Ulster University, Ireland invites online Application for number of Fully Funded PhD Degree at various Departments. We are providing a list of Fully Funded PhD Programs available at Ulster University, Ireland.
Eligible candidate may Apply as soon as possible.
(01) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: A Biophilic design approach to UN SDG 3 and Trauma Informed Design.
This PhD will contrast the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal, 3 – Good Health and Wellbeing (UN SDG 3) with Biophilic, Trauma Informed Design (TID).
At this time of climate collapse, architecture has a role to play in designing Trauma Informed Environments with a three-fold purpose. To better understand and deliver TID environments which reflect UN SDG 3 ideals, evaluate how biophilia can support this delivery and understand how the phenomenology embodied consciousness supports healing.
Biophilic principles are not new or unique, however they have not been adequately investigated in direct relation to a holistic approach to TID concepts. Biophilic design, supports the notion that human health, wellbeing and phycological comfort can be supported through close contact with nature based environments. This point of view, acknowledges that humans evolved in correspondence with nature, that they are part of nature, and not separate from nature. As a consequence biophilic defined TID may initiate new perspectives on health and wellbeing.
Deadline : Monday 24 February 2025
(02) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: A digital twin for smart 3D printing/additive manufacturing
This project offers an exciting opportunity on developing a smart 3D printing/additive manufacturing technology through computer vision, machine learning and Digital Twin (DT). Digital twin implementation will provide a benefit such as real-time monitoring and controlling the 3D printing manufacturing process. The aim of this project is to apply computer vision for real-time defect monitoring and feature engineering, leveraging machine learning for real-time defect detection and process parameter optimisation, and controlling 3D printers in an optimised environment through Digital Twin (DT). Process-level DT will allow real-time monitoring of deposition process, temperature, humidity and vibrations. Based on the monitored data, the robust optimising algorithm will be proposed to optimise process parameters such as speed, nozzle temperature, and extrusion distance.
Deadline : Monday 24 February 2025
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(03) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: A Digital Twin-Driven Approach to Predictive Safety and Control Optimisation in Human-Robot Collaborative Manufacturing
This research proposes a novel digital twin-driven framework to enhance safety and optimise control in human-robot collaborative manufacturing. By integrating real-time data from multi-modal sensors with a high-fidelity digital twin of the workspace, the project aims to create a predictive, adaptive system that monitors and dynamically adjusts robot behaviour based on human interactions and environmental factors. This digital twin will serve as a virtual platform for real-time scenario analysis, predictive modelling, and testing, enabling the anticipation of safety risks and the refinement of cobot control strategies to improve both operational efficiency and workplace safety.
Deadline : Monday 24 February 2025
(04) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: A Ditigal Human-Asset Twin of Twins architecture for Buildings
In Built Environment, Digital Twins (DTs) research show how the digital imitation of buildings and infrastructures can be used to simulate performance, test operational scenarios and remotely control the physical asset across its life cycle. As a cyber-physical system, DTs link the digital representation of a physical asset with at least one-way flow of right-time data to the physical twin. The DTs powerful link between the physical and the digital models requires the use of advanced digital and computitional technologies.
This proposal aims to develop a Ditigal Twin architecture for Educational Buildings which integrates the primary educational processes and built assets. The focus will be on how to use DTs for process control and automated decision-making.
Deadline : Monday 24 February 2025
(05) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: A One Health approach to vitamin D biofortification in pork
The PhD project addresses public health challenges related to vitamin D deficiency through novel biofortification processes with a strong focus on animal welfare. Biofortification, the process of enhancing food nutritional content through agronomic methods, offers a natural solution to nutrient deficiencies in populations.
Vitamin D is important for bone health and the immune system, yet many populations don’t have sufficient levels in their diets. Our prior research has demonstrated that vitamin D levels in pork can be increased through novel biofortification methods, such as UVB irradiation of swine. Research to date has demonstrated that increasing vitamin D status of livestock may improve bone strength and immunity; therefore, it is essential to investigate how UVB irradiation of swine impacts animal welfare.
