Funded phd: hydrogen futures, rural transitions, university of glasgow

🌊 Funded PhD – Hydrogen Futures, Rural Transitions: Skills for a Just Transition in the Highlands and Islands 🌊

Really excited to be advertising this fully funded PhD position, based at the Adam Smith Business School at the University of Glasgow, with me and the Prof Andrew Cumbers, funded by the College of Social Sciences Scholarship fund.

This PhD project investigates how the green hydrogen transition is reshaping skills needs and labour market opportunities across Scotland’s Highlands and Islands. Green hydrogen is positioned as a ‘Regional Transformation Opportunity’ by Highlands & Islands Enterprise, with the region emerging as a critical site for development through infrastructure projects such as the Cromarty Hydrogen Project and the Outer Hebrides Energy Hub leading the charge. However, persistent challenges ranging from demographic shifts and geographic isolation to skills shortages and barriers to access for underrepresented groups risk exacerbating rural inequalities unless addressed through a just transition framework.

Combining labour market analysis, policy review, and qualitative fieldwork in selected green hydrogen hub communities, this research will explore how green hydrogen infrastructure intersects with local training ecosystems and rural livelihoods. It will assess workforce readiness, reskilling pathways from oil and gas, and the role of institutions such as Creed Hydrogen Skills & Innovation Centre and University of the Highlands and Islands campuses in enabling inclusive transitions. Crucially, we’re keen for this not to be research ‘about’ communities but rather ‘with’ and ‘in’ community – we’re keen for Highlands and Islands residents to be at the centre of the project both as the people who should be answering the “who benefits?” question, and as active participants in the research itself through qualitative fieldwork and co-production of policy recommendations.

Grounded in frameworks of ‘just transition’ (Heffron & McCauley, 2018) and ‘stranded communities’ (Atkins, 2024), the project will critically examine how regional and national skills strategies can be more spatially and socially responsive. It will draw on international comparisons to co-produce policy recommendations with stakeholders and citizens, supporting equitable rural development within the hydrogen economy.


Funding & Eligibility

* Fully funded (UKRI stipend + fees + research training grant), starting October 2026
* Part‑time or full‑time study options
* Need to have a Masters in a social science or related field (or equivalent research experience)
* Fieldwork in the Highlands & Islands; based in Glasgow when not in the field
* Closing date: 21 April 2026

If you’re interested in energy transitions, rural labour markets, and what “just” actually means at the community level, we’d love to hear from you.

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