Design Research Works is a Future Leaders Fellowship funded by UK Research and Innovation. It is hosted at ImaginationLancaster, one of Europe’s leading design-led research labs.

The project’s aim is to promote Design Research and construct a body of evidence demonstrating the relevance and value of Design-led inquiry in the 21^st century. This will focus on the evolving landscape of socio-technological challenges arising from the continuing adoption of contemporary digital technologies.

This funded PhD studentship is linked to the Fellowship and will comprise an investigation which is complementary to the Fellowship’s aims and that will utilise a Design-led or Research through Design approach. This is a unique and flexible opportunity to complete a doctorate as part of an ambitious project at a research centre with a vibrant and diverse research culture.

The studentship is fully funded which covers tuition fees and includes a tax-free stipend which is £15,285 for 2020/21.

Candidate and Proposal

You will have experience of design in your first degree and ideally a Master’s degree (or equivalent experience). You will need to demonstrate the critical reflection and communication skills necessary to translate your Design practice into compelling rhetorical positions. You will require the practical design skills necessary to support Design-led and Research through Design oriented doctoral research. Your PhD project proposal should articulate what area, context, or problem your doctorate will explore; how the investigation complements the wider aims of the Fellowship; and a discussion of how/why Design is the appropriate method.

Proposals are invited which explore future socio-technological challenges arising from the ubiquity of Internet of Things devices and Artificial Intelligence systems. Proposals should demonstrate how current perspectives such as More-Than-Human Centred Design will inform the inquiry; they will acknowledge the plurality of Design (e.g. Design as making, Design as knowledge production, Design as communication, etc); and will explain how the proposed context (e.g. Emerging notions of privacy, or hybrid digital/physical spaces) will be addressed by the selected approach (e.g. Design Fiction as World Building, Speculative Design, or Experiential Futures).

Further Information

The opportunity to apply for this funding has now passed. Please keep an eye on our website for further funding opportunities.