Deadline : Monday 24 February 2025
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(06) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Adaptive Smart Retrofitting for Historical Buildings: Innovative Integration of Sustainable Wall Technologies with Energy AI-based feedback system
Historical buildings are the essence of a community, embodying visual, cultural, and social elements that shape a unique identity and sense of place. They bridge the past and present, contributing to the environmental and cultural richness of a community. Preserving built heritage aligns with sustainability goals and addresses climate change impacts, yet challenges arise in retrofitting these structures due to their vulnerability to climate change and complex technical considerations.
Retrofitting historical buildings presents multifaceted challenges. Misguided efforts risk compromising heritage values, creating cultural disconnection. Technical challenges arise from unique construction, with traditional materials posing compatibility issues. Moisture management and the ‘rebound effect’ add complexity, exacerbated by a limited understanding of traditional wall structures.
Deadline : Monday 24 February 2025
(07) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: An examination of the role of digitalisation in credit unions in Ireland.
Advances in financial technology (Fintech) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) have resulted in a range of products designed to improve financial services to customers. Research has and is examining the impact of this innovation on for-profit financial institutions and their stakeholders. However, few studies have investigated the impact of digital innovation on non-profit financial institutions, such as credit unions. Yet these financial institutions, which have both social and economic objectives, are of increasing importance within local communities due to the withdrawal of physical bank branches, their financial outreach role during COVID-19 and the commitment by government to SDG 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere.
Deadline : Monday 24 February 2025
(08) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: An exploration of knowledge, attitudes and experience of palliative care among refugees living in the United Kingdom
Refugees often face discrimination, poor access to healthcare and increased risks of health inequalities when living in a new country. This research study will explore the knowledge and attitudes of refugees towards palliative care and healthcare professionals perceptions of their needs. Data will be collected through interviews with refugees and a national survey with healthcare professionals. Where available and necessary, interpreters will provide translation to support communication. This study will examine and make recommendations in relation to palliative care needs of refugees living in the UK.
Deadline : Monday 3 February 2025
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(09) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: An exploration of psychosocial related quality of life in Cystic Fibrosis (CF), and the impact of mental health outcomes
There is a research gap in understanding the mental health of individuals with the long term health condition Cystic Fibrosis (CF). Research has indicated that mental health concerns like depression and anxiety are common among people with CF (PWCF), emerging in childhood, and if untreated can have a negative impact on both physical and mental outcomes including lung function, pulmonary exacerbations, BMI and health related quality of life (Bathgate, Hjelm, Filigno, Smith & Georgiopoulous, 2022). Symptoms of depression such as loss of appetite, fatigue, and insomnia, can overlap with CF related symptoms, ensuing further negative health implications. In CF, the prevalence of depression ranges from 29% among children and adolescents, 33% among adults, anxiety in adults has ranged from 30% to 33% (Smith, Modi, Quittner & Wood, 2010; Latchford & Duff, 2013). Research has indicated that care pathways and provision of high-quality care for depression/anxiety should be in place prior to implementation of a screening programme (Quittner et al., 2016). However, psychoeducation resources remain lacking.
Deadline : Monday 3 February 2025
(10) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: An integrated geological characterization of the Irish continental shelf: implications for offshore marine resources and renewable energy
As nations around the world seek to harness offshore renewable energy, the development of the continental shelf has accelerated significantly. One of the biggest challenges for any kind of offshore development is the lack of suitable data and ensuing geological/geotechnical models of the seabed and sub-seabed.
These data are needed to assess the feasibility of offshore wind energy development, especially in relation to the possible need for (costly) anchoring or mooring systems. Ireland already has a wealth of offshore datasets, from bathymetric data to 2D and 3D seismic data, sediment cores and wells, that can be used to provide a large scale and integrated assessment of environmental conditions at the seabed, underlying sediments and bedrock. At the same time, the Irish continental shelf is a complex tapestry of exposed and buried bedrock types, glacial and glaciomarine deposits and landforms, and modern sediment transport.
This project will carry out an integrated geological investigation of the Irish continental shelf to develop a better understanding the complex interplay of geology and sedimentology in the region and possible implication for offshore wind deployment, but also use and protection of marine resources and landscapes. This research can provide much needed models for a sustainable, national marine energy development strategy.
