Designing Adaptive Multisensory Environments for Inclusive Learning and Therapy with Disabled Children
Doctoral Training Grant Funding Information
This funding model includes a 36 month fully funded PhD Studentship, set in-line with UK Research & Innovation values. For 2025/6, this will be £20,780 per year. The tax-free stipend will be paid monthly. This PhD Studentship also includes a Full-Time Fee Scholarship for up to 3 years. The funding is subject to your continued registration on the research degree, making satisfactory progression within your PhD, as well as attendance on and successful completion of the Postgraduate Certificate in Research Practice.
All applicants will receive the same stipend irrespective of fee status.
Application Closing Date:
Midday (UK Time) on Wednesday 17th September 2025 for a start date of 2nd February 2026.
How to Apply
To apply, please follow the below steps:
- Complete the BCU Online Application Form.
- Complete the Doctoral Studentship Proposal Form in full, ensuring that you quote the project ID. You will be required to upload your proposal in place of a personal statement on the BCU online application form.
- Upload two references to your online application form (at least one of which must be an academic reference).
- Upload your qualification(s) for entry onto the research degree programme. This will be Bachelor/Master’s certificate(s) and transcript(s).
- International applicants must also provide a valid English language qualification. Please see the list of English language qualifications accepted here. Please check the individual research degree course page for the required scores.
Frequently Asked Questions
To help support you to complete your application, please consult the frequently asked questions below:
Project title: Designing Adaptive Multisensory Environments for Inclusive Learning and Therapy with Disabled Children
Project Lead: Dr Beatrice Vincenzi
Project ID: 27 - 45203878
Project description:
Immersive multisensory environments (IMEs) have gained increasing attention in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and education research for their potential to support learning through embodied, affective, and sensory-rich experiences. These environments allow users to interact beyond traditional input methods, engaging the whole body through light, sound, projection, and touch.
While promising, current research offers limited insights into how IMEs can be meaningfully adapted to the specific needs of children with neurodevelopmental disabilities. Traditional educational settings often fail to accommodate the sensory, cognitive, and emotional diversity of these children, resulting in frustration and disengagement. There is growing recognition of the need for technology that reflect how disabled children perceive, interact with, and make sense of the world. Research has shown that IMEs can enhance attention, emotional regulation, and engagement. However, most studies focus on general benefits rather than examining real-time adaptivity. Few explore how IMEs might draw on physiological and behavioural signals—such as heart rate, stress, gaze, or movement—to inform adaptive pedagogical strategies.
This PGR project investigates how adaptive multisensory immersive environments can support inclusive education and therapeutic practices for children with developmental disabilities. The research will explore the co-design and evaluation of sensor-enabled spaces that adapt in real time to children’s diverse sensory, ability and emotional needs through physiological signals such as heart rate or movement data.
The project adopts a participatory, soma-based design approach that foregrounds the bodily, sensory, and affective experiences of children with neurodevelopmental disabilities. However, while participatory methods are increasingly used in educational technology, more frameworks are needed that recognize children as active designers and meaning-makers in their own learning environments. Participatory methods ask how such children can be meaningfully included as active agents in shaping the technologies and environments they engage with—not only as users, but as co-designers of their own learning and therapeutic contexts. This involves developing and evaluating embodied methods of participation that go beyond verbal or cognitive modes, drawing on movement-based, creative, and sensory expression.
The research will use a mixed-method design combining:
- Qualitative approaches (e.g., observations, co-design workshops)
- Quantitative data collection (e.g., sensor-based tracking of physiological states) to explore how children’s embodied interactions can inform responsive design.
- his project aligns with the School’s thematic areas of Digital Health (through its focus on sensor-based wellbeing and therapeutic support), Creative Technology (through the development of immersive and interactive systems), and Smart, Sustainable & Green Cities (by contributing to accessible, inclusive educational environments).
Anticipated findings and contributions to knowledge:
The project is expected to make original contributions in three main areas:
- Design Methods: Advancing participatory and soma-based approaches for involving children with developmental disabilities as co-designers of digital environments.
- Inclusive Technology: Developing adaptive, sensor-enabled systems that respond to children’s physiological and behavioural states, contributing to the emerging field of real-time responsive environments.
- Education and Therapy: Offering new insights into how immersive technologies can support not only inclusive learning but also therapeutic engagement and emotional regulation.
Together, these outcomes will inform the design of accessible and inclusive multisensory environments, frameworks for inclusive design practice, and pedagogical strategies for working with disabled children in educational and clinical settings.
Person Specification:
Entry Requirements:
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To apply for our Computing PhD Research Degree you should have, or expect to be awarded, a Master’s degree in a relevant subject area from a British or overseas university.
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Exceptional candidates without a Master’s degree, but holding a first class or upper second class Bachelor’s degree in a relevant subject area, may be considered.
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We also welcome enquiries from potential PhD researchers with appropriate levels of professional experience.
Essential Criteria:
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Strong understanding of human-centred design, inclusive design, accessibility, and interaction design methods.
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Experience with prototyping and/or sensory/tangible computing (e.g., Arduino, and raspberry Pi) particularly in relation to interactive systems or digital experiences.
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Demonstrated competence with qualitative and quantitative research methods, especially in HCI or applied user research contexts.
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Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to engage clearly with both academic and non-academic stakeholders.
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Ability to collaborate across disciplines and engage respectfully with diverse and potentially vulnerable populations.
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A demonstrated commitment to inclusive, ethical research practices and interest in the role of technology in supporting learning, therapy, creativity, and community.
Desirable Criteria:
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Experience conducting participatory design, co-creation, soma design or community-based research.
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Familiarity with accessibility guidelines and inclusive design frameworks.
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Practical skills in interactive prototyping tools (e.g., Figma) and/or tangible sensors/actuators, and creative coding environments with a strong interest in design.
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An understanding of intersectional design approaches, particularly those engaging with issues of disability, and wellbeing.
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Experience designing or researching multisensory experiences, creative tech, or digital platforms for social impact.
The ideal candidate will demonstrate initiative, interdisciplinary curiosity, and an empathetic, critical lens on how technologies can support everyday lived experience.
Overseas applicants:
International applicants must also provide a valid English language qualification, such as International English Language Test System (IELTS) or equivalent with an overall score of 6.5 with no band below 6.0.
Contact:
If you have any questions or need further information, please use the contact details below:
- For enquiries about the funding or project proposal, please contact: beatrice.vincenzi@bcu.ac.uk
- For enquiries about the application process, please contact:research.admissions@bcu.ac.uk