PhD Studentship in Energy and Sustainable Development

Closing date  :  30 January 2011
Interview date:  22 February 2011

Institute of Energy and Sustainable Development (IESD)
Three years, full scholarship comprising stipend and UK fees

Applications are invited from well-qualified, highly motivated individuals for a PhD studentship, commencing 01 April 2011.

The successful applicant will join a team from the IESD, at De Montfort University, who are part of an exciting €12.8M project funded by the European Commission, which will develop a new kind of enterprise software for the factory of the future. This software will promote 'energy awareness' in the context of production management of future factories to enable them to make best use of available energy resources.

The post is for three years and offers a stipend (currently £13,590 per annum) and fees at the UK (Home) rate; overseas applications are welcomed but fees would be charged at the overseas rate and the student will have to pay the balance.

The KAP project has partners from the European automotive and semiconductor manufacturing sectors, research organisations and universities who are responsible for a range of work packages leading to the creation and demonstration of a new kind of production management tool for industry. The main role of the De Montfort team within KAP is to assist in the creation of a factory-wide hierarchical model of energy consumption and to design an energy monitoring infrastructure to support this model. The model will include a classification of energy carriers and energy using devices appropriate to the factory of the future.

You will join a large group of higher degree students and work alongside other research staff in the IESD's excellent self-contained research base in the renowned Queens Building. You will be provided with excellent facilities and funding for travel, eg to present work at conferences. You will be offered bespoke training necessary for your project.

The Institute of Energy and Sustainable Development (IESD) is an internationally leading research institute focusing on energy and sustainability. The scope of its research ranges from the clean and efficient use of energy, to integrated renewable energy technologies and the environmental quality of the built environment. In the most recent Research Assessment Exercise (RAE2008), 65% of the Institute's research was rated "world leading" or "internationally excellent".

Informal enquires may be made to either:
Dr Rick Greenough
Tel: +44 (0)116 2078714 or
Dr Neil Brown
Tel: +44 (0)116 2577851

An application form is available from:
Miss Clare Perry
Institute of Energy and Sustainable Development
De Montfort University,
Queens Building, The Gateway, Leicester LE1 9BH
Tel: 0116 257 7979
Fax: 0116 257 7977
Email: cperry@dmu.ac.uk.

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PhD Studentship in Speech-based Security over the Telephone

The College of Engineering invites applications for a fully-funded joint PhD with the Speech & Image Research Group at Swansea University and Laboratoire Informatique d'Avignon at Université d'Avignon et des Pays de Vaucluse.

About the project:

This is a joint PhD with the Speech & Image Research Group at Swansea University and Laboratoire Informatique d'Avignon at Université d'Avignon et des Pays de Vaucluse.

Over the last 20 years both the Laboratoire Informatique d'Avignon and Swansea University have been at the forefront of international research in the area of speaker recognition. This studentship, directly linked to a new EU Eureka/FP7 programme, aims to enhance the security of transactions over the telephone using speech-based signal processing and new biometric approaches.

Candidate eligibility:

• Applicants should be Masters or Bachelor students with a first-class honours degree in a suitable engineering, mathematical or scientific discipline.
• A good working knowledge of English is essential; a good knowledge of French is desirable.
• Due to funding restrictions, this studentship is only open to UK/EU residents.

Studentship value:

The studentship will cover UK/EU fees as well as a maintenance stipend of around £15,000 per annum.

How to apply:
Interested candidates should send a CV to :

• Dr John Mason or
• Dr. Jean-Francois Bonastre

Application closing date:
Applicants are advised to apply as soon as possible.

Further information:
For informal enquiries contact Dr John Mason

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MSc Business Information Technology

University of East London - School of Computing, Information Technology and Engineering (CITE) and UELconnect

MSc Business Information Technology (BIT) by Distance Learning

(Fully Online)
Achieve an upwardly mobile career by advancing your education online

The programme

This course is designed to help busy people fit studying around their home and work commitments. Our learning materials are highly interactive and easy to use so you can achieve your qualification with total flexibility. On enrolment, you will be provided with introductory materials and information on using UEL's online systems including the Moodle based virtual learning environment, which emphasises social interaction, learning support and knowledge exchange.

Our academic staff members offer extensive experience in both teaching and industry so you are taught by those who have practical knowledge as well as academic understanding of concepts and theories. This fully online MSc will enable you to examine issues relevant to your immediate work environment under the pastoral and mentoring care of university academics. During your studies, you will receive regular two way communication with tutors and full support from our dedicated student advisors. The MSc Business information Technology has particular emphasis on enterprising skills such as strategic technology management, knowledge management systems, security and legal issues with internet technologies and security management.

Your future career
You will gain a recognised qualification and which will equip you to enter a senior role in IT and computing services. You will benefit from opportunities to network and interact with peers around the globe and take advantage of the knowledge and experiences they have.