Deadline : Monday 3 February 2025
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(11) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: An investigation of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in a high fish-eating population and its association with reproductive health
Exposure to EDCs have significantly increased in recent years and may pose health risks when consumed as part of the diet. EDCs are ubiquitous and contact with these chemicals can occur through air, diet, skin and water. EDCs are a growing concern in both ocean and freshwater environments and due to their persistent nature, they can bioaccumulate in fish tissues. Therefore, populations with a high fish intake may have increased exposure to these compounds and as a result may experience disruption to normal hormone function leading to metabolic, developmental, and reproductive health issues.
Fish provides at least 20% of the total protein intake in a third of the world’s population (Mohanty et al,2019). Developing countries such as Seychelles are highly dependent on fish as their primary protein source in the diet. The importance of fish in a healthy diet cannot be understated, providing a rich source of protein, omega (ω)-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), vitamin D, iodine, selenium, zinc, magnesium and calcium (Simopoulos et al, 2002, Mohanty et al,2019). Understanding how fish consumption relates to the exposure of EDCs and its potential effects on health is of great public health concern; especially for high fish-eating populations such as Seychelles.
Deadline : Monday 24 February 2025
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(12) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: An investigation of the bioactivity of sea kelp protein hydrolysates and their potential for metabolic disease management
There is growing interest in the value of seaweeds such as sea kelp as products with important chemical (e.g., iodine) and nutritional potential. A broad understanding exits that seaweed is ‘good for you’ but assumptions need to be backed up by more rigorous scientific evidence. Well-designed studies which demonstrate nutritional and/or health benefits of seaweeds are rare (Brown et al., 2014). Kelp cannot be definitively profiled in terms of mineral, nutritional and chemical content, as it reflects environmental conditions and the season it is harvested in. For example, protein levels in kelp have been reported to vary widely from 2.7% to 14%. Seaweeds are generally dried raw, and usually ground. Kelp that is cooked/steamed, such as Islander Kelp products harvested off the Rathlin island coast, lose some nutritional content for example iodine (Allsopp 2018). Ultimately, determining protocols for the selection of kelp by season, and then the processing method, is required to increase the nutritional value of kelp, and help identify new applications.
Deadline : Monday 24 February 2025
(13) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: An investigation of the health impact of selenium across the lifespan – from pregnancy to older adulthood
This PhD project will explore the important role of selenium, a trace mineral that supports a range of health functions, from thyroid hormone production and DNA synthesis to fertility, brain function, and heart health. Selenium is found in foods like fish, which also contain mercury, a neurotoxin. Selenium has been shown to counteract some of the harmful effects of mercury through antioxidant mechanisms but by binding to mercury, selenium availability is also reduced, potentially leading to selenium deficiency and subsequent health risks.
This project will investigate the health effects of selenium across the lifespan, and the interaction with mercury and what that means for our health. Key findings from the Seychelles Child Development Study, which examines prenatal mercury exposure in a high-fish eating population, shows that the benefits of nutrients in fish may outweigh risks from mercury. However, the balance between selenium and mercury is complex and not fully understood, particularly across the lifespan.
The primary aim of this research is to investigate how selenium affects health throughout life, including brain development in children, birth outcomes, asthma and allergy risk, and cardiovascular health. A secondary aim will be on the selenium-mercury interaction, focusing on antioxidant and immune pathways and implications for health.
Deadline : Monday 24 February 2025
(14) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Animation in Ireland
Irish animation is currently experiencing a renaissance, evidenced by a series of Oscar-nominated and winning films from Cartoon Saloon, such as The Secret of Kells (2009), Song of the Sea (2014), The Breadwinner (2017), and Wolfwalkers (2021)—as well as acclaimed animated shorts like Quest (1996) and Late Afternoon (2018). Despite this, academic research on Irish animation remains sparse.
