The University of Edinburgh and CodeBase are seeking applications for a fully funded AHRC SGSAH CDA PhD Studentship ‘Toward A Digital Commons for Supporting Creative Practitioners’ Journeys through the Technology Ecosystem’.
Through direct and sustained engagement with CodeBase, and Techscaler, its platform to help people start and scale tech businesses, this research will seek to:
1) Understand the needs of creative practitioners entering the technology ecosystem for the first time.
2) Evaluate how CodeBase and Techscaler’s current education, mentorship and community-building activities support these needs.
3) 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.
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 practitioners.
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 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. 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).
The studentship will commence on 1 October 2023. Please apply by 12 June, 2023.
