Job Category
Teaching, Research & Scholarship
Employment Type
Full time
Location
Cambridge
Faculty/Prof Service
Faculty of Science & Engineering
Ref No
2161
Closing Date
19/03/2023
About ARU:
We are ranked in the world's top 350 institutions in the 2022 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, and we are a global university transforming lives through innovative, inclusive and entrepreneurial education and research. Our research institutes and four faculties bridge scientific, technical and creative fields. We deliver impactful research which tackles pressing issues and makes a real difference to our communities. Our academic excellence has been recognised by the UK's Higher Education funding bodies, with 16 of our research areas assessed as world-leading. In 2021, we were awarded the Queen's Anniversary Prize for our world-leading music therapy work.
About the Role:
Title: Inclusive Repair Practice and Policy: How do broken electronics contribute to social exclusion, and how can repair policy be designed with inclusion in mind?
Background
We have a problem with electronic waste. The global manufacturing of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) has been estimated to cause 580 million metric tons of greenhouse gases emissions. Increasing the lifespan of devices by 50–100% could mitigate up to half of these total emissions (Singh et al., 2022).
A crucial part of the transition to a circular economy lies in making devices last longer through maintenance and repair. However, not all citizens have equal ability or access to maintenance and repair services. Research on digital inequality shows many low-income households now have access to technologies, but these are ‘dependably unstable' devices that frequently break down (e.g. Gonzales, 2014). This may be magnified by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the current cost of living crisis, where broken electronics may lead to new forms of exclusion for those that haven't experienced it before.
Efforts to boost maintenance and repair must be economically and socially inclusive, to achieve a just circular economy transition. This PhD project aims 1) to develop citizen and community perspectives on repair and exclusion and 2) to identify repair policies that boost inclusion, at the local, national and international levels.
Funding Notes and Eligibility:
Applications are open to Home fee status students only. This successful applicant will receive a Vice Chancellor's Scholarship award which covers Home tuition fees and a UKRI equivalent minimum annual stipend for three years. The award is subject to the successful candidate meeting the studentship Terms and Conditions which can be found on our website alongside further information about the project: https: // aru.ac.uk/research/postgraduate-research/vc-phd- scholarships
Applicants should have (or expect to achieve) a minimum upper second class undergraduate degree (or equivalent) in a cognate discipline. A Master's degree in a relevant subject is desirable. Applicants must be prepared to study on a full-time basis, attending at our Cambridge campus.
Application Deadline: 19th March 2023
How to apply:
Applications for a Vice Chancellor's PhD Scholarship are made through the application portal on our website: https: // aru.ac.uk/research/postgraduate- research/vc-phd-scholarships
We will review all applications after the submission deadline of 19th March. We will contact shortlisted applicants in the week commencing 3rd April. Interviews will be held between 17th April to 2nd May.
If you have any queries relating to the application process or the terms and conditions of the Scholarships, please email [email protected]
Documentation required
You will need the following documents available electronically to upload them to the application portal (we can accept files in pdf, jpeg or Word format):
1) Certificates and transcripts from your Bachelor and Master's degrees, (if applicable)
2) Your personal statement explaining your suitability for the project
3) Passport and visa, or evidence of EU Settlement Scheme (if applicable)
4) Curriculum Vitae
Please note the application form will ask you to upload a research proposal. You should upload your personal statement in this section, as proposals are not required for this scholarship.
Contact us:
General enquiries: [email protected] If you would like to discuss this research project, please contact [email protected]
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting welfare of our staff and students and expect all staff to share this commitment.
We value diversity at ARU and welcome applications from all sections of the community.