Funded research projects

Project Title: Reframing the ‘social’ in social return on investment: constructing more meaningful monitoring and evaluation in football, development and beyond.

A PhD studentship that comprises tax-free stipend of £17,668 (increasing in line with UKRI per annum) per year over 3.5 years, tuition fees paid, and a generous study package (e.g., limited research consumables, travel budget, and training when appropriate).

Sport for Development (SfD) projects have the aim of improving people’s lives. However, the actual impact these projects have on individuals is highly debatable. Most approaches to monitoring and evaluation (M&E) tend to focus on simplistic cause-and-effect approaches, whereas the more recent approach of Social Return on Investment (SROI) tries to measure impacts by attaching economic values to social behaviours. However, most M&E approaches tend to overlook the social complexities and nuances involved in individuals’ experiences of SfD. This project addresses these issues by using a sociological approach to understanding individuals’ meaningful experiences of SfD.

The aim of this project is to co-construct a sociologically informed and more meaningful version of M&E and to test it within the wider SfD field.

How to apply: Visit the Jobs Page 

• Project Title: Active transport of Gold-coated iron oxide superparamagnetic nanoparticles: A universal delivery vehicle.
• PhD Research Studentship: BARIToNE Project 9 - towards climate-positive cropping: developing model-based approaches to identify pathways, and evidence benefits.
• PhD Research Studentship: Reframing the ‘social’ in social return on investment: constructing more meaningful monitoring and evaluation in sport for development and beyond.
• PhD Research Studentship 5G Edge- XR for unlocking compelling immersive experiences
• PhD Research Studentship: Investigating the impact of police communications and initiatives on public perceptions of progress in enhancing Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: A case of Police Scotland
• PhD Research Studentship: How, when and where can preconception interventions be utilised in Scotland
• PhD Research Studentship: Co-creating Performance and Play: Supporting community cohesion and well-being through mixed-media co-production
• Masters by Research (MbR) with technical work experience.
• PhD Studentship: Towards climate-positive barley: developing model-based approaches to identify pathways and evidence benefits
• PhD Research Studentship: Investigating the potential of Extended Reality for alternative understandings of forced migration and devastated Middle Eastern Cultural Heritage Sites.
• PhD Research Studentship: Using avatars in investigative interviews with children.
• PhD Research Studentship: How do we best teach our children to be cyber secure?
• PhD Research Studentship: Machine learning to determine soil properties: a smartphone-based solution for stakeholders
• RLINCS PhD studentship: The effect of different types of omega-3 fatty acids on exercise capacity in the elderly
• RLINCS PhD studentship: Using Affective Computing to Create an Emotional Bond between Users and Virtual Agents for Enhanced Social Interaction
• R-LINCS PhD Studentship: Using VR to Investigate the Visual Features that Determine the Effectiveness of Disruptive Camouflage
• R-LINCS PhD Studentship: Eco-grief and community experiences of changing water practices in Malawi
• PhD Studentship: Seals as sentinels of antimicrobial resistance: mapping antimicrobial resistance genes in UK waters
• PhD Studentships: A 4D Virtual Tumour for Cancer Ecology.
• RLINCS PhD Research Studentships: Investigating the Chemistry of a Cold Smoking Process and its Impacts on Food Safety and Quality; Deep Learning Intrusion Detection System for the Internet of Things; Characterising fat tissue structure and function in grey seals, an animal model of extreme fat deposition and mobilisation, using novel in vivo and in vitro approaches; Applying the self-reference effect to improve children’s mathematical problem solving; Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury in female athletes.
• Master by Research Studentships in Mental Health Nursing: Various areas of research focus will be considered. 
• Master by Research Studentship: Developing a successful food new product development tool linking effective testing (using facial electromyography) with sensory attribute selection
• PhD Research Studentship: Exploiting yeast diversity in whisky fermentations for biocatalysis of desirable flavour compounds. 
• PhD Research Studentship: Evaluating the effect of plant species on soil carbonation flux
• PhD Research Studentship: Fluid-aerosol modelling of cloud evolution in substellar atmospheres (R-LINCS)
• Master by Research Studentship: Developing a successful food new product development tool linking effective testing (using facial electromyography) with sensory attribute selection
