Fully funded AHRC SGSAH CDA PhD Studentship in Design Informatics
Toward A Digital Commons for Supporting Creative Practitioners’ Journeys through the Technology Ecosystem
The University of Edinburgh and CodeBase are seeking a doctoral student for an AHRC-funded Collaborative Doctoral Award, “Toward A Digital Commons for Supporting Creative Practitioners’ Journeys through the Technology Ecosystem”.
The project has been awarded scholarship funding by the Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities (SGSAH) and will be supervised by Dr. Susan Lechelt (Institute for Design Informatics, School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh), Professor Melissa Terras (Institute for Design Informatics, School of Design, University of Edinburgh), and Jim Newbery (VP of Education & Product, CodeBase).
The studentship will commence on 1st October 2023.
We warmly encourage applications from candidates who have a grounding in EITHER
a) interaction design or human-computer interaction, with an interest in the Creative Industries or
b) business studies, with proven knowledge and understanding of the Cultural and Creative Industries while demonstrating an interest in interaction design.
This is an extraordinary opportunity for a strong PhD student to explore their own research interests, while working closely with major technology incubator CodeBase, in the important issue of supporting the digital literacy of creative practitioner.
The student will be based in the Institute for Design Informatics, at the George Square campus of the University of Edinburgh. This is an interdisciplinary institute which explores how to design systems for better human-computer interaction, in diverse settings such as creativity and culture, health and finance. The studentship will be in collaboration with CodeBase, where the student will also spend considerable time. CodeBase is a tech ecosystem support organisation and startup incubator, helping people to build and grow better tech startups through community, education, and workspace. Among its other activities, CodeBase was recently awarded £42 million to establish Techscaler, the Scottish Government tech startup support programme. Techscaler supports everyone in Scotland who wants to build a startup and was created to increase the number of successful Scottish startups, build the Scottish economy, and provide opportunities for the people of Scotland and beyond. As part of the studentship, there will be a period of funded work placement at CodeBase, which will be co-determined with the student: for example, spending time in CodeBase’s hubs, including a subset of the seven Techscaler regions across Scotland, and scoping how to reach creative practitioners in those regions; or working on the format and evaluation of Techscaler events and services tailored to those in the Creative Industries, and exploring the different needs of those practitioners in the technology startup space.
The award will include a number of training opportunities offered by SGSAH, including their Core Leadership Programme and a £550 (pro-rata) additional stipend per year to cover travel between partner organisations and related events. This studentship will also benefit from training, support, and networking via the Institute for Design Informatics, University of Edinburgh Centre for Data, Culture and Society, and the Edinburgh Futures Institute. The student will be invited to join CodeBase ecosystem and networking events.
Link to University of Edinburgh Centre for Data, Culture and Society website
Link to Edinburgh Futures Institute website
Project details
This research will be rooted in the disciplines of interaction design and human-computer interaction, also engaging with creative industry studies and business studies.
The Creative Industries are a wide sector covering, among others: architecture, visual arts, craft, film, music, performing arts and publishing and are central to the health of the UK economy. Supporting the intersection of the Creative Industries and technology has much potential for fostering economic growth. However, creative practitioners often face significant barriers when starting technology-driven businesses due to the scale of upskilling this shift requires, for example in terms of digital literacy, start-up business models, and the wider technology ecosystem.
As such, there is still a need to better understand and evidence what specific support structures are needed to enable creative practitioners to engage and upskill with technology. Our recent research suggests that one particularly promising route, is to support network building and informal sharing of digital skills. However, there is a lack of evidence on best-practice approaches to support this.
Helgason, I., Smyth, M., Panneels, I., Lechelt, S., Frich, J., Rawn, E. and Mccarthy, B. 2023. Digital Skills for the Creative Practitioner: Supporting Informal Learning of Technologies for Creativity. In Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, April 23–28, 2023, Hamburg, Germany. ACM, New York, NY, USA
This PhD research will explore whether and how a “digital commons” can be one promising approach. Research on “commons” is rooted in shared natural resources and communities around them. Information commons have emerged as a way of supporting knowledge sharing and digital commons are an instantiation of these: typically online, community-run repositories of shared information and resources.
De Rosnay, M. D., & Stalder, F. (2020). Digital commons. Internet Policy Review, 9(4), 15-p
Digital commons are known to support community building, knowledge exchange and education. However, there is little research on how they can support digital skills and practical, industry-specific skills. This research aims to address this gap.
Through direct and sustained engagement with CodeBase, and Techscaler, its platform to help people start and scale tech businesses, this research will seek to:
Understand the needs of creative practitioners entering the technology ecosystem for the first time;
Evaluate how CodeBase and Techscaler’s current education, mentorship and community-building activities support these needs; and
Design a digital commons: an openly distributed and communally owned online repository of resources for peer-to-peer skills and resource sharing between creative practitioners who are navigating the technology ecosystem. This will be designed for and with creative practitioners, both those new to technology-led businesses, and those with experience of the technology ecosystem.
The candidate will be able to direct their attention to the aspect of the creative industries they are most interested or experienced in.
PhD Scholarship Award
The successful applicant will receive an annual stipend at the full time UKRI rate (£18,622 for 23/24) for 3 years 6 months, plus PhD tuition fees. The award also provides a research training support grant (RTSG) comprising access to a nominal amount of £1750 over the course of the 3.5 years to support travel to conferences.
Award Eligibility
Applications are open both home fee status (including EU nationals with pre/settled status who meet residency requirements) as well as international students. Students who do not require UKVI sponsorship via a student visa may apply to study their PhD on a part time basis (17.5 hours per week).
PhD Entry Requirements
To be admitted onto a PhD programme in the School of Informatics, applicants must normally hold a Bachelors (Hons) degree in an appropriate subject, awarded with least a UK 2.1 degree classification (or the international equivalent), plus meet the PG English Language entry requirement (if applicable).
Detailed information on the PhD entry requirements is available by clicking the link below.
The AHRC also expects that applicants to PhD programmes will hold, or be studying towards, a Master’s qualification in a relevant discipline; or have relevant professional experience to provide evidence of your ability to undertake independent research. Please ensure you provide details of your academic and professional experience in your application letter.
Experience in the fields of human-computer interaction, interaction design or creativity studies, prior experience working with digital tools and methods, and the use of qualitative research methods including thematic analysis will be of benefit to the project. Experience of the creative industries, or an interest in creative practice, would also be beneficial.
How to apply
Applicants must submit:
· Copies of all degree transcripts and degree certificates (and certified translations if applicable). This requirement applies to fully completed and in progress degrees).
Applicants must also submit a single Word or pdf document which:
Details your full contact details together with the names and contact details of two referees (max 1 page); and
Explains your interest in the studentship and outlining your qualifications for it, as well as an indication of the specific areas of the project you would like to develop, and what area of the creative industries you are interested in focussing on (max 2 pages).
Provides a sample of their writing – this might be an academic essay or another example of writing style and ability.
A full CV (max 2 page)
Copies of two academic references, which are on letter headed paper, signed and dated within the last 12 months.
All required documents should be submitted in one email to pgawards@ed.ac.uk as no later than 17:00 GMT on Monday 12th June.
Please note that only complete applications (i.e. those that are not missing the above documentation / required information) will progress forward to for further consideration and academic selection.
Invite to interview
Applicants will be notified if they are being invited to interview by Friday 16th June.
Interviews will take place on Thursday 22nd June in person or via an online video meeting platform depending on the applicant’s location and preference.