2 Fully funded PhD Studentships on Environmental Impact of Large-scale Digital Services

The University of Bristol is seeking two highly motivated PhD student to address the environmental impact of digital technologies. These studentships are open to candidates from the UK and international and include tuition fees, a tax-free stipend (UKRI rate), and a research budget. You will be supervised by Dr. Daniel Schien and be part of Sustainable Computing group. This is an excellent opportunity to work at the intersection of industrial ecology and a digital technology, while benefiting from professional development and a highly inclusive research environment.

Besides working with our global industrial partners, you will have the chance to be part of Bristol’s ESRC Centre for Sociodigital Futures (CenSoF) and collaborate with the Bristol Digital Futures Institute and AI Hubs. Bristol is also home of Isambard AI – the fastest supercomputer in the UK. You will have access to training as required, for example in video architecture or AI.

Position 1: Change-oriented Environmental Thinking for Video Communications and AI

Current life cycle assessments (LCA) for digital services and infrastructure apply attributional approaches that ignore how these systems respond to change, for example an increase of demand.

In this project you will investigate the present and future environmental impacts of digital technologies — particularly video and GenAI — with a focus on critically engaging with the current attributional methods for assessing high-bandwidth (e.g., real-time video, cloud gaming) and GenAI services. You will identify sources of uncertainties and investigate consequential methods to assess climate impacts of digital technologies given these uncertainties.

Relevant Skills

• Experience with Systems Modelling, LCA & Uncertainty Analysis (including statistical methods, scenario modeling, or forecasting) is highly recommended.
• Familiarity with video service architectures or the life cycle of generative AI solutions is a bonus.
• A critical interest in how policies, user adoption, and broader social factors affect digital technology impacts is expected.

You must write to Dr Dan Schien (Daniel.schien@bristol.ac.uk) for information about the application process. This position will be closed as soon as a suitable applicant is found.

Position 2: Industrial Studentship with BBC Research & Development (R&D)

You will quantify energy and carbon footprints of digital infrastructures powering large-scale video services (data centres, networks, end-user devices). You will identify climate-impact hotspots, propose sustainable HCI interventions, test interventions and evaluate their real-world efficacy using the BBC’s unique datasets.

You will be supervised by Dan Schien and based the majority of your time within the BBC R&D Sustainable Engineering team (London/Glasgow/Manchester).

Relevant Skills

• AI & Video Communications: Familiarity with video-streaming architectures or AI workflows (training, inference) is essential.
• Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): Familiarity with methods for environmental impact analysis of digital infrastructures, or willingness to learn.
• Networking & Systems Knowledge: Understanding of data centre operations, streaming protocols, and energy usage across complex networks.

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Desired start date for both position is Spring 2025, although later entry is possible.

Funding: The minimum tax-free stipend will match the UKRI rate (£19,237 in 24/25), increasing each year), plus a top up amount (Position 1: £8,000 total. Position 2: £5,000 per annum)

Why the University of Bristol?

You will be part of a highly inclusive and supportive team and wider work environment at the University of Bristol (#54th in QS World University Rankings). We provide training to support your needs, and time is allocated for professional development. Besides being part of the Bristol Interaction Group as well as Bristol’s ESRC Centre for Sociodigital Futures (CenSoF), you would benefit from access to several world-class centres, including Bristol Digital Futures Institute, as well as getting targeted training. The University of Bristol is also one of the leading centres for AI research in the UK, hosting the Isambard AI supercomputer and 2 UKRI AI hubs, and 3 AI centres for doctoral training.

Next Steps

• Contact Dr. Daniel Schien (Daniel.schien@bristol.ac.uk) with any questions. Early discussion is recommended as these are rolling offers that may close once filled.
• Please be ready to provide a CV and a brief statement of interest.