Programme structure

The programme consists of four 30-credit modules and a 60-credit dissertation module (180 M credits in total). There is sustained focus in all modules on areas of practical interest and of demand in today's technology driven business world.

Modules:

1. Strategic IT Management - Designed to enable you to deal competently with the issues related to strategy management and IT.
2. Knowledge Management Systems - Provides you with an understanding of key architectures and related technologies and demonstrates how these are used in the design of knowledge systems to aid enterprise development.
3. Information Technology and Internet Law - Develops your understanding of legal issues raised by the increased use of communication networks such as the Internet.
4. Security Management - Aims to extend your knowledge of network management, systems management and identify the problems associated with security management.
5. 60-credit Dissertation module which includes a taught Research Methods component.
   

Entry requirements

• Minimum 2.2 degree (or equivalent) preferably in a Computing, Business Information Systems or related subject.
• English language requirements IELTS 6.5 (or equivalent).
• Start month - September

Apply now
To apply, please contact the Distance Learning team at UELconnect
Website :www.uel.ac.uk/uelconnect
Email: study@uel.ac.uk
Tel: 020 8223 3333

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2012 Visiting Fellowship Program, Australia

The Humanities Research Centre was established in 1972 and celebrated 30 years of excellence in the humanities in 2002. It aims to stimulate scholarship and advance research in the Humanities through its objectives.

The HRC interprets the "Humanities" generously, recognising that new methods of theoretical enquiry have done much to break down the traditional distinction between the humanities and the social sciences; recognising, too, the importance of establishing dialogue between the humanities and the natural and technological sciences, and the creative arts.

The Centre encourages interdisciplinary and comparative work, and seeks to take a provocative as well as supportive role in relation to existing humanities studies in Australia. It aims to give special attention to topics and disciplines which stand in need of particular stimulus in Australia. One of its central functions is to bring to Australia scholars of international standing who will provoke fresh ideas within, and beyond, the academic community.

The HRC is now accepting applications for the 2012 Visiting Fellowship Program.

Deadline: Tuesday, 15th March 2011.

For full details, application forms, referees reports and guidelines go to our mini site http://hrc.anu.edu.au. These fellowships are open to everyone who meets the eligibility criteria. Please read guidelines.

For more information contact Programs Manager, Leena Messina. by email at: Leena.Messina@anu.edu.au

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PhD Studentship in Nanostructured Silicon Thermoelectrics

University of East Anglia - School of Chemistry

This fully funded studentship is available to start in 2011, under the supervision of Dr Yimin Chao in the internationally recognised School of Chemistry, UEA Norwich; 100% of research activity classified as internationally leading, excellent or recognised.

Funding is available for UK/EU students. Funding awarded for this project will cover tuition fees and stipend for UK students. EU students may be eligible for full funding, or tuition fees only, depending on the funding source. International students will not be eligible for this funding however they are still welcome to apply for the project but would have to find alternative funding.

Project description :

Energy shortage and climate change are two of the most serious problems threatening our society. The proposed silicon nanocrystal thin film is a hitherto unknown "supra nanocrystallite" structure with extraordinary intrinsic thermoelectric properties. Their thermoelectric properties have not previously been investigated. We believe if the proposed novel silicon supra nanostructure could achieve thermoelectric efficiencies high enough to be used commercially, this could be a new approach towards solving current energy and climate problems. If the mechanism of boosting thermoelectric efficiencies in such supra nanostructures can be elucidated, we expect this would have a very significant impact upon current and future fundamental sciences and technologies. Currently approximately 90 percent of power is generated by heat engines that use fossil fuel combustion as a heat source and typically operate at 30-40 percent efficiency. If they could be made more efficient thermoelectric modules could potentially convert part of this low-grade waste heat to electricity, or act as an alternative to photovoltaic cells for converting solar radiation into electricity. Unfortunately, current thermoelectric materials are limited by figure of merit performance, and are toxic, expensive and have weight issues when implemented. Our intention is to address these problems by developing novel thermoelectric material technology with a high figure of merit and efficient transfer mechanisms between thermal and electrical energy for primarily power generation applications. At the end of this study, we will have a highly efficient thermoelectric module consisting of silicon nanoparticles thin film with large Seebeck coefficient, high electrical conductivity and low thermal conductivity. These studies will enrich science, lead to new understanding and identify novel thermoelectrics on nanoscale materials. Potentially the outcome will impact the thermoelectric materials market significantly and contribute towards tackling of climate change through sustainable power generation.

Contact:

For informal enquiries about this position please contact Dr Yimin Chao or the Faculty of Science Admissions Office at sci.pgr.admiss@uea.ac.uk or +44 (0) 1603 593002.

How to apply:

Apply online or download an application form from our website: www.uea.ac.uk/futurestudents/uk/postgraduates/admissions/pgradmissions
Completed application forms should be submitted to the Admissions Office, Faculty of Science, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ.

The deadline for receipt of completed applications is Friday 4th February 2011.

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