Phd Studentships

Title: Investigating and Designing Privacy Enhancing Tools and Technologies in Order to Protect Minority Ethnic Communities Online

Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh is seeking candidates for a PhD position which will support the work of the principally funded EPSRC (£3.4M) project Protecting Minority Ethnic Communities Online (PRIME). The PRIME project aims to broaden understanding of online harm and how it can be mitigated through new systems, tools and processes by focusing on Minority Ethnic (ME) communities' experiences of digitalised services, particularly in the areas of housing, health and energy. Working closely with National Research Centre on Privacy, Harm Reduction and Adversarial Influence online (REPHRAIN (https://www.rephrain.ac.uk) the PRIME consortium includes researchers from Heriot-Watt, Glasgow, York, Cranfield, and Open Universities, and it will engage with a wide range of individuals from ME communities, community organisations, public agencies and energy suppliers to identify and categorise the nature of the harms experienced, and assess the adequacy of existing systems and processes to counter them. 

This PhD will work with alongside the research associates and another PhD student from social science on the project to design better privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs) that counter discriminatory processes in digitalised services. 

Deadline for applications: 18th February 2022

Start Date: The position will commence in September 2022.
Funding: Funding: This is a 3.5 year (e.g., 42 month) scholarship and the student will receive a stipend (scholarship) of approx. £15,000 per annum, plus have their full tuition fees paid for the programme (either at UK rate or overseas rate). Travel costs for selected conferences are also covered by the school.

Location: The successful candidate will be joining the School of Mathematical and Computer Sciences at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh.
 

Supervision: The PhD student will work with Prof Lynne Baillie, an expert in Human Computer Interaction and Dr Wei Pang, an expert in machine learning and data mining. 

The applicant should hold or expect to gain a 1st Class Honours Degree in Computer Science (or a cognate discipline) or Masters Degree in Computer Science (or a cognate discipline). The applicant is expected to have a strong knowledge of Human Computer Interaction (HCI) (or a cognate area), programming, and/or good knowledge of machine learning and data mining. Experience of Python programming is preferable.  Experience of applying HCI, machine learning and data mining for real-world problem solving is desirable.
 

The Application must contain (please note all materials should be contained in a single pdf file).
-A letter of interest describing your relevant background and skills for the project, and why you are interested in this project.
-A current curriculum vitae that includes dates and details of your educational background (degrees, subject, classification, module or course marks), work experience and other relevant information.
-The name and contact information for three references. Letters of reference will only be solicited for shortlisted candidates.
-One writing sample, e.g. a recent publication or final project thesis.

-A 1-2 page project outline for the PhD based on the information provided in this advert

Application Process

Apply Online: https://www.hw.ac.uk/study/apply/uk/postgraduate.htm

When applying through the Heriot-Watt on-line system please ensure you provide the following information:
(a) in ‘Study Option’ You will need to select ‘Edinburgh’ and ‘Postgraduate Research’. ‘Programme’ presents you with a drop-down menu. Choose Computer Science PhD and select September 2022 for study option (this can be updated at a later date if required)
(b) in ‘Research Project Information’ You will be provided with a free text box for details of your research project. Enter Project Title (e.g. Investigating and Designing Privacy Enhancing Tools and Technologies in Order to Protect Minority Ethnic Communities Online) and also enter Professor Lynne Baillie and Dr Wei Pang’s names. This information will help us to track your application. Please also send a pdf copy of your application to Prof L Baillie (l.baillie@hw.ac.uk).
 

Please note that once you have submitted your application, it will not be considered until you have uploaded all of the application materials e.g., your CV, transcripts, project outline, referees one writing sample and a project proposal.

For further information or informal enquiries regarding this position please email l.baillie@hw.ac.uk or w.pang@hw.ac.uk