Good morning all, forwarding this on behalf of Steve Sorrell. A funded PhD studentship available here at Sussex for someone working at the intersections of digital society/transitions and energy consumption and demand. Fun stuff!
Benjamin ** Hi All We are advertising a new PhD studentship through CREDS https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/one-3-year-phd-studentship-on-energy-demand-in-the-digital-society-at-spru-university-of-sussex/?p119988 Would be grateful if you could tweet / circulate Thanks, Steve Project Description The department: The PhD will be based in the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) at the University of Sussex. Established in 1966, SPRU conducts research, consultancy and postgraduate teaching in the area of science, technology, and innovation policy. SPRU comprises over 70 faculty and 60 doctoral students and is ranked third in the world and the highest in the UK in a global list of think tanks in science and technology. The Sussex Energy Group (SEG) at SPRU aims to understand and foster transitions towards sustainable, low carbon energy systems. Drawing from SPRU’s tradition, the Group undertakes academically rigorous, interdisciplinary social science research on contemporary energy and climate policy challenges. The research area: This PhD studentship will explore the potential contribution of digital technologies to reducing energy demand and assisting the transition to secure, low carbon energy systems. The studentship forms part of the Digital Society theme of the Centre for Research on Energy Demand Solutions (CREDS), and the successful student will be invited to take part in CREDS meetings and related research and engagement activities. Digital technologies are driving a new industrial revolution that is transforming industrial structures, business strategies, employment patterns, consumer preferences and social practices around the world. This revolution is gathering pace, with developments in automation, the ‘Internet of Things’ and 3-D printing set to unleash further transformational change. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have wide-ranging and complex implications for energy demand and there is ongoing controversy about their net impact. On the one hand, they offer many benefits, such as optimising energy use in buildings and industrial processes and displacing the transport and consumption of material commodities. On the other hand, the digital economy has a large and rapidly growing energy footprint, with improvements in the energy efficiency of individual devices being offset by the continuing increases in the number, power, complexity and range of applications of those devices, together with the associated growth in energy-intensive digital services. Applications are welcome for projects that investigate the historic and potential future impact of digital technologies on energy demand, the mechanisms contributing to those impacts and the means by which the energy-saving potential of digital technologies can be maximised. The projects may use ideas from economics, innovation studies, sociology or other relevant disciplines and may employ both quantitative and qualitative research methods. The studentships will contribute to a larger programme of research in this area, led by Prof Tim Foxon and Prof Steve Sorrell. Possible topics for research projects include: • the recent and future impacts of ICTs on energy consumption and energy productivity at the sectoral and macroeconomic level; • the potential for innovative, ICT-based business models to deliver end-use services with lower energy use and carbon emissions; • the influence of smart systems on energy-related user practices (e.g. working remotely, changing leisure patterns) and the effect of these on energy consumption; • the use of digital technologies to optimise the energy efficiency of industrial processes, logistics and larger systems such as entire cities. Benefits: The PhD studentship is offered for a maximum of three years, renewable on a yearly basis, subject to satisfactory performance on the doctoral degree. The successful candidate will receive a full fee waiver plus a stipend equivalent to the UKRI doctoral stipend, currently £15,009 per annum, paid each year in three termly instalments (typically in October, January and April). In order to prepare students for academic careers, individuals receiving a studentship will be offered the possibility to undertake some teaching and/or marking activities in the School, of up to a maximum of six hours per week during term time, or to apply for any part-time Research Assistant roles that may become available. Any teaching undertaken will be paid at grade 6 of the University’s Doctoral Tutor salary scale in addition to the stipend. Application procedure: If you are interested in applying for a studentship, you need to first apply for a PhD place in Science and Technology Policy Studies at the University of Sussex, including a research proposal addressing one of the research topics above or a closely related topic. Details of the application process are available here: http://www.sussex.ac.uk/study/phd/apply<https://www.findaphd.com/common/clickCount.aspx?theid=119988&type=184&DID=1487&url=http%3a%2f%2fwww.sussex.ac.uk%2fstudy%2fphd%2fapply> For further details, please see here: https://www.sussex.ac.uk/study/fees-funding/phd-funding/view/1173-One-3-year-PhD-studentship-on-“Energy-Demand-in-the-Digital-Society”-at-SPRU,-University-of-Sussex<https://www.findaphd.com/common/clickCount.aspx?theid=119988&type=184&DID=1487&url=https%3a%2f%2fwww.sussex.ac.uk%2fstudy%2ffees-funding%2fphd-funding%2fview%2f1173-One-3-year-PhD-studentship-on-%E2%80%9CEnergy-Demand-in-the-Digital-Society%E2%80%9D-at-SPRU,-University-of-Sussex> Funding Notes The studentship is available for UK/EU and overseas applicants. Applicants should have an upper second class honours degree, and already have, or currently be studying for, a Master’s degree in a related subject, or equivalent qualification if a non-UK applicant. A good level pass is usually required for the Master’s degree. Proof of proficiency in English is also required, i.e., an IELTS certificate taken within the last two years showing at least 6.5 overall with at least 6.0 in each of the four sections. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "gep-ed" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/gep-ed/CWXP265MB026247DB46B144D4AF3A5AE1B5E40%40CWXP265MB0262.GBRP265.PROD.OUTLOOK.COM.
