phd student | Scholarship for Nigerians and Africans - Part 2

Doctoral Studentship in Circuit Design, Lund University, Sweden

The focus of the research project is on ultra-low power digital circuit design. During the course of the project power optimization techniques from architectural down to transistor level will be investigated for their suitability and efficiency, if the circuit is operated under a scaled supply voltage. Furthermore, clocking strategies like globally asynchronous and locally synchronous (GALS) will be investigated. The PhD student will participate in an Industrial Excellence Center supported by VINNOVA and industrial partners entitled “System Design on Silicon” ,www.eit.lth.se/sos. The position is full-time, which includes 15% department work, mainly teaching.
Eligibility/Entry Requirements
Master of Science in in Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, physics or equivalent. The position is intended to be filled for a doctoral education in circuit design.

Scholarship Application Deadline: 13-05-2011

Further Scholarship Information and Application

Leicester Cardiovascular Biomedical Research Unit PhD Studentship in Computational Modelling in Stroke & Heart Disease, UK

A major preventable cause of brain injury following cardiac surgery comes from showering the brain with embolic debris (particles and air bubbles in the bloodstream). Emboli obstruct blood flow which can lead to tissue damage and/or stroke. This project takes place within a larger British Heart Foundation (BHF) study, which uses patient-specific computer simulations to predict the effects of emboli on cerebral blood-flow during surgery. Computer simulations have potential to provide a clinically useful tool for modelling perfusion injury, predicting brain injury, and guiding interventions. The aim of our BHF project is to extend existing Doppler ultrasound embolus detection methods using a ‘virtual patient’ simulation. The role of the PhD student will be to determine whether our virtual patient models provide valuable predictive information on cerebral perfusion correlating to physical damage seen in patients’ Magnetic Resonance (MR) Images. The project will use angiography data to develop models of the cerebral arteries, combining patient specific information with generic models of the microvasculature. Predictions based on ultrasound monitoring during surgery will be compared to the results of MR scans and neuropsychological tests. Our team collaborates closely with surgeons and physicians within the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and has an established track record in Medical Physics research. The project will provide the student with training in medical imaging techniques (ultrasound and MR), clinical research methods, and modelling of vascular physiology. We are seeking a hard working, highly motivated student with good computational and communication skills and an interest in working in a clinical environment.
Eligibility: UK and EU nationals/permanent residents only. Entry Requirements: Applicants should hold a 1st or 2.1 degree in Physics, Engineering or a numerate discipline and have an interest in computational modeling.

Scholarship Application Deadline: 1 June 2011
Further Scholarship Information and Application

3 Years PhD Studentship in Workplace Learning at Oxford Brookes University, UK

The full-time studentship, which includes an element for teaching will be for 3 years, subject to satisfactory progress. Starting bursary will be £20,000 pa plus student fees. Socio-cultural perspectives on learning emphasise the social, relational and situated processes by which individuals become accomplished practitioners. Becoming a manager, nurse, plumber, airline pilot etc. is not simply a matter of being ‘taught’ in a formal sense: identity-development and participation within networks and communities of practice are also important. Although socio-cultural perspectives have permeated academic research on learning in the past 15 years, much of the research has been uncritical: assuming that communities are idyllic (Reynolds, 2000), but neglecting the ‘dark side’ of communities (Lave & Wenger, 1991) whereby newcomers’ access to learning opportunities are blocked by oldtimers for political, economic or other reasons.
PhD applications are invited on the topic of workplace learning. The proposed PhD research could take a number of directions such as (but not limited to) the role of identity-development in learning; the politics of workplace learning; and the nature of ‘participation’. Research contexts might include business, the public sector, or not-fo profit organisations. ‘Learners’ might be of any age ranging from young apprentices to mature workers transitioning to new roles and opportunities.

Scholarship Application Deadline: 15 April 2011

Further Scholarship Information and Application