Optimisation models for sustainable fashion

We invite applicants for a fully funded PhD scholarship to start in October 2019 or February 2020, supervised by Prof Julia Bennell and Dr Pammi Sinha. The project is an exciting interdisciplinary project between Leeds University Business School and Leeds School of Design. The project will research optimisation models for sustainable fashion.

The fashion industry produces over 100 billion items of clothing each year. Inevitably, such a large consumer industry comes at a cost to the environment and there is significant interest in improving the sustainability of this industry. In the UK, clothing industry is ranked fourth for its impact on the environment, 20% of water pollution comes from textile treatment and dying and 92 million tonnes of textile waste is created annually. This project will look at two scenarios for improving the amount of waste produced by the manufacture of garments. The first is to aspire to zero waste pattern cutting and consider how manufactures and designers can work together to produce garment patterns that can tessellate. The second is to reuse old garments to make new (up-cycling) and how this can be done on a larger scale. In both models the focus of the project is to develop optimisation models for cutting garment patterns from fabric that meet the needs of the manufacturing scenarios detailed above.

The scholarship is open to UK, EU and international fee rated applicants commencing full-time or part-time PhD study within the Management Division of Leeds University Business School on 1 October 2019 or 1 February 2020. Applicants must have a good level of mathematical knowledge and some experience of computer programming. This can be demonstrated through modules taken on undergraduate or masters degrees.

Number of awards: 1

Value of award: Tuition fees at the relevant UK/EU or international rate and a maintenance grant equivalent to the Research Councils UK National Minimum Doctoral Stipend (currently £15,009 per annum for 2019/20, the amount will be reviewed annually). There are no additional allowances for travel or research costs.

For eligibility criteria and information on how to apply: please visit our website.