Tracing its roots back to 1910 with pioneering works like James Horgan’s Clock Tower, Irish animation has evolved significantly. The period between the 1950s and 1980s saw a surge in advertising and educational animation, which was further revolutionized in the 1980s and 1990s by Bluth Studio’s introduction of advanced technology and a commercial industry model. Since 2000, Irish animation has struck a balance between artistic expression and commercial success. It is rooted in Irish literature and heritage, serving as a medium for expressing national identity and collective memory, and has emerged as a vital form of national cinema. The industry’s expansion is supported by a host of studios across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, contributing to the distinctive characteristics and aesthetics that define Irish animation.
Deadline : Monday 24 February 2025
(15) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Applying Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence to Identify and Measure the Social Impact of Youth Services on Children and Young People in Northern Ireland
This PhD project, a collaboration between Ulster University and the Education Authority (EA), aims to transform youth service delivery in Northern Ireland by harnessing advanced data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI). The research will assess youth service needs, capacity, and provisioning while generating actionable insights to guide responsive, targeted programming for children and young people.
The project will integrate diverse datasets provided by the EA, including service locations, attendance, demographics, deprivation, and programme details. By harmonising and analysing these datasets, the research will identify service gaps, evolving programme needs, and barriers faced by users. A focus on addressing bias in algorithmic profiling will ensure fair, equitable data-driven decision-making that supports inclusive programme targeting for all demographics.
Deadline : Monday 24 February 2025
(16) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Are plant-based flavonoid metabolites the key to better cognitive health?
Globally, populations are ageing, and concomitant with this is an increase in the healthcare burden of cognitive dysfunction and dementia including Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The lack of effective treatments to reverse or ameliorate cognitive dysfunction necessitates development of strategies for healthy, cognitive ageing including the identification of the biological mechanisms by which dietary interventions may slow/prevent cognitive decline. The Mediterranean diet, rich in polyphenols, may prevent or delay the onset of cognitive dysfunction in older populations, preserving healthy brain structure and function and lowering risk of AD. These effects, mediated in part by gut microbiome derived polyphenol metabolites, highlight the role alterations in the brain-gut microbiome system play in neurodegeneration.
Deadline : Monday 24 February 2025
(17) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Arm-based Wearable Sensing Techniques for Diagnostic Methods in Long-term Monitoring of ECG and ICG of Heart Failure and Atrial Fibrillation.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) and heart failure (HF) are often manifest as coexistent conditions increasingly recognised as global cardiovascular epidemics over the last decade and expected to increase in prevalence over the coming years. Cardiac rhythm monitoring is important for the early diagnosis of these cardiac conditions. Furthermore, non-invasive, long-term cardiac output (CO) and left-ventricular ejection time (LVET) measurements from impedance cardiography (ICG) signal recording is currently not available. An implantable-loop-recorder (ILR) would accurately monitor cardiac rhythm for extended periods, but they cannot monitor CO; additionally, they require a surgical procedure. The simultaneous integration of long-term non-invasive ECG and ICG signal recordings and real-time arrhythmia detection, would be a significant advance on current cardiac diagnostic methodologies and enabling technologies. A wearable cardiac monitoring armband device would offer advantages for long-term continuous recordings of cardiac vital signals (ECG and ICG): no adhesives, no irritating electrode gels, no connecting cables and comfortable to wear. Thus, automatic ECG-based detection/classification of AF in addition to ICG sensing from the arm location will be evaluated as non-conventional alternative methods. Reproducibility agreement assessed against conventional sensing methods on the chest. A clinical knowledge database from patient armband ECG and ICG recordings gathered from the Craigavon Area Hospital (Northern Ireland) will be made available, allowing production of linear regression models to predict conventional (chest based sensors) ICG hemodynamic measurements.
Deadline : Monday 24 February 2025
(18) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Assessing Effect of Greenhouse Gases Emission Reduction with Variable Renewable Energy Implementation in Marine Climate Islands
The UK has set a Net Zero target by 2050, which means no longer adding to the total amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The two main greenhouse gases (GHGs) are carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4). Integrating renewable energy for energy supply will be a key solution, especially to find an optimized solution with renewable energy (RE) implementation for power generation to replace fossil fuels.
