoireConnecTID project, EU OMEGA-X project with EDF R&D. Involvement in associations such as IDSA, AIOTI, BDVA, or standards bodies (W3C, ETSI TC DATA, AFNOR).

11. References

Albertoni, R., Browning, D., Cox, S.J.D., Beltran, A.G., Perego, A., Winstanley, P., 2024. Data catalog vocabulary (DCAT) (W3C Recommendation). World Wide Web Consortium.

Bacco, M., Kocian, A., Chessa, S., Crivello, A., Barsocchi, P., 2024. What are data spaces? Systematic survey and future outlook. Data in Brief 57, 110969.

Bader, S., Pullmann, J., Mader, C., Tramp, S., Quix, C., Müller, A.W., Akyürek, H., Böckmann, M., Imbusch, B.T., Lipp, J., Geisler, S., Lange, C., 2020. The International Data Spaces Information Model - An Ontology for Sovereign Exchange of Digital Content, in: The Semantic Web - ISWC 2020, Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Springer International Publishing, Cham, pp. 176-192. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-62466-8_12

Curry, E., Scerri, S., Tuikka, T., 2022. Data spaces. Springer.

Data Spaces Support Centre, 2023. 1st collaborative discussion paper Why data spaces A business and user's perspective.

Debattista, J., Dekkers, M., Guéret, C., Lee, D., Mihindukulasooriya, N., Zaveri, A., 2016. Data on the Web Best Practices: Data Quality Vocabulary (W3C Working Group Note). World Wide Web Consortium.

Hauff, M., Comet, L.M., Moosmann, P., Lange, C., Chrysakis, I., Theissen-Lipp, J., 2024. FAIRness in Dataspaces: The Role of Semantics for Data Management, in: The Second International Workshop on Semantics in Dataspaces, Co-Located with the Extended Semantic Web Conference.

Iannella, R., Villata, S., 2018. ODRL Information Model 2.2 (W3C Recommendation). W3C.

Knublauch, H., Kontokostas, D., 2017. Shapes Constraint Language (SHACL) [WWW Document]. URL https://www.w3.org/TR/shacl/ (accessed 3.10.25).

Meckler, S., Dorsch, R., Henselmann, D., Harth, A., 2023. The Web and Linked Data as a Solid Foundation for Dataspaces, in: Companion Proceedings of the ACM Web Conference 2023. Presented at the WWW '23: The ACM Web Conference 2023, ACM, Austin TX USA, pp. 1440-1446. https://doi.org/10.1145/3543873.3587616

Schema, J., 2022. Json schema. JSON Schema. Online: https://json-schema. org/(abgerufen am: 22.5. 2023).

Stäbler, M., Moosmann, P., Dittmer, P., Wang, D., Köster, F., Lange, C., 2024. Semantic Data Link: Bridging Domain-Specific Needs with Universal and Interoperable Semantic Models. 10.1007/978-3-031-60626-7.

Svensson, L.G., Atkinson, R., Car, N.J., Taghzouti, Y., 2024. Content negotiation by profile (W3C Editor's Draft). World Wide Web Consortium.

Taghzouti, Y., 2024. Semantic content negotiation for knowledge exchange between heterogeneous systems (phdthesis). University of Lyon.

Theissen-Lipp, J., 2024. Semantic foundations of dataspaces. RWTH Aachen University.

Pré-requis du poste

PROFILE REQUIRED:

The ideal candidate has a 5-year degree or equivalent, with a good knowledge of data management, semantic interoperability and the semantic web. Proactive, autonomous, organized and rigorous in project management, he/she will have solid analytical skills to design solutions adapted to complex issues, an excellent ability to synthesize, and written and oral communication skills in French and English. They may wish to launch an entrepreneurial project to add value to their thesis work, or continue in academia.

WHY JOIN US :

Mines Saint-Etienne stands out for :

A privileged working environment with a high student supervision rate and a high environment rate (support and back-up functions)
First-class experimental and digital resources
Substantial contract research activity (€11 M/year in Research and Innovation contracts), mainly with industrial partners
25% international students, member of the T.I.M.E. network and the European University EULIST
A center for scientific, technical and industrial culture - La Rotonde - unique in France, which multiplies its impact on society (> 50,000 visitors per year).
Ranked by Times Higher Education in the TOP 100 worldwide and leader in its two home regions for the Sustainable Development Goals "Combating Climate Change", "Sustainable Cities and Communities" and "Water Resources".
Campuses on a human scale, in an urban environment, accessible by soft mobility (cycling, walking, public transport, etc.).
A pleasant working environment. 83% of respondents to the Mines Saint-Etienne annual social barometer rated the quality of life at work as good or satisfactory. Accessibility by transport or close to main roads
Public transport costs reimbursed up to 75% (subject to conditions)
A sustainable mobility package
A staff lounge (sports and cultural activities, CE benefits for leisure activities and social events)
The possibility of partial teleworking
49 days vacation and RTT

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Recruitment conditions :

Type of contract public-sector fixed-term contract
Profile EXECUTIVE
Desired start date : 01/09/2025
Remuneration will be set according to the candidate's profile, based on the rules defined by the Institut Mines Télécom's management framework.
Full-time

The position is open to all, with accommodations available on request for candidates with disabilities.

Job open to civil servants and/or people on contract.
All applications may be subject to an administrative inquiry.

How to apply :

Applications (CV, covering letter, letter of recommendation if applicable, proof of identity) should be submitted on the RECRUITEE platform.

https://institutminestelecom.recruitee.com/o/advanced-data-access-contract-negotiation-in-data-spaces

· Application deadline * : 01/06/2025

· Recruitment process for information (provisional dates for the following stages)

Candidates selected on the basis of their applications will be interviewed as the process unfolds.

As part of its Equality, Diversity and Inclusion policy, École des Mines de Saint Etienne is an employer committed to fair treatment of all applicants.

Read more :

For further information about the position, please contact :

Maxime LEFRANCOIS - Associate Professor and Antoine ZIMMERMANN - Professor IMT
Mail: maxime.lefrancois@emse.fr or antoine.zimmermann@emse.fr
Tel: +33 4 77 42 66 40

For administrative information, please contact:

Amélie HUCHET - HR Manager

Mail : amelie.huchet@emse.fr

Amandine HIRONDEAU - HR Assistant and HR Manager

Mail: hirondeau@emse.fr
Phone: + 33 (0)4 77 42 01 03

Useful links :

https://www.mines-stetienne.fr/

https://www.imt.fr/