Upcoming PhD positions at Design Informatics

The Institute for Design Informatics is part of a Marie Curie Innovative Training Network called D-CoDE which opens up 15 PhD positions on the topics below – three of which will be located in Edinburgh (2 positions in data-driven business models and 1 position in data governance). We are looking for backgrounds in design, anthropology, media studies, science and technology studies, human-centered computing, human-data and human-AI interaction, design informatics, artificial intelligence and machine learning.
The PhDs will start in June 2021, and are fully funded, with accompanying researcher salaries. Please see job postings below:
Please note that as per EU mobility rules, candidates must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the selected country for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to their recruitment. So we will be looking for people outside of the UK! Spread the word, and be ready to apply in the new year.

Digital futures. Anthropologists, data scientists and engineers need to become aware of unanticipated consequences and be better integrated in the fuzzy front end of the design process, so that early steps can be made in designing algorithms that are conducive to sustainable digital futures. How do we understand human-machine relations, and anticipate the desired interaction between algorithms and humans? Recruiting organisations: Aarhus University (Denmark), TU Delft (Netherlands), Transport and Telecommunication Institute (Latvia).

Decentralised interactions. Designing for interaction with and across decentralised systems requires new ways to navigate and negotiate concurrent and conflicting needs, and the potential imbalance in the relationship between people and predictive systems. How do we achieve human interaction with data-driven systems that is and remains appropriate, in the interest of people and society at large? Recruiting organisations: TU Delft (Netherlands), Umeå University (Sweden), Philips Experience Design.

Data-driven business models. Data-driven technologies are enabling business models and economies that are far from fair. How can we conceptualise and promote the currency of alternative values, and sustain more transparent and inclusive socio-economic models in the digital society? Recruiting organisations: University of Edinburgh (United Kingdom), University of Copenhagen (Denmark).

Data governance. Contracts between service providers, users and third parties are often problematic in terms of how flows of data are generated and shared. How can we enable more democratic forms of digital sovereignty and deliberation for how data is governed? Recruiting organisations: Umeå University (Sweden), University of Edinburgh (United Kingdom)

Future design practices. The responsible and sustainable digital transformation of society will require new interdisciplinary and cross-sector design practices, upholding anticipatory, deliberative and responsive innovation approaches. How can we bring together the learning of the D-CoDE prototeams, and identify best practices? Recruiting organisations: University of Copenhagen (Denmark), Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (Netherlands)

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 955990.