The effects of reducing greenhouse gases through the implementation of renewable energy sources are complicated and influenced by multiple factors, including geographical area, availability and intermittency of renewable energy sources, peatland CO2 release, local economy, and policies, etc. It is essential to study the reduction of CO2 & CH4 with different renewable energy installations as a comprehensive task and also worth exploring the effects of individual factors.
Deadline : Monday 24 February 2025
(19) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Balancing user needs and technology adoption for healthy ageing
A range of health impairments is more common in the ageing population, which imbalances their health and well-being. As a result, strategies that promote better brain health and well-being in older age are an urgent public health priority. Assistive technologies have been identified as a potential solution for the provision of elderly care. The stay of these older adults at home can be prolonged and made comfortable with the aid of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based assistive technologies and remote monitoring. Such technologies, in general, can enhance the quality of life and fill in the gap between caregiving and healthy ageing. However, the potential of these technologies is yet to be utilised by the ageing population due to a lack of acceptance, usability, and trust.
Deadline : Monday 24 February 2025
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(20) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Behaviour Modelling in Digital Twins for the Identification of Mental Health Issues
Mental health of students in Higher Education have become an increasingly important topic and is of high priority for HE institutions. In the UK, it has been reported that mental health problems among university students have almost tripled in recent years. Between the 2016/17 and 2022/23 academic years, the proportion of undergraduate students at universities across the UK who reported to have experienced mental health difficulties rose from 6% to 16% (TASO2023).
Digital Twin technology, with their real-time and efficient data collection, integration and processing capabilities, precise analytical and predictive abilities, coupled with reliable decision-making support functions, have the potential to provide new perspectives for understanding and supporting the management of mental health challenges for students in HE settings. There is limited work in the literature on using digital twins within mental health, especially on the use of large-scale data to support the development and the evaluation of the proposed solutions.
Deadline : Monday 24 February 2025
(21) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Bioactive glass encapsulation for the localised delivery of chemotherapeutic agents for treatment of osteosarcoma
Osteosarcoma is the most common primary bone cancer in children and young adults, often requiring aggressive chemotherapy coupled with surgical intervention. Osteosarcoma presents significant treatment challenges, as conventional chemotherapy can lead to severe side effects and does not always effectively target tumour cells.
Current treatments for osteosarcoma often include a combination of surgery, chemotherapy, and in some cases, targeted therapies. However, systemic chemotherapy can lead to significant adverse effects and limited tumour targeting. Bioactive glasses are clinically used for repairing small bone defects however these materials have no innate chemotherapeutic properties. Furthermore, due to the high temperatures used during the manufacturing process it is not possible to incorporate organic antimicrobial agents during the preparation of the glasses.
Deadline : Monday 24 February 2025
(22) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Blockchain and AI-Enabled Traceability for Sustainable Supply Chains
This PhD project aims to revolutionize sustainable supply chain management by integrating blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance transparency, traceability, and accountability. In complex, multi-stakeholder supply chains, it is often difficult to verify the origin, environmental impact, and ethical standards of products. Blockchain provides an immutable, decentralised record of each stage in the supply chain, from raw material sourcing to delivery, while AI analyzes this data to predict and verify sustainability metrics, such as carbon footprint, energy use, and waste generation.
Despite the potential of these technologies, implementing them at scale involves key challenges. Supply chain data often exists in disparate systems, making integration complex; there is a need for standardised metrics to ensure data accuracy, and processing data in real time requires robust AI-driven solutions. This project will develop an interoperable blockchain framework to unify supply chain data, employ AI algorithms for accurate sustainability tracking, and deliver real-time insights that support proactive decision-making.
Deadline : Monday 24 February 2025
(23) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Bridging the Gender Finance Gap: Exploring Female Entrepreneurs’ Participation in Crowdfunding in the UK and Ireland
The number of women engaging in entrepreneurial activities has risen substantially in recent years. Female entrepreneurs now play a critical role in driving economic growth and development across many countries, including the United Kingdom and Ireland (GEM, 2023). However, this growth in female entrepreneurship has not been matched by a corresponding increase in access to finance. Extensive research indicates that female entrepreneurs continue to face significant gender-specific barriers to securing funding necessary for growth (Brush et al., 2017; Coleman and Robb, 2011; Cowling et al., 2020; Kwapisz and Hechavarria, 2018; Naegels et al., 2018).
