Home > Opportunities
Opportunities
PhD study (full-time and part-time)
The Design Group at The Open University (OU) offers a vibrant research environment. We are located in the Venables building on the OU campus in Milton Keynes. You can read about the history of design at the OU here. The Design Group offers interaction across a spectrum of design cultures drawn from the arts, sciences, humanities and social sciences. A wide variety of people have successfully graduated from the Design Group with a PhD (full list).
The Design Group encourages applications for full- and part-time PhD research, which frequently involves practical design activity. Strong candidates can be considered for an Open University full-time studentship. Please see the research areas specified below for particular opportunities in the Design Group.
If you have a different area of interest or are simply interested in studying full-time or part-time for a PhD in design research please look at the Open University Research Prospectus for general information. For more specific information please contact Prof Steve Garner.
We supervise a broad range of part-time PhD projects and are interested in hearing from people with a first degree who would like to propose a research project. For many part-time students this relates closely to their work and career aspirations.
Call for PhD applications (March 2011)
The Design Group at The Open University is a leading international centre for cross-disciplinary research in design and innovation. The group is seeking candidates with a good first degree and ideally a Masters degree but substantial experience in practice or theory can be considered. Applicants will need to demonstrate interest in one of the themes listed below.
Potential applicants are invited to contact Prof Steve Garner in the first instance (or the staff named below).
Application forms are available here.
Applications should be emailed to Paul Courtnage at p.j.courtnage@open.ac.uk. Please do not send your application to more than one addressee. The closing date for applications is 4th March 2011. Studies commence in October 2011.
Strong candidates can be considered for a University studentship.
Applications must contain:
1. The completed application form
2. A research proposal outlining an area of study (600-1000 words)
3. Your CV plus the names and contact details of three academic referees
Tuition fees and grants
Students who study full time, either as an MRes or PhD student (inclusive of an MPhil in the probationary year) usually have their fees paid for them by their funding body. Part-time students are predominantly self-funding and are required to pay tuition fees in full at the beginning of the academic year (usually the beginning of October).
The 3 year research studentships provide a maintenance grant of at least £13,590 per year (2011 rate) and all academic fees are covered.
Training
There is a comprehensive training programme in key skills for all PhD students and you may register for any of the OU undergraduate courses free of charge. There is a thriving design seminar series. More information on research support is available here.
Opportunities for PhD research: Design Processes and Products
• Design theory and methods
Theoretical backgrounds to the practice of design; studies of design cognition and designers’ behaviour and performance; comparative design, modelling design processes and development of formalised design methods.
Contact: Dr Peter Lloyd
• Comparisons between design domains
Design is widely recognised as a universal human phenomenon, but it plays out differently in different domains and processes. What are the drivers for different behaviour and the opportunities for cross fertilisation?
Contact: Prof Chris Earl or Dr Claudia Eckert
• Constrained creativity
In practical design problems in industry, such as engineering or construction, people often have to find creative ways to come up with an acceptable solution with minimal cost or change. This PhD addresses how these constrained processes, and the more general processes of design change, can be supported.
Contact: Dr Claudia Eckert
• Representations: Drawing and sketching
How sketching supports creative thinking; drawings as metaphor; digital representations; product analysis and drawing; using eye tracking in drawing research; visualisation and diagraming.
Contact: Prof Steve Garner
• Design computation
Novel applications of computers in design and innovation; shape and shape grammars; haptic ‘touch and see’ interfaces; visual reasoning; generative methods including rule-based and knowledge-based information systems and rapid prototyping and 3D digitisation.
Contact: Prof Chris Earl
• Innovation, transformation and resilience
Management of successful design and innovation; design of user centred eco-friendly products and services; design and industrial competitiveness; benefits and costs of investment in design; creativity in design and innovation, knowledge management.
Contact: Dr Stephen Peake
The role of design practice in the transformation of socio-technical systems for transport, energy, water, shelter etc. Design resilient to changes in environmental conditions. Product service system design.
Contact: Dr Matthew Cook
• Designing across cultures
Similarities and differences across cultures in design practice or design learning; comparing creativity across national cultures; investigating variations in design processes that are influenced by cultural values and socio-cultural factors; evaluating the functioning of international teams either co-located or distributed.
