PhD studentships

The Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Built Environment (CEBE) is based at our City Centre Campus in Millennium Point. Research is vital to our University: it enables us to contribute new knowledge, underpins our creative and enterprise thinking and ensures we are delivering leading-edge teaching. Our researchers are making significant discoveries and partnering local, national and global organisations to find solutions to contemporary commercial, scientific and social issues. Many of our academic staff engage in research and/or professional practice, and we have a thriving community of postgraduate research students.

The School of Computing and Digital Technology (based within CEBE) currently has PhD Studentships available in a number of specialist areas that present exciting opportunities to join and study with us. Please refer to the details below for further information regarding each available research project.

PhD Classic Doctoral Training Grant Funding Information

This 36 month (3 year) fully-funded PhD Studentship, in-line with the Research Council values, comprises a tax-free stipend of £15,609 per annum (paid monthly). The bursary is renewable annually for up to 36 months in total, subject to you making satisfactory progression within your PhD research.

This funding model also includes a FT Home fees studentship (£4,500 for 2021-22) for up to 3 years, subject to you making satisfactory progression within your PhD research.

This opportunity is open to UK, EU and International applicants. All applicants will receive the same stipend irrespective of fee status, however, international applicants will be required to meet the difference in fee costs from their own funds.

Information for International Applicants

International applicants must submit a valid English language qualification, such as International English Language Test System (Academic IELTS) or equivalent with an overall score of 6.5 with no band below 6.0. Further details can be found here: https://www.bcu.ac.uk/international/your-application/english-language-and-english-tests/accepted-qualifications

Wellbeing-Integrated Development Environments (WIDEs)

Email: Sara.Hassan@bcu.ac.uk

Project specification:

Applications are invited for a PhD student to undertake the WIDEs project. The aim of the project is to contribute a framework for designing integrated development environments (IDEs) in a mental-wellbeing-aware manner. This framework would comprise models and guidelines for tailoring the design of an existing or new IDE to display options and communicate errors in a mental-wellbeing-aware manner. The WIDEs framework will be used by software engineers so that they design more mental-wellbeing aware IDEs for STEM Higher Education (HE) students to use in their programming.

WIDEs is motivated by the findings of EMBRACE HE project. EMBRACE HE is an EU funded, three year project is running through BCU's School of Social Sciences, titled EMBRACE HE project, as is specifically designed to help address problems of mental health and lack of wellbeing in all students in higher education institutions, across Europe. The findings of this project indicate that students in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields are more prone to mental health issues.

We are aiming to create a framework for IDEs to be designed in a mental-wellbeing-aware manner to cater for the mental well-being of STEM HE students in general and computing students in particular. While WIDEs has its seed during COVID times, its benefits will transcend online learning contexts.

Personal specification:

To work on this project, it is critical that the application has the following background:

• Strong software engineering skills including knowledge of software design guidelines, patterns and best practices
• An undergraduate degree in a computer science field with a minimum outcome of 2.1.
• Strong programming experience

Additionally, it is desirable that the applicant has the following skills/experience:

• Hands-on experience in health-related software solutions
• Hands-on experience in data analytics 
• Expertise in artificial intelligence (AI) concepts and algorithms

PhD Classic Doctoral Training Grant Funding Information

This 36 month (3 year) fully-funded PhD Studentship, in-line with the Research Council values, comprises a tax-free stipend of £15,609 per annum (paid monthly). The bursary is renewable annually for up to 36 months in total, subject to you making satisfactory progression within your PhD research.

This funding model also includes a FT Home fees studentship (£4,500 for 2021-22) for up to 3 years, subject to you making satisfactory progression within your PhD research.

This opportunity is open to UK, EU and International applicants. International applicants will be required to meet the difference in fee costs from their own funds.

How to apply:

To apply, please complete the project proposal formof 1,500-2,500 words (fully referenced) explaining your ideas about the proposed topic, ensuring that you quote the project reference WIDES, and then complete the online application, which can be found under the 'How to Apply' tab of the PhD course page where you will be required to upload your proposal form in place of a personal statement as a pdf document.

You will also be required to upload two references, at least one being an academic reference, and your qualification/s of entry (Bachelor/Masters certificate/s and transcript/s) and IELTS.

Deadline for Applications

Please ensure you submit your application by 23:59 on the 31^st October at 23:59 for a February 2022 start.

As part of a generous bequest to Birmingham School of Art, we are delighted to offer a three-year bursary for full-time PhD study starting in February 2022. We are particularly interested to receive applications relating to the work and interests of our research clusters:

• Art Activisms
• Centre for Chinese Visual Arts (CCVA) 
• Material Encounters 

And with the following supervisors:

• Anthony Downey
• Catherine Baker
• Esther Windsor
• Gavin Wade
• Jacqueline Taylor
• Joshua Jiang
• Lauren Walden
• Linda Stupart
• Lisa Metherell
• Nuria Querol
• Sian Vaughan
• Stuart Whipps
• Theo Reeves-Evison

We encourage interdisciplinary practice and can enable co-supervision from other disciplines, however given the specific focus of this bequest on supporting doctoral study in the School of Art your main supervisor must be a School of Art staff member.

The GABB PhD award will be under our “PhD Classic” funding model, which provides a tax-free doctoral stipend at UKRI rates (£15,609 per year for 2021-22) and a Home fees scholarship for three years. This opportunity is open to UK and International applicants. All applicants will receive the same stipend irrespective of fee status, however, international applicants will be required to meet the difference in fee costs from their own funds. Please see the course page for the PhD Art and Design programme [https://www.bcu.ac.uk/courses/art-and-design-phd-2021-22] for more details.

Application process:

1. Identify a potential PhD supervisor and contact them to discuss your research ideas. 
2. Request a GABB PhD Award application form by email from drc.adm@bcu.ac.uk.
3. You must apply through the standard BCU online application process for a place on the PhD Art and Design programme [https://www.bcu.ac.uk/courses/art-and-design-phd-2021-22 ] by the end of October 2021.You also need to submit your application for the Gertrude Aston Bowater Bursary PhD Award by midday (12noon) Monday 1 November 2021 by emailing your completed GABB PhD Award application form to drc.adm@bcu.ac.uk.
4. Shortlisted candidates will be invited for interview on 18 November. Interviews will be held online or in person at the School of Art in Birmingham as appropriate and in accordance with COVID guidelines.

For further information or any queries please contact the Research Degrees Coordinator for Birmingham Institute of Creative Art, Dr Sian Vaughan via sian.vaughan@bcu.ac.uk.

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