Technological advancements in recent years have led to the emergence of new forms of entrepreneurial finance, with crowdfunding being a key example. While various models exist – donation-based, reward-based, lending-based and equity-based – crowdfunding in essence, enables entrepreneurs to raise funds from a large number of individuals, typically through an online platform (Mollick, 2014). It simplifies interactions between entrepreneurs and funders by shifting funding decisions from a small, homogenous group of experts to a broad, diverse pool of potential contributors (Seerwah, 2022). Consequently, crowdfunding has the potential to promote gender equality in finance by reducing the barriers and biases that female entrepreneurs often face when seeking traditional sources of funding.
Deadline : Monday 24 February 2025
(24) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Brief Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)-based interventions for depression: An evaluation of AWARE’s ‘Mood Matters’ and ‘Live Life to the Full’ programmes.
The extent to which the citizens of Northern Ireland experience challenges with mental ill-health has been well documented. Recent evidence from Northern Ireland’s first ever prevalence study of mental health and wellbeing in children, young people and parents – the 2020 Youth Wellbeing Study – revealed that one-in-ten children and young people experience anxiety or depression, which is approximately 25% higher when compared to other UK nations [1]. Approximately one-in-five (22%) parents interviewed in the same study were experiencing a current mental health problem, which is broadly consistent with estimates reported from previous studies involving adults conducted here [2].
Deadline : Monday 3 February 2025
(25) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Carbon fluxes in the uplands and implications for national inventories
Northern Ireland peatlands, and upland peats in particular, are currently devalued in terms of carbon due to the broad default emissions factors that are applied across these environments (Evans et al., 2023). Full carbon budgets from gaseous and fluvial pathways are not common at national/regional scale (Tier 3) (Koehler et al., 2010). The research aim is to investigate the validity of these default values through primary data collection.
The objectives for the proposed 4-year PhD research will combine applied and process-based research. Inventories of gaseous and fluvial carbon will be important for emissions factor development, as well as understanding of these processes in Northern Ireland uplands. Three objectives are therefore to:
- Build a gaseous and fluvial carbon inventory for upland peat environments in Northern Ireland
- Investigate meteorological and environmental controls on gaseous and fluvial carbon exchange processes in Northern Ireland peatlands
- Scale the findings to a Northern Ireland upland peat emissions factor and provide a roadmap for policy and management
Deadline : Monday 3 February 2025
(26) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Cell-to-cell communication in Neurodegenerative Disorders
Age-associated neurodegenerative diseases, including dementias, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Frontotemporal dementia (FTD), and clinically overlapping conditions such as Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), are increasing, in line with the aging worldwide population (1).
Some 982,000 individuals are living with dementia in the UK; 13,625 in Northern Ireland (2). The estimated economic impact in the UK is £42.5 billion, with projections of £90 billion by 2040 (3). ALS has a worldwide prevalence of 3.37 per 100,000 (4) and incidence and prevalence are increasing in Northern Ireland, in line with other European countries (5). Given the significant personal and societal burden of neurodegenerative conditions, research to improve understanding and identify novel therapeutic targets is urgently needed.
Deadline : Monday 3 February 2025
(27) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Challenging Health Outcomes – Integrated Community Environments (CHOICE): social prescribing for people living with severe mental illness
Severe mental illness (SMI) is an umbrella term commonly describing conditions such as schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorders, bipolar disorder. An extended definition includes people living with a major depressive disorder or personality disorder. Importantly, SMI denotes a chronic condition with profoundly negative health and social impacts. Thus, people with severe mental illness (SMI) die prematurely, as much as 25 years younger than the general population, due to modifiable medical risk factor and high rates of physical multimorbidity are well-documented
The CHOICE project was funded (£1.8 million) by the UK Arts & Humanities Research Council in 2024. The project involves several connected research strands that have been designed to understand if a social prescribing project for people with severe mental illness can help reduce the social isolation that they experience . To assist us in this major 3-year project, we seek a doctoral student who will undertake additional research on (1) participants’ motivations to join activities; (2) their preferences for different activities; and (3) how participants use an internet platform designed by CHOICE to promote social inclusion. In addition to novel research findings about social inclusion and change in this population, the student’s work will contribute to the design of a phone-based app for improving social inclusion of vulnerable groups.
