Research Fellow - Design for Health and Gender Responsive Innovation

Fixed Term Contract (36 Months)

Full Time 1.0 FTE 1^st February 2023 – 31^st January 2024

Part Time 0.5 FTE 1^st February 2024 - 31^st December 2025

Job description

Coventry University is inviting applications for a Research Fellow role in the area of design for health and gender responsive innovation. 

The post-holder will be based within the multi-disciplinary Well-being and the Arts theme group in the Centre for Arts, Memory and Communities. They will undertake design related research across two externally funded research projects.

1.Design for Health

The postholder will work in collaboration with NIHR Devices for Dignity MedTech Cooperative (D4D), specialists in developing health technologies with, and for, people of all ages with long-term conditions to help improve independence and quality of life. They will contribute design expertise to the NIHR Invention for Innovation (i4i) funded project ‘A new therapy for post-stroke arm spasticity: Sheffield Adaptive Patterned Electrical Stimulation (SHAPES)’

The SHAPES project aims to design, develop and evaluate a new therapy device for use soon after a stroke to treat post-stroke elbow spasticity.  The post holder will undertake qualitative research studies to determine user needs (e.g. interviews, focus groups), co-design and develop the device, and carry out user testing and evaluation activities.

2.Gender Responsive Innovation

In collaboration with the European Network of Living Labs the postholder will work in collaboration with an international consortium of partners, in the H2020, Gendered Innovation Living Labs (GILL) project. The aim of the project, starting in January 2023 is to increase, sustain and stimulate gender responsive innovation and entrepreneurship.

Across the three years the postholder will support the Coventry team completing two iterative and reflective design lifecycles and associated action based research in areas related to design for health, mobility, and female entrepreneurship. The aim is to not simply develop new products, but create mechanism to reduce inherent gender and diversity biases in current design and innovation processes across Europe.

Role requirements

Applicants should have a PhD or equivalent, and experience in design-related projects which have used living lab, codesign/cocreation or participatory approaches with government, industry, academia, citizens and data analysts. Applicants should possess demonstrable design skills as well as good working knowledge of qualitative research methods, co-design and user testing.

Coventry University is leading in user centred and codesign for health and mobility in both projects. Therefore a  track record in either of these specialisms is important, as well as a robust understanding of current issues around gender and intersectionality and a commitment to increasing diversity in R and D.

To view the job description and person specification please click here

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