Computer Science: Fully Funded PhD Scholarship in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Informatics, Computer Science

PhD position: 

We are seeking a highly motivated person for a fully funded PhD position to work in the development of sociotechnical interventions with and for Armed Forces Veterans (AFV). The key intersecting areas in the project will be stigma, trust, and use of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) methodologies and approaches as well as use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) concepts to design personalized technology for social support. The PhD candidate would be part of the Human-Centred Computing Research Group FIT Lab at the state of the art Computational Foundry.   

Project description: 

It is still difficult for Armed Forces Veterans (AFV) in the UK to find and access key resources for their well-being such as mental health, addiction treatment, legal services or housing. The main barriers are that public services are scattered and communicated via a myriad of websites, social media, and in-person social events. Furthermore, AFV do not seek resources due to the stigma associated with having to ask for help after a transition to civilian life. AFV do not trust civilian-based services either due to a perception of a lack of understanding of their particular needs.

Most mHealth apps for AFV have focused on treating mental health and rely on nation-wide government-based systems. There is scant research that investigates how customized technology could be built upon and leverage what AFV have already in place in their local communities for exchange of information, resources, and peer support. Thus, this research project investigates the co-creation of technological interventions (very likely to be AI-powered) that would leverage the resources and assets already available in the AFV’s local community. These socio-technical human-centred interventions would also facilitate the process of finding local trusted resources and liaisons who could connect users with available resources.

Funding Details

Funding Comment

This scholarship covers the full cost of tuition fees and an annual stipend at UKRI rate (currently £19,237 for 2024/25).

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