Deadline : Monday 3 February 2025
(28) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Characterization of carbon fibre reinforced 3D printed polymer composites fabricated using additive manufacturing technique
This PhD project aims to develop and investigate high-performance polymer composites reinforced with continuous carbon fibers fabricated using additive manufacturing tecnique. These materials are increasingly sought after in industries such as aerospace, automotive, and renewable energy due to their high strength-to-weight ratios, corrosion resistance, and exceptional tensile strength. The project will focus on characterizing and optimizing these composites to better understand their mechanical properties and failure mechanisms under diverse loading and environmental conditions, with a particular emphasis on the effects of annealing temperatures.
This research will provide a comprehensive understanding of how annealing affects mechanical properties, such as fracture toughness and impact resistance. The study is expected to identify the optimal fibre content for maximum toughness and energy absorption, leading to advancements in the field of high-performance composite materials. Additionally, validated predictive models developed through this project will accelerate the design process for future composite materials.
Deadline : Monday 24 February 2025
(29) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Childcare Provision in Northern Ireland: Exploring the Mental Health Impact for Families and Providers
Childcare costs are a significant concern for families across the UK, with unique challenges faced by parents and providers in Northern Ireland (NI) (Curristan et al., 2023). A recent position paper highlighted for many families living in NI, there remains insufficient access to appropriate childcare and early years support, and the cost is too high (Equality Commissions for NI., 2024). In NI, the average cost of a full-time childcare place is approximately £10,036 per year (Childcare Survey NI, 2023). The average spend on childcare for families in NI is £9,360 per year, rising to £14,148 per year for families with one or more children under 5 who use formal childcare only (Childcare Survey NI, 2023).
Research indicates that rising childcare costs have far reaching impacts, affecting, parental employment decisions, financial stability, and overall well-being (Glass, Simon, & Andersson, 2016), while childcare providers contend with issues such as sustainability, staff retention and challenges around limited funding (Equality Commissions., 2024; Hart et al., 2023).
Deadline : Monday 3 February 2025
(30) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Co-production of a pharmacy-delivered very brief intervention to address physical activity, sedentary behaviour and other lifestyle behaviours
The project aims to develop and co-produce a pharmacy-delivered VBI related to physical activity, sedentary behaviour and other lifestyle behaviours. Objectives are to:
- To explore the use and implementation of VBIs to promote healthy lifestyle behaviours in healthcare settings by conducting a comprehensive literature review.
- To co-produce a VBI intervention, along with a theory of change, in relation to promoting physical activity, sedentary behaviour and other lifestyle behaviours with community / GP pharmacists and managers.
- To pilot the co-produced VBI intervention in relation to promoting physical activity, sedentary behaviour and other lifestyle behaviours in community / GP pharmacy, to evaluate the effectiveness and implementation factors at individual, interpersonal, organisational and systems levels.
Deadline : Monday 24 February 2025
(31) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Coastal sediment dynamics on the North Coast of Northern Ireland at decadal to centennial time scale.
The PhD work will contribute to better understand the long-term drivers of coastal change on a largely heterogeneous coastal landscape ranging from several geological and geomorphological features, diverse hydrodynamics forcing and a certain degree of human intervention. The project will also define the sediment interactions within adjacent coastal sectors and help to delineate the coastal sediment circulation on a local scale. The knowledge produced at the end of this project will largely benefits local and international coastal policy plans together with fundamental scientific progresses in coastal geomorphology and processing techniques of remote sensed data.
