PhD Studentship in Computer Science: Trustworthy Computational Stewardship in Industry-Grade Data Protection Assistants

Award summary

100% fees covered, and a minimum tax-free annual living allowance of £20,780 (2025/26 UKRI rate). Additional project costs will also be provided

Overview

The challenge that matters

In today’s digital age, we continuously share personal data dozens of times daily—yet 88% of UK consumers want more control over their information, and 42% felt they had no control over their personal data in 2022. The problem? Manually giving well-considered consent to every data use in real time is impossible. The solution? Autonomous agent systems that protect your privacy efficiently, transparently, and accountably. This is where you come in.

Your mission

Working at the intersection of privacy research and real-world engineering, you'll design and build a computational stewardship engine—an autonomous agent system that makes privacy decisions on behalf of users while staying auditable, explainable, and GDPR-compliant. Think of it as turning privacy intent into operational reality.

You'll partner with Keepl Ltd (www.keeplsocial.com), a Newcastle-based company building digital assistants that manage data sharing with banks, insurers, and utilities. They need what doesn't yet exist: trustworthy automation that respects both user preferences and legal requirements. Your research will create it.

What makes this different

This isn't a typical PhD. Through structured industrial secondments (several weeks yearly), you'll work inside Keepl's engineering team—not observing from the sidelines, but contributing to a real platform with real users and constraints. You'll experience the complete journey: from research idea to working prototype to deployable product.

What you'll gain:

• Hands-on privacy engineering experience in an industrial R&D environment
• Access to Keepl's platform, case studies, and engineering mentorship
• Skills in translating compliance requirements into working software
• A portfolio of industrial work alongside your thesis

When you graduate, you won't just have academic credentials—you'll have industry-grade experience that employers value.

The journey

You'll develop machine-readable privacy rules, build core functionalities that audit and explain data-sharing decisions, prototype agent systems showing users what's happening with their data, and validate everything through real-world case studies e.g. automated insurance renewal workflows. Throughout, you'll bridge two worlds: rigorous academic research and pragmatic engineering. You'll learn what it takes to make research deployable and commercially viable.

Who should apply

We're looking for candidates with potential, passion, and preparedness—not just qualifications. Whether you have a Masters or equivalent experience, what matters is your enthusiasm for privacy, your ability to think independently, and your desire to create impact beyond academia. If you care about what happens after the PhD—about building things that matter, solving real problems, and entering the workforce with credible industrial experience—this opportunity is designed for you. Ready to shape how privacy works in the digital age?

Number of awards: 1

Start date: 1^st October 2026

Award duration: 4 years

Sponsor: EPSRC

Supervisors:

Main supervisor: Dr Mengwei Xu, Industrial roadmap co-supervisor: Christopher Campbell, Industrial product co-supervisor: Karl Brown

Eligibility & how to apply

For more information on eligibility and how to apply please visit our website.

You must submit one application per studentship; you cannot apply for multiple studentships on one application.

Contact details

For more information please contact Mengwei Xu

You can also contact: doctoral.awards@ncl.ac.uk for independent advice on your application.

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