PhD Research Position: Agent-Driven Systems Thinking for Transport Decarbonisation
Grade and Salary: Grade 6 Remuneration consists of a PhD stipend of £16,353 per annum (0.75 of the standard UKRI rate) not taxable, plus a salary of £7,701 which is taxable. PhD tuition fees are covered.
FTE and working pattern:A GTA PhD scholarship is a four-year fixed term position: Students undertake a PhD on a 0.75 FTE basis alongside a 0.25 FTE teaching contract.
Holiday Entitlement: 33 days annual leave plus 9 buildings closed days (and Christmas Eve when it falls on a weekday)
Interviews are expected to take place between Tuesday 19th and 26th May 2026.
Edinburgh Business School is awarding one PhD scholarship as Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) position to an outstanding doctoral candidate with clear potential to excel as academic teacher and researcher in Digital Twin Development as part the TransiT Research Hub.
TOPIC REFERENCE: 4343 2DTD Agent-Driven Systems Thinking for Transport Decarbonisation
We invite research proposals exploring how intelligent agents can influence human decision-making within systems that identify pathways to transport decarbonisation.
Research Context: Achieving transport decarbonisation requires more than technological innovation. It demands understanding how organisations and people are influenced to make sustainable choices. Despite advances in green transport technologies and policy awareness, adoption rates of sustainable tools and practices remain insufficient to meet climate targets.
Traditional approaches often treat these as separate problems: engineers design systems, policymakers create incentives, and behavioural scientists study decision-making. Yet transport decarbonisation is fundamentally a socio-technical challenge where human behaviour, computational systems, and infrastructure evolve within a complex adaptive system. Current research focuses on developing integrated computational frameworks to model and intervene in these dynamics. Strategic interventions, potentially including digital twins, adaptive feedback, immersive simulation, gamification, or other mechanisms, could transform human-agent collaboration within complex adaptive systems. Such an approach could be adopted not just for systemic optimisation to reduce carbon emissions, but to build resilience or plan for emergencies.
Research Scope: Proposals should investigate how agent-driven interventions create emergent behaviours across transport ecosystems. We encourage approaches that leverage Belief-Desire-Intention (BDI) agents at the human/technological nexus, or otherwise model human cognition through motivation and goal-directed behaviour, rather than simplified rational actor assumptions. We also welcome proposals that bring alternative modelling paradigms or theoretical frameworks from another discipline.
Role Requirements
The GTA roles are based at the Edinburgh campus and successful applicants will be expected to work at that campus. A GTA PhD scholarship is a four-year fixed term position: Students undertake a PhD on a 0.75 FTE basis alongside a 0.25 FTE teaching contract. Remuneration consists of a PhD stipend of £16,353 per annum (0.75 of the standard UKRI rate) not taxable, plus a salary of £7,701 which is taxable. PhD tuition fees are covered.
Reporting to the Head of Department, the post-holder will:
1. Undertake a PhD on one of the topics specified above, within 4 years, maintaining an appropriate rate of progress and engaging in relevant training and other events as required.
2. Deliver teaching in Business Analytics, Operations Management, Supply Chain or Business Management, including delivery to a range of group sizes in both in-person and online environments.
3. Provide flexible, appropriate, and timely support to students using a variety of media.
4. Deliver tutorials and mark assessments and provide student feedback as required, and in line with School policies and standards.
5. Contribute to the administrative work of the Department as required.
6. Undertake other training and engagement in school activities and duties as required by the Head of Department.
7. Take a proactive approach towards academic publishing and journal papers.
Relevant training will be provided alongside the role. During the first two years of the contract, the post-holder will be expected to undertake training in teaching and learning as required by the University, this might include School’s PGCert in Research Methods (unless equivalent qualifications are already held). GTAs are supported in their academic career development through annual performance and development reviews plus access to training offered by the HWU Learning and Teaching Academy and the Research Engagement Directorate. In addition to the Head of Department, dedicated leadership is provided by Department Head of Learning and Teaching and Department Head of Research.
About Edinburgh Business School
Heriot-Watt University has established a reputation for world-class teaching and leading-edge, relevant research, which has made it one of the top UK universities for innovation, business and industry. Heriot-Watt University has five campuses: three in the UK (Edinburgh, Scottish Borders and Orkney), one in Dubai and one in Malaysia. Heriot-Watt is Scotland's most international university, boasting the largest international student cohort. Heriot-Watt’s Edinburgh Business School (EBS) is a global leader in high-quality, accessible, practice-oriented business education and research. We partner with businesses and governments to translate knowledge into practice and deliver innovative solutions that improve the world. At EBS, we are practical, engaged, connected, and inspired. We are looking for colleagues who:
8. Understand and embrace the value of accessible, practice-oriented learning and research.
9. Pursue excellence both individually and collectively.
10. Know the value of collaboration.
11. Embrace our inclusive, global community.
12. Are passionate about making a difference.
Essential Skills and Experience
13. Experience of either primary data collection or secondary data-set compilation and undertaking appropriate analysis.
14. on one of the stated topics
15. A commitment to be trained in research methods, systems thinking, and the TransiT approach to digital twinning.
16. Candidates for whom English is a second language should meet the University’s minimum English-language requirements for entry onto the PhD programme. If you have not already studied a degree programme that was taught and examined in the medium of English, the minimum overall IELTS score is 6.5 with no score lower than 6.0 in Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening.
Desirable Skills and Experience
For this role the relevant fields include but are not limited to mathematics, computer science, data analytics, statistics, systems analysis, operations management, supply chain management or similar.
17. Experience with BIM, CAD, and products such as Bentley Systems
18. Interest in computational approaches to understanding and modelling human behaviour (prior technical expertise is beneficial but not essential)
19. A proven background in one or more of these areas: agent-based modelling, big data, data analytics, coding, cyber-physical infrastructure, AI, and digital twins.
20. A strong commitment to industrial and community engagement, and systems thinking that shows an appreciation for human behaviour complexity in real-world decision-making.
21. A strong commitment to inter-disciplinary working, applying theoretical knowledge to practical problems and a commitment to UK transport that demonstrates a vision for high-impact, policy-relevant research, and tangible societal impact