Queen’s Doctoral Training Programme in Secure Connected Intelligent Design and Manufacturing

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.

The Queen’s Doctoral Training Programme in Secure Connected Intelligent Design and Manufacturing aims to train graduates that:

1. are cross-disciplinary, industry-conscious thinkers and leaders who will influence the roadmaps of future advanced manufacturing technologies and their applications;
2. have a balanced understanding of ICT (security, communications and data analytics) in the context of their application to Advanced Manufacturing and High Value Design;
3. are equipped with the skills to address challenges that are strongly relevant to industry;
4. can produce world leading cross-disciplinary scholarly output and impact in areas with high economic and societal value.

The 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.

The Graduate School will support bespoke cohort training opportunities, tailored to 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.

Entry requirements

Minimum academic requirement is an Upper Second Class Honours degree from a UK or ROI HE provider (or qualifications deemed equivalent by the University).

Funding and eligibility

A total of 10 studentships are available to be competitively awarded for an October 2020 start. The studentships will be funded by the Department for the Economy (DfE).

Deadline for applications: The closing date is 31st March 2020. Studentships may be allocated on a rolling basis from 15 March onwards in response to high-quality and volume of applications.

Contact: For further information, Prof Adrian Murphy (a.murphy@qub.ac.uk, School of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering) or Dr Hans Vandierendonck (h.vandierendonck@qub.ac.uk, School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science).