Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) enables excellent Chinese students to obtain their PhD degrees at TU/e with a 4-year scholarship from the CSC. Students from all Chinese universities are eligible for this program. The program aims to foster long-term research co-operation between Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) and Chinese universities. Students who receive a scholarship are provided with a living allowance as prescribed by the Chinese Government for the term of the scholarship, return airfare to the Netherlands by the most economical route, student visa fees and the cost of health insurance for international students.

• PhD in Design of Systems with Emerging Technologies in a Societal Context at Department of Industrial Design, Eindhoven University of Technology 2023

Introduction

Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) is among the top 150 universities according to the QS Global World Ranking. It is located in a highly industrialized region, known as ‘Brainport’. This region is internationally recognized as a top technology area with a special focus on the integration of design and technology. The Department of Industrial Design was established in close collaboration with the technological industry, and, because of this, focuses its research on the Design of Systems with Emerging Technologies in a Societal Context. We aim to advance the field of Design by creating new knowledge, tools, and systems that foster a new breed of designers who can meet the increasingly complex challenges of our world.

PhD program Industrial Design

Industrial Design is a department that develops design engineering and design research expertise. We contribute in the field as scholars, engaging in design and technology development. From its early days the department has used a truly multi-disciplinary approach in education and research. The main contributing disciplines have been design, engineering, and social sciences. In recent years the role of health sciences has been growing, as health increasingly becomes a focal application area for our research.

Making is key to our research. We have intensely and consistently led and shaped the Research-through-Design (RtD) paradigm, in many respects more so than other design research programs. RtD typically involves a constructive element to address a design challenge and develop novel directions and opportunities for design, coupled with empirical studies involving individuals or groups interacting with the created artefacts. The artefacts designed at our department are smart products, systems and services involving ICT: we see ourselves thus as creative technologists, our focus on technology being one that traditionally concerns embedded systems following the visions of ambient intelligence/ubiquitous computing. We explore interactivity, focusing on aspects such as physicality, playfulness, user experience, etc.

We address design research challenges where the main objective is to create value and opportunities in systems with emerging technologies and materials. Additionally, we leverage new forms of interaction where the main objective is to realize and study networks of systems in a societal context and to design and analyze the emerging interaction patterns using recent developments in data acquisition and data analysis technology.

As a PhD student, you will work on research topics related to the aspects above by exploring future technology through probing prototypes in everyday-life settings (e.g. Experiential Design Landscapes).

Expected Background

Applicants to this PhD research shall have a background in industrial design, digital arts and interactive media, human-computer interaction, computer science, information technology, electrical engineering, biomedical engineering, mechanical engineering and physics.

Research Topics

We are aiming at recruiting about three CSC Ph.D. candidates in 2023. The applicants can apply for one of the following research directions :

• Aesthetics of Intelligence: Subsuming current perspectives on aesthetics of form, interaction, and user experience, and building on AI developments, we develop on an ‘aesthetics of intelligence” that can be influenced by designers and valued in everyday use.

• Systems of Smart Things: Extending and transcending physical computing prototyping to enable designers to prototype efficiently for the Internet of Things (IoT), Distributed Intelligence, and Big Data.

• Interactive Materiality: Inventing, developing, and analyzing new forms of interaction that rely on broad conceptions of materiality that include sensors, actuators, data, smart materials, bio-materials, and multi-modal interaction.

• Post-Human Design Research Methodology: Extending and enriching current expertise in constructive design research to address challenges characterizing the post-human era, e.g., accounting for non-human stakeholders in the design process.

• Games and Play: Engaging with playful technologies, game design and game data to facilitate societal change.

• Inclusive Design and Thoughtful Technology: Addresses societal challenges such as designing for vulnerable and ageing populations, mental and emotional wellbeing, supporting a fair and inclusive society, a humanly sustainable technology advancement centered on shared societal values.

• Transforming Practices: Focuses on transformation within society, major societal issues, social resilience based on the transformative practices framework, exploring new approaches, tools, attitudes and skills and new designs.

• Vitality: focuses on designerly ways to trigger behaviour change for healthier lifestyles, contributing to physical and mental vitality and healthy living.

Application Procedure

It is a two-step process:

1. Applying with us. According to the quality of the application documents, you might be invited for an interview (video conferencing, if necessary). If the interview gives positive advice, you will be offered with an admission letter, with a tuition fee waiver.
2. Applying at CSC. We will help you adjust, refine and improve your research proposal, and help you improve the quality of other application documents. We will assist and advise you throughout the CSC application process.

If you are interested in applying, please first address your interest to dr. Jun Hu: j.hu@tue.nl as early as possible for questions and guidance, and later prepare the following documents and submit them to j.hu@tue.nl , with "CSC PhD application 2023" in the subject:

1. Curriculum Vitae
2. Research plan according to one of the aforementioned topics (no more than 4-pages of A4 in English, Including Background, Objectives and Research questions, Methodology, Planning, Expected results, Feasibility, Future Plan after your PhD, and References).
3. Motivation letter (no more than 1-page A4).
4. Copy of Master Degree (if available, or a letter from your university to prove that you are expected to graduate in due time).
5. Letter of recommendation from your supervisor at the home university.

6. Any indication of your English level (IELTS 6.5 or TOEFL 95, or equivalent) according to the requirements from CSC (http://www.csc.edu.cn/) and TU/e.

7. If you have a design or art background, portfolio of your design or artwork.

If these documents are too big to be attached to an email, you are advised to simply send in a link to a single online ZIP file that contains all the documents.

Deadlines

Please notice the deadlines: January 22, 2023 at TU/e; Please check the CSC website http://www.csc.edu.cn/ for the deadline applying at CSC. For better support for your application, we would encourage you to apply as early as possible.

For more information

For more information, please contact dr. Jun Hu: j.hu@tue.nl

More about research at ID, TU/e: https://www.tue.nl/en/our-university/departments/industrial-design/research/

More about the requirements in applying for the Scholarship from China Scholarship Council (CSC) for Chinese PhD candidates: http://www.csc.edu.cn