PhD Studentship: Wellbeing-Integrated Development Environments (WIDEs)

Project title: Wellbeing-Integrated Development Environments (WIDEs)

Email:  [email protected]

Project specification:

Applications are invited for a PhD student to undertake the WIDEs project. The aim of the project is to contribute a framework for designing integrated development environments (IDEs) in a mental-wellbeing-aware manner. This framework would comprise models and guidelines for tailoring the design of an existing or new IDE to display options and communicate errors in a mental-wellbeing-aware manner. The WIDEs framework will be used by software engineers so that they design more mental-wellbeing aware IDEs for STEM Higher Education (HE) students to use in their programming.

WIDEs is motivated by the findings of EMBRACE HE project. EMBRACE HE is an EU funded, three year project is running through BCU's School of Social Sciences, titled EMBRACE HE project, as is specifically designed to help address problems of mental health and lack of wellbeing in all students in higher education institutions, across Europe. The findings of this project indicate that students in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields are more prone to mental health issues.

We are aiming to create a framework for IDEs to be designed in a mental-wellbeing-aware manner to cater for the mental well-being of STEM HE students in general and computing students in particular. While WIDEs has its seed during COVID times, its benefits will transcend online learning contexts.

Personal specification:

To work on this project, it is critical that the application has the following background:  

• Strong software engineering skills including knowledge of software design guidelines, patterns and best practices
• An undergraduate degree in a computer science field with a minimum outcome of 2.1.
• Strong programming experience

Additionally, it is desirable that the applicant has the following skills/experience:

• Hands-on experience in health-related software solutions
• Hands-on experience in data analytics 
• Expertise in artificial intelligence (AI) concepts and algorithms

PhD Classic Doctoral Training Grant Funding Information

This 36 month (3 year) fully-funded PhD Studentship, in-line with the Research Council values, comprises a tax-free stipend of £15,609 per annum (paid monthly). The bursary is renewable annually for up to 36 months in total, subject to you making satisfactory progression within your PhD research.

This funding model also includes a FT Home fees studentship (£4,500 for 2021-22) for up to 3 years, subject to you making satisfactory progression within your PhD research.

This opportunity is open to UK, EU and International applicants. International applicants will be required to meet the difference in fee costs from their own funds.

How to apply:

To apply, please complete the project proposal form of 1,500-2,500 words (fully referenced) explaining your ideas about the proposed topic, ensuring that you quote the project reference WIDES, and then complete the online application , which can be found under the 'How to Apply' tab of the PhD course page where you will be required to upload your proposal form in place of a personal statement as a pdf document.

You will also be required to upload two references, at least one being an academic reference, and your qualification/s of entry (Bachelor/Masters certificate/s and transcript/s) and IELTS.

Deadline for Applications

Please ensure you submit your application by 23:59 on the 31st October at 23:59 for a February 2022 start.