Fully Funded Doctoral Landscape Award: NetZero Futures

Funding providers: EPSRC and Royal College of Art

Project Description:

Our NetZero Futures (NZF) Doctoral Landscape Award is a Fully funded EPSRC scholarship with RCA. The strategic vision of NZF brings together RCA wide Art and Design research within three core areas of research competence at the RCA - Circular Economy, Ecological Digital Citizens, and Robotics and AI which align with the EPSRC Discovery priority of ‘Digital Futures’, and the Mission-Inspired priorities of ‘engineering net zero’, and ‘artificial intelligence’.

This vision is located within RCA’s strategic research priorities of Climate Crisis and the Circular Economy, and Design & AI, as well as the priority to enhance our doctoral research culture by attracting PhD candidates in fields directly aligned to RCA’s strategic research priorities.

RCA has a track record of STEAM teaching and research - where it hosts a mixed economy of staff and doctoral researchers who have backgrounds in art, design, and STEM disciplines, particularly engineering, and of using design-led approaches to bring new insights and human-centred solutions to the major challenges of the 21st century. It is in this culture that we will locate our doctoral landscape candidates. The award will cover the following research themes:

Circular Economy - The Materials Science Research Centre (MSRC) in RCA is leading one of the UKRI National Interdisciplinary Circular Economy programme (NICER) centres - the Textiles Circularity Centre (TCC). TCC’s research has revealed that for people to adopt sustainability practices, the means to enact them must be embedded in our culture. TCC has therefore focused on designing the means for people (consumers, businesses, NGOS, local govt) to practice circular economy in place-based settings.

Ecological Digital Citizenship - Ecological Citizens (EC) is a Network+ funded by EPSRC, defining, exploring and enacting Ecological Citizenship for a Sustainable Digital Society, funded until January 2027. The project explores tools, technologies and means to mobilise ‘ecological citizens’ through accessible technology and community projects, to enable a sustainable digital society.

Robotics and AI - The RCA Robotics Laboratory was established to deliver the Royal College of Art’s vision for design-led robotics and AI. It leads the Circular Robot 5.0: Industry-wide Data-Driven Circular Economy of Industrial Robots project, funded by EPSRC until October 2027

The RCA’s NetZero Futures (NZF) Doctoral Landscape Award will provide an effective, supportive and inclusive ecosystem to support research in the priority area of engineering by creating a rich and diverse interdisciplinary research environment of expertise, facilities and networks, in which doctoral researchers will be supported to carve their own research path. We will offer a research culture that will promote and encourage doctoral researchers from either design or engineering backgrounds to pioneer research that supports industry, civil society and citizens with net zero solutions that holistically protect the health of the planet and people.

The NZF Doctoral Landscape Programme will significantly impact society by advancing sustainable technologies, promoting and providing proven pilots for ecological citizenship, and developing innovative solutions to environmental challenges. By integrating robotics, circular economy principles, and sustainable design, the programme addresses critical issues including waste reduction, resource efficiency, and environmental resilience. Its human-centred, design-led approach enhances public awareness and encourages sustainable behaviours through community-based projects, contributing to societal well-being and sustainable behaviour change.

Host Research Areas:

• The Materials Science Research Centre (MSRC)
• The RCA Robotics Laboratory
• Ecological Digital Citizenship /School of Design

Project start date: September 2025

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