ESRC CDT Data Analytics and Society PhD Studentship: The Role of R&D and Innovation in Promoting Growth across Sectors, Firms and Regions

We are inviting applications for a 4-year funded integrated PhD and MSc part of the ESRC CDT Data Analytics and Society starting from October 2023. This is an outstanding research project in collaboration with the UK Government Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). The student will be based in the Department of Economics at the University of Sheffield.

The project will explore the role of R&D in promoting innovation and productivity growth across sectors, firms and regions. Applying machine learning to big data from web-scraping of companies’ websites, the project will investigate emerging UK sectors, such as life science, renewable energy, creative and digital sectors, which are not accurately identified via traditional industrial classification. The project will also analyse the role of public R&D funding in promoting regional diversification and the importance of ring-fenced regional R&D funding and innovation hubs to promote levelling up, applying spatial econometric techniques to data on the location of research hubs, innovators and allocated funding.

The project offers an exciting opportunity to collaborate with the BEIS Advanced Analytics team, and access granular and experimental datasets. The team at BEIS will provide support for the PhD student regarding the quality and robustness of the analysis, the relevance to policy, and the use of novel data and techniques. They will also facilitate contact with Government analysts and policy leads, providing opportunities for the PhD student to learn about government policy and analysis, also through the possibility of an internship at BEIS.

The PhD student will be part of an active and multicultural cohort of PhD students based in the Department of Economics, and will also be part of the Sheffield Urban, International Trade and Environmental Economics (SUITE) research group and benefit from access to the doctoral training in economics programme, PhD reading groups, and the annual departmental PhD conference. Visit our website for more information about the PhD programme in Economics at Sheffield.

This project would be well suited to a student with a background in economics, business economics, or economic geography. Solid data analysis skills and a strong interest in economic geography and the economics of innovation would be an advantage. The successful student will be supervised by Dr Jesse Matheson (Economics), Dr Enrico Vanino (Economics) and Dr Andy Bell (Sheffield Methods Institute). Interested candidates may contact Dr Vanino (e.vanino@sheffield.ac.uk).

More information about the project and how to apply can be found at the CDT project webpage. Please note that you must apply through the Leeds portal, even if you wish to study at Sheffield.

A standard studentship covers the cost of tuition fees, provides a doctoral stipend of £16,062, (2022 rate- to increase slightly each year with inflation), and a Research Training Support Grant, for four years. Applications are open to both Home and International fee rated applicants.

A minimum 2:1 honours degree, or equivalent, in a relevant subject area is required, and a relevant language certificate for international candidates.

Options to study part-time are available, if you wish to study part-time please indicate this when you apply. If selected for interview, the project supervisor will discuss options with you.

The deadline for applications is 10th April 2023.

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