Deadline : Monday 3 February 2025
(32) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Cognitive analytics of multiple long-term conditions in Northern Ireland and India
Multiple long-term conditions (MLTC) also referred as multimorbidity means when a person has more than one chronic disease1. MLTC has emerged as a major global public health issue due to its associated adverse health outcome e.g., disability, poor quality of life, mortality, and increased health expenditure2,3. Older people (>40 years) are more likely to develop MLTC1,2. Gaps in the global datasets on MLTC exist which hinder in advancing applied health research in this field. Shukla Lab at the Personalised Medicine Centre (PMC), School of Medicine, Ulster University, has developed a Multi-Morbidity analysis Pipeline (MulMorPip) which discovered and characterised five MLTC endotypes (sub-types) in the UK Biobank4. UK Biobank is a rich repository of clinical and healthcare data of approx. 500,000 UK participants from England, Scotland, and Wales, but unfortunately none from Northern Ireland. PMC’s internal database of Northern Ireland participants has data on MLTC, and other clinical variables. Our collaborator from KEM Hospital Research Centre India manage a Health and Demographic Surveillance Systems (HDSS) which collects data on demography, disease burden, reported morbidity status, genomics and transcriptomics. We want to find out if MLTC endotypes we discovered in UK Biobank exist in Northern Ireland and India, and if they are different due to different ethnicity. Deploying MulMorPip will help in establishing and characterising sub-types of MLTC across these countries. We will then investigate disease trajectories in terms of their sequence and time of occurrence in each of these MLTC sub-types, which when revealed will help in developing personalised treatment pathways and early interventions to prevent further consequences of MLTC. This PhD project builds on a Global Challenge Research Fund (GCRF) Networking grant awarded by the Academy of Medical Sciences UK in 20235 and the UK Biobank study led by Dr Shukla6.
Deadline : Monday 3 February 2025
(33) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Collaborative Robotics for Product Handling
DuPont manufactures materials with world famous household names such as Lycra, Nylon, Kevlar, Teflon and Neoprene. The DuPont site in Maydown employs over 200 people and is a world leader in the production of Kevlar. In particular, they manufacture DuPont™ Kevlar® Aramid Pulp which helps enhance performance through high temperature reinforcement and viscosity control. However, the manufacturing process comes with a number of difficulties. The primary issue is that heavy machinery used for manufacturing, such as rotating machinery, can result in ergonomics issues. This is a significant risk that DuPont wish to reduce or eliminate via the development of a vision-based product handling robotic system. The secondary issue is the productivity costs resulting from time consuming and repetitive tasks.
Deadline : Monday 24 February 2025
(34) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Collective choice by referendums and elections
se of referendums has increased significantly over the last quarter of a century. It is argued that referendums enable direct democracy since ordinary citizens directly decide policy issues without intermediating politicians. Yet, modern referendums do not supplant representative democracy, they only supplement it.
Research questions:
- Who to include in the “people” whose preferences are counted, which relates to suffrage rights and voter competence.
- The role of political parties and whether referendums are dominated by elites and special interests or taken over by populist groups.
- The presence or absence of popular deliberation in the referendum process, and whether voters focus on the referendum issue, or treat the referendum as an opportunity to register their concerns about other issues.
- The suitability of majoritarian referendums in divided societies and other options including vetoes, power-sharing arrangements, and judicial review.
- The conduct of referendums including framing the question and campaign finance.
- The ‘demand’ and ‘supply’ factors that explain the recent growth of calling referendums.
Deadline : Monday 24 February 2025
About Ulster University, Ireland – Official Website
Ulster University (Irish: Ollscoil Uladh;Ulster Scots: Ulstèr Universitie or Ulstèr Varsitie), legally the University of Ulster, is a multi-campus public research university located in Northern Ireland. It is often referred to informally and unofficially as Ulster, or by the abbreviation UU. It is the largest university in Northern Ireland and the second-largest university on the island of Ireland, after the federal National University of Ireland.
Established in 1865 as Magee College, the college took its modern form in 1984 after the merger of the New University of Ulster established in 1968, and Ulster Polytechnic, incorporating its four Northern Irish campuses under the University of Ulster banner. The university incorporated its four campuses in 1984; located in Belfast, Coleraine, Derry (Magee College), and Jordanstown. The university has branch campuses in both London and Birmingham, and an extensive distance learning provision. The university rebranded as Ulster University in October 2014, including a revised visual identity, though its legal name remained unchanged.
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