Frameworks for deployment and assessment of serious games industrial training assisted by AI (2021SC43)

The University of the West of Scotland (UWS) is seeking to attract a PhD candidate of outstanding ability and commitment to join its vibrant and growing programme of internationally excellent research. The successful applicant will receive an annual stipend (currently £15,609 per annum for three years) and payment of tuition fees (current value £4,500 per annum for 3 years).

The COVID19 pandemic impacted the industrial training sector forcing businesses to operate with reduced capacity. Immersive serious games (iSG) can address such issues better than videoconferencing solutions by enabling practical training and assessment online. However, including pedagogy and support for authentic assessment (AA) in iSG is complex and still an issue.

Existing iSG frameworks are not designed to allow trainers to observe trainees’ sessions or provide direct formative feedback in non-VR settings.

This project aims to create, in collaboration with industry, novel frameworks for remote pedagogical delivery of industrial training and AI supported trainee AA using iSG.

The pandemic made industrial training and trainees’ AA challenging, especially for practical tasks such as identifying faults or corrosion, or operating oil rigs correctly.

To address these difficulties new infrastructures and innovation is needed in industrial training. iSG and AI are viable paths to such innovation, upgrading the current technological capabilities of the secto. iSG have been proven to engage trainees, stimulating exploration, experimentation, and co-operation. Moreover, remote deployment of iSG improves accessibility to industrial training, generating engaging, equitable, and accessible distance learning environments.

The project aligns with the UWS Strategy 2025, delivering, through modern pedagogy and practical knowledge, innovation in the Scottish industrial training sector, generating economic impact in the sector and across Scotland addressing a local need through a global solution, adding to the UWS portfolio of industrial collaborations and providing innovative approaches to CPD.

The studentship is open to UK citizens and EU applicants with pre-settled or settled status, it is also open to international applicants if they can cover the difference between Home and International fees for the duration of the programme of study. Candidates should hold a first or second class honours degree from a university in the United Kingdom in a relevant discipline. Please quote the Project Reference number above when submitting your research proposal.

In the first instance, any informal enquiries and applications to these competitive studentships should be made by email to Dr Marco Gilardi ([Email Address Removed]). Successful applicants will be asked to submit the application through the UWS online system (https://www.uws.ac.uk/study/research-degrees/admissions-application/).