UCL EPSRC PhD Studentship on Healthy Ageing: call for projects

Studentships provide 4 years' fees (UK/EU rate) and a maintenance stipend at the UCL EPSRC DTP enhanced rate (£18,609 in 2021/22, rises with inflation each year). Studentships are automatically renewed each year provided that sufficient academic progress is made. Students also receive an RTSG (Research Training Support Grant) of up to £4,800 to cover additional costs of training eg courses, project costs, conferences, travel. Students will be initially registered for 4 years and are expected to submit their thesis within the 4-year funded period. The project should be designed and supervised to facilitate this.

Proposals must meet the following criteria

1.    Must lie within the EPSRC healthcare technologies theme, involving interdisciplinary research in healthcare engineering and/or digital health.
2.    We particularly encourage cross-disciplinary bids, however the Primary supervisor must be based at the Faculty of Engineering Sciences.
3.    Where appropriate a secondary supervisor could be from an external organisation (NHS, Industry and other academic organisations in the UK or abroad)
4.    The research aims of the PhD should align with the IHE’s research priority area in Healthy Ageing and Multimorbidity through the Life Course.

Scoring criteria

1. Interdisciplinary research in healthcare engineering and/or digital health.
2. Supervisory team must comprise one engineer or digital health specialist, and one clinician or clinical scientist
3. Clear research questions addressing IHE’s strategic priority area in 'Healthy ageing and multimorbidity through the life course'
4. Falls within the EPSRC Healthcare Technologies Themes
5. Will allow the research team to build on new or strengthen existing research on healthcare engineering’s impact on healthy ageing and independent living.
6. Potentially important and groundbreaking research question/s with potential for impactful global healthcare engineering research.

Please note that once the IHE has made the award, the PhD student recruited will be registered in the Department of the UCL primary supervisor. The successful Department will therefore be responsible for all aspects of the studentship’s administration for the full duration.  This includes, but is not limited to, Departmental responsibility for the following:

• Student advertisement and recruitment
• Admission processes
• Financial oversight, including Form S processing
• Je-S record creation and maintenance
• Pastoral oversight, including processing of upgrades, interruptions, etc.

Student eligibility

It is the responsibility of the admitting Department to ensure that the recruited candidate is eligible for the EPSRC award. Applicants must fulfil the academic entry requirements for the programme they are applying to, and be accepted by the admitting Department. Typically they must have a minimum of a class 2:1 undergraduate degree (or equivalent) in a relevant subject. Further eligibility criteria are based on nationality and residence (please see additional information below).

Application process

• Please complete the application form and submit by the deadline on Monday 10 May 2021 at 10:00 am by email to marilyn.aviles@ucl.ac.uk (IHE R&D Manager)
• Selection panel meeting: week commencing 10 May 2021
• Offer: week commencing 17 May 2021

Click to view additional information & application form (.docx)