How will we make the products of the future?
The Queen’s Doctoral Training Programme on Secure Connected Intelligent Design and Manufacturing is a Department for the Economy (DfE) investment to train 20 PhD students.
Students will explore how applying technological developments such as artificial intelligence, edge computing and robotics can address challenges associated with engineering design and manufacturing.
Clara Gracehynes, 2nd year PhD student
"After spending a year in industry I quickly realised if I wanted to progress my career in line with peers, I would need to gain a PhD. It's an interesting topic and has the right mix between industry training and research. The training we receive allows us to gain related expertise in a breadth of topics such as data and new technologies."
The programme aims to train graduates that:
- are cross-disciplinary, industry-conscious thinkers and leaders who will influence the roadmaps of future advanced manufacturing technologies and their applications;
- have a balanced understanding of ICT (security, communications and data analytics) in the context of their application to Advanced Manufacturing and High Value Design;
- are equipped with the skills to address challenges that are strongly relevant to industry;
- can produce world leading cross-disciplinary scholarly output and impact in areas with high economic and societal value.
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Why should I apply?
Artificial Intelligence, robotics, and the Internet of Things are emerging digital technologies with the potential to improve the way we design, manufacture and operate many products and services. Many of today’s industrial approaches require transformative change to ensure long-term societal, economic and environmental resilience and sustainability. However, there is a shortage of individuals with expertise and full understanding of the complexity of the industrial challenges, and with the capability to address these through the emerging digital technologies.
Future leaders, educated to a doctoral level with cross-disciplinary understanding and skills are required to conceive, develop and demonstrate solutions which address these long-term intertwined challenges. Society needs exceptional individuals who understand and can work across these key subject areas. Without these individuals our long term success as technologically advanced economies and societies will be diminished.
The Graduate School will support your studies: by enabling cohort training opportunities, bringing together researchers to identify which of their skills need enhancement in the areas of leadership and professional skills, innovation and enterprise, and critically communication and career development. In addition students will also be given access to technical training opportunities, defined by the cohort, which will aim to enhance your capacity to deliver impactful research.
- Research environment and benefits
This Doctoral Training Programme harnesses expertise from across the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences to form a multi-disciplinary community appropriate to address society's future design and manufacturing challenges.
The research community is underpinned by research excellence in each discipline, including high value design, advanced manufacturing and information and communications technology. Individual research projects will tackle generic challenges requiring cross-disciplinary solutions, drawing upon multiple discipline expertise.
Through each discipline researchers will access established research infrastructure with leading research teams and tool sets, world class laboratories and equipment, a broad range of industrial collaborators, and access to global research networks.There are many advantages in bringing these disciplines together, not only to solve some very important problems, but to also enable individual students to expand and diversify their future career directions. Today there is a shortage of capable engineers and computer scientists, that is clear. However, there is an amazing emerging opportunity for individuals to understand and to get the benefits of employment considering both engineering (working with very complex and challenging technical products and services) and a career in software / computer science (with its associated financial rewards and diversity of job types and job locations).
- Eligibility and available funding
The Queen’s Doctoral Training Programme in Secure Connected Intelligent Design and Manufacturing runs a single annual studentship competition to recruit the highest calibre of student. There are a total of ten studentships available for start in September 2021. Eight of the studentships are available for UK students and two for international students. The funding for each studentships is for a period of 42 months.
Specific academic requirements for individual projects are noted along with the project details and it is recommended to contact potential supervisors to discuss your application before final submission. The normal minimum requirement for admission to a research degree programme is an Upper Second Class Honours Degree from a UK or ROI Higher Education Provider or an equivalent qualification acceptable to the University.
UK studentships cover stipend and fees. To be eligible for the UK studentships applicants must:
- be a UK citizen or a non-UK citizen with permanent settled status in the UK AND
- have been ordinarily resident in the UK for at least 3 years prior to the start of the studentships
International studentships cover stipend and fees.
- Applications Open
Applications for the Queen’s Doctoral Training Programme on Secure Connected Intelligent Design and Manufacturing are now open!
The closing date for applications is 28 February 2021.
Stage One: Postgraduate Application
Applicants wishing to apply for a studentship must complete a PGR application form via the Queen’s University Postgraduate Applications Portal by the noted closing date.
Please insert, as part of the project title, the code DTPSCIDM when completing your application.
Stage Two: Supervisor ranking
A supervisor panel for each project will rank candidates based on the submitted applications.
Stage Three: Faculty ranking
A panel, with representatives from across the faculty, will shortlist, interview and rank candidates put forward from the preceding stage. Studentships will be offered to the top ten ranked candidates (there is funding for 8 home and 2 international studentships).
The results of the competition are expected to be announced in March 2021.
- Projects
There are 58 projects available, as part of this programme.
You can view the projects listed here for September 2021 start. Or they are listed on this page below.
If you have any further questions about the research project itself, please contact the lead supervisor.
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Doctoral Cohort Training
Doctoral Training Programmes are prestigious programmes which aim to enable cutting-edge doctoral study within a dynamic research culture that encourages innovative, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and a cohort student experience. The cohort nature of the programme fosters collaborative learning, creativity, and confidence in a unique way, where students benefit from mutual academic, emotional, and logistical support, helping to improve research outputs and timely PhD completion.
The Graduate School will support bespoke cohort training opportunities, tailored to the needs of the research challenges, along with opportunities and access to individual training. Research and specialist technical skills will be complemented by professional development to equip students to address challenges relevant to industry, and create economic and societal value. Each project is designed to enable the student to acquire valuable experience of emerging digital technologies along with expertise in disciplinary specific methods and tools.
A PhD is normally a 36 month period during which you further develop yourself by acquiring knowledge and skills in a specific subject of your choice. You will learn how to solve problems rigorously using scientific methods through hands-on training under a team of academic supervisors. As your study is to be cross-disciplinary in nature and to ensure you do not need to prioritise research activities over training activities, the funding provided for your studies is 42 months. This is six months longer than the standard 36 months typically available for PhD study.
A PhD is unlike undergraduate or postgraduate taught study. There are no structured classes, only training sessions which are typically half-day or full-day events without exams or coursework. You control your own time, and set your learning targets and deadlines through discussion with your supervisors.
Contacts
For further information or any questions, please contact the Project Coordinators:
Prof Adrian Murphy (School of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering): a.murphy@qub.ac.uk
Prof Hans Vandierendonck (School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science): h.vandierendonck@qub.ac.uk
All Doctoral Training Programmes
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