• MSc Research Studentship: Utilising crushed dolerite columns to stabilise unstable substrates using microbial-induced calcite precipitation (MICP): coupling ground improvement and climate mitigation - laboratory approach 
• Games and Media Facilitated e-Learning 
• Developing a successful new food product development, tool linking effective testing (using facial electromyography) with sensory attribute selection
• A generic framework for atmospheric fluid-aerosol modelling with applications in astrophysics, computer games and environment
• Utilising crushed dolerite columns to stabilise unstable substrates using microbial-induced calcite precipitation (MICP): coupling ground improvement and climate mitigation – numerical modelling approach
•  Exploring self-reference effects in children with ADHD
• Application of focused 'omics' approaches to the study of biological phenomena implicated in musculoskeletal ageing. (R-LINCS)
• CLOSED - Modelling of multiphase flow in deformable agricultural soils (Hosted at Abertay University for Tayside Centre for Geotechnical Engineering in Natural Environments)
• Development of Effective Guidelines and Communication Tools for the Protection of Rural Private Water Supplies from Sources of Pollution 
• Detection, analysis and clinical application of spermatozoa biochemical profile using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). (R-LINCS)
• Multiple missing: an exploration of behavioural consistency in repeat missing adults. (R-LINCS)
• Application of focused 'omics' approaches to the study of biological phenomena implicated in musculoskeletal ageing. (R-LINCS)
• Connecting Performance and Play: interdisciplinary design methods for the development of games and performance – ARCS/ SGSAH  studentship (Abertay University, National Theatre of Scotland and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland)
• Investigation into and Development of Processes for the Enhancement of Safety and Shelf Life of Fresh Produce. (R-LINCS and James Hutton Institute)
• Ecology at play: An exploration of natural data through game design. (IW Stewart PhD Studentship) 
• Developing of 4D Imaging Methods to Quantify Soil Structural Dynamics with applications to Soil Science and Environmental Engineering. (R-LINCS)
• Addressing the Fundamental Problems of Cyber-Security through Anti-Patterns. (R-LINCS)
• Interaction between emotion and communication. (R-LINCS)
• Investigating structural synaptic plasticity as a novel therapeutic target for functional recovery from spinal cord injury. (R-LINCS)
• Securing cyberspace: Development and validation of a novel research and evaluation toolset. (R-LINCS)
• The Social and Organisational Construction of Ethical Hacking. (R-LINCS)
• A systematic study of the effect of ultrasound on food enzymes and bioaccessibility of bioactive compounds (model and real food systems). (R-LINCS)
• Assisting Digital Forensic Reconstruction via Exploratory Information Visualisation. (SICSCA)
• Exploring the Role of Monitoring Agents and Affective Feedback in Enhancing Cyber Security for Average Users. (SICSCA)
• Games Design, a new Approach for a New Industry. (ESRC)
• Design and Action. (AHRC)
• Exploring Interactive Design Engineering Methodologies. (AHRC)
• Investigation of the performance of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) on the Scottish Trunk Road Network (STRN). (BEAR)
• Factors controlling root growth in heterogeneous substrates: physical structures and root behaviour. (R-LINCS in partnership with James Hutton Institute)
• When do dialects become languages? (Leverhulme)
• Computer and Web Enabled Food Product Evaluation. (MacPhie of Glenbervie Ltd)
• Customer Honesty in Self-Service Interactions. (R-LINCS)
• Nano-and bio-technologies for food science and technology. (SORSAS)
• Role of Second Generation Phosphodiesterase Inhibitor(s) and Adenosine-Triphosphate on Human Sperm Motility. (SORSAS)
• Influence of soil structure on the spatial and temporal distribution of bacteria in soil. (SORSAS)
• Ecosystem service goods and benefits accruing from sustainable approaches to urban water management (SORSAS)
• Understanding Early Intervention: A Case Study of Dundee (SIPR)
• MPhil Research Studentship, 2 years: Project Title: Games and Media Facilitated e-Learning
• PhD Research Studentship: Mapping for Social Innovation
• MPhil Studentship: Development and validation of sequencing and bioinformatics methodologies to identify pathogenic mutations in candidate male infertility genes.
• PhD Studentship: Parental Involvement in Sport: Improving the Quality of Children’s Sport Experiences and Wellbeing
• PhD Studentship: Co-Design Mapping for Social Innovation Project.
• PhD Studentship: Enhancing Scotland’s resilience to climate change.
• PhD Studentship: Active transport of Gold-coated iron oxide superparamagnetic nanoparticles: A universal delivery vehicle.
• PhD Studentship: BARIToNE CTP - Towards climate-Positive barley: developing model-based approaches to identify pathways and evidence benefits (PROTECT)