PhD Studentship: Funded Vice Chancellors Scholarship in Inclusive Engineering; Assessing Extended Reality Tools and Digital Technologies for Accessible, Inclusive, Experiential, and Flexible Training

Engineering is potentially the most important career in the world, influencing the lives of billions of people worldwide due to the enormous range of tools, equipment and products designed or created by engineers. Tackling engineering skills shortages is the most important business imperative work on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) for the future of engineering identified by the Royal Academy of Engineering, with large gaps in graduates required by industry. With the Royal Academy of Engineering, Professional Engineering Institutions, Charities and Global Engineering Companies recognising these issues, many initiatives have begun to deliver greater recognition of challenges surrounding under-representation.

The Loughborough University Vice Chancellors Research Cluster in Inclusive Engineering led by Dr Elizabeth Ratcliffe aims to develop Future Leaders in Inclusive Engineering; where engineered products and services are accessible, inclusive and free from discrimination and bias for more ethical, sustainable, risk-free engineering.

The successful candidate will work within a team of doctoral researchers working on Inclusive Engineering projects that aim to deliver change in how we develop inclusive engineering products and services across a wide range of engineering disciplines and Higher Education. Working collaboratively with the industrial partners and wider networks developed through our Inclusive Engineering Excellence Hub that is funded by the Royal Academy of Engineering and gaining widespread recognition for its important work in this space.

This PhD project seeks to assess extended reality tools and digital technologies for accessible, inclusive, experiential, and flexible training products and services, such as evaluation of skills emphasising candidate potential, for levelling up training for, transition to, and thriving within industrial engineering settings. This exciting project will intersect with two high profile research projects, one funded by the Royal Academy of Engineering Diversity Impact Programme and led by Dr Ratcliffe to provide new equipment and new research spaces for assessing extended reality tools, and the £6M DigiLabs project funded by the Office for Students to embed extended reality tools across Loughborough University.

Applications are invited from prospective students with relevant experience to the projects or generally in the following areas:

• Engineering
• Computer Science
• Data Analytics
• Digital Technologies

Research proposals are welcome in which applicants could describe how they would initially approach the research; or how their relevant experience is applicable to the project.

Additional Funding Information

Tuition fees cover the cost of your teaching, assessment and operating University facilities such as the library, IT equipment and other support services. University fees and charges can be paid in advance and there are several methods of payment, including online payments and payment by instalment. Fees are reviewed annually and are likely to increase to take into account inflationary pressures.

The studentship is for 3 years full-time or 6 years part-time and provides a tax-free stipend of £19,237 per annum (full-time) for the duration of the studentship plus university tuition fees.

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