Contact: Dr Nicole Schadewitz
• Teaching and Learning in Design
E-learning in design, creativity in school curricula; virtual design studios; multi-school collaboration; supporting design and innovation at undergraduate levels; tools and techniques for online design education; primary design and innovation.
Contact: Prof Steve Garner, Georgina Holden, Dr Nicole Schadewitz, Dr Katerina Alexiou
• The Business of Design
The interface between design and business thinking and methods; new and disruptive business models (e.g. to meet sustainability or health outcomes); applying design tools and techniques for business leadership in the public and private sectors.
Contact: Dr Stephen Peake
Opportunities for PhD research: Complexity and Design
• Complexity and design
Empirical study of coordination, phase transitions or self-organization in design processes and teams; development of generative design tools; methods for managing complexity; multi-level network analysis of organizations and artefacts (from small objects to cities); computer simulations of design processes (focussing on creativity and collaboration).
Contact: Prof Jeff Johnson, Dr Theo Zamenopoulos or Dr Katerina Alexiou
• Design neuropsychology
Theoretical examination of design by focusing on theories of mind and evidence from brain research; empirical study of human behaviour in design tasks (across a variety of domains and settings); empirical studies of design cognition based on brain imaging techniques; development of computational models of mental processes involved in design thinking.
Contact: Dr Theo Zamenopoulos or Dr Katerina Alexiou
• Design patterns
Patterns in practice, process and/or products; patterns as descriptions of tacit knowledge. This PhD seeks to define relevant processes for pattern identification and their usefulness in design practice.
Contact: Dr Nicole Schadewitz
• Intelligent machines
Cooperating and swarm robots; complexity of socio-technical systems; pattern recognition; computer vision; education and entertainment robotics.
Contact: Prof Jeff Johnson
• Space and human behaviour
Projects at the interface between how people perceive and construct space and how space influences individual and social behaviour, for example, design spaces for the emergence of eco-behaviour or projects into embedding technology in architectural and urban space. This can also include studies of the development of technologies for adaptive architecture and the design of spaces that adapt to human needs and behaviours.
Contact: Dr Theo Zamenopoulos or Dr Katerina Alexiou. Dr Matthew Cook
• Robotics design
Kinematic design of dextrous and agile robotic systems; design of variable-geometry structures; autonomous robotic space systems.
Contact: Dr Joe Rooney
• Complexity and Organisations
Organisational behaviour in complex policy systems; theories of policy making and relatonships to design methods and techniques; software design for environmental science education.
Contact: Dr Stephen Peake
Opportunities for PhD research: Sustainable Design
• Design ethics
A number of writers including Winner (1977) highlight the importance of politics and ethics in design and innovation. Extending this tradition, Lloyd (2010) suggests that ethics are not merely important in design processes but that ethical codes are constructed and enacted within these. This area might particularly interest students of urban planning and design.
Contact: Dr Matthew Cook or Dr Peter Lloyd
• Environment
Design of environment-friendly products; planning and design for reduced environmental impact; energy-efficient design of buildings and urban environments; sustainable design of products and services; renewable energy systems development, policy and strategy.
Contact: Prof Robin Roy or Prof Godfrey Boyle
• Ecology of Design
Growing ecological intelligence in design; delivering processes and solutions in challenging global markets; new design wisdom in the context of ecological limits; designing adaptive capacity across infrastructures; reimagining resource needs and expectations; creating interventions for equitable resource management; transformative learning and adaptation.
Contact: Dr Emma Dewberry
• Environment and community
Community design; environmental resilience; participatory design; environmental decision making.
Contact: Georgina Holden
• Sustainable transport designs
The design and diffusion of cleaner transport technologies; cleaner vehicle technologies and more sustainable travel behaviour; innovative public transport designs; innovations in transport policies e.g. travel plannning and public engagement with innovative transport technologies.
Contact: Prof Stephen Potter and Dr James Warren
Further information on research can be found at these links:
Energy and Environment Research Unit (EERU)
Design and Innovation Group (DIG)
Page Last Updated: 1 March, 2011