The PhD Studentship: Artificial Intelligence and Voice is now available for students who hold an MA or MRes in a relevant field of study at the Royal College of Art (RCA). International students are eligible to apply for this studentship.

Supported by the TECHNE National Productivity Investment Fund (NPIF) AHRC Scholarship the Royal College of Art in partnership with IBM’s iX lab is looking to award a PhD studentship to explore these issues of new communication interactions drawing on a methodology that relies on a combination of art, design and computer science approaches.

The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, in the United Kingdom. It offers postgraduate degrees in art and design to students from over 60 countries; it is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the world. From 2015 onwards, the RCA has consistently placed first in the QS World University Rankings in the Art and Design subject area.

Scholarship Description:

• Applications Deadline: August 13, 2018
• Course Level: Studentship is available to pursue PhD programme.
• Study Subject: Studentships are awarded in the area of artificial intelligence.
• Scholarship Award: The successful candidate will receive:

1. A full fee waiver for the duration of their PhD studies at the RCA
2. Stipend valued at £14,777 + £2,000 London weighting per annum (pro rata) (UK
3. students only)
4. £550 per annum to support travel to IBMiX
5. Access to additional TECHNE funding:
6. PhD supervision from RCA and IBMiX staff
7. Access to the TECHNE training events programme, including a welcome event, student organised conferences, two residential congresses per year, ongoing workshops, conferences and development opportunities
8. Workspace and access to specialist facilities

• Nationality: International students are eligible to apply for this studentship.
• Number of Scholarships: TECHNE was awarded 13 studentships commencing in September 2017, and has been awarded four more studentships in the area of artificial intelligence for September 2018.
• Scholarship can be taken in the UK

Eligibility for the Scholarship: 

Eligible Countries: International students are eligible to apply for this studentship..

Entrance Requirements: Applicants must meet the following criteria:

The candidate will hold an MA or MRes in a relevant field of study. The candidate will bring to this project an in-depth understanding of communication, art and sound practice and the wider theoretical and philosophical debates emerging in the field of AI research. It is desirable that the candidate has working knowledge of research methods and forms of analysis including, but not exclusive to, communication and arts practice, multimodality, voice and conversation theory. The candidate will have an active interest and experience in computational culture, sonic theory and ideally, but not necessarily, interaction design.

English Language Requirements: Applicants whose first language is not English are usually required to provide evidence of proficiency in English at the higher level required by the University.

Application Procedure: 

How to Apply: 

1. Student submits all required documents before the deadline to the RCA Online Application System (PhD application)
2. The school will review the applications, assigning scores to each section in line with the TECHNE selection process.
3. The highest rated applicants will be invited to interview.4. During the interview, the applicant’s answers will be scored in line with the TECHNE and AHRC selection criteria.
4. The school and IBMiX will review the scores and select the applicant with the highest ranking.
5. The TECHNE Management Group will review the selected application, and an offer will be sent to the successful candidate.

All applicants will be required to submit the following documents to the RCA before the deadline:

• CV
• Additional statement of up to one side of A4 demonstrating what they will bring to the project, how it fits with their previous experience and interests, and how they will shape the project.
• RCA PhD online application
• Education transcripts
• Two references
• Equal opportunities monitoring form

Online Application

Scholarship Link