PhD Scholarship on Digital Fabrication, Redistributed Manufacturing, and Governance

Manchester Institute of Innovation Research, based at the University of Manchester are offering a PhD scholarship.

The PhD project on Digital Fabrication, Redistributed Manufacturing, and Governance will research the emergence of digital fabrication as a disruptive innovation, examine implications for current and future manufacturing, and consider new business and governance models for effective and responsible commercialisation.

Digital fabrication combines advances in computing, big data, manufacturing tools and materials to revolutionise design, production and consumption. Digital fabrication goes far beyond 3D printing – moving from additive manufacturing to the digital design and making of materials and components, to biologically-inspired programmable materials and systems with new capabilities for assembly, growth, connectedness, and self-repair.

Over the next generation, digital fabrication will have major implications for industrial regions. Production could be more sustainable and customised at local scales as manufacturing is redistributed in decentralised networks in city-regions. Yet, concerns arise about employment implications, the readiness of small and mid-sized manufacturers, and the design and control of smart digital fabrication systems. Focussing empirical work on North West England, the project will use case study, foresight and assessment approaches.

The project will contribute to advancing theoretical concepts, knowledge, and strategies for adapting to, and managing, disruptive technological changes with far reaching societal implications.

Deadline: 31 January 2018. The selected PhD candidate will start in the 2018-2019 academic year.

For further information and application details click here.
For further details about the project, please contact Prof. Philip Shapira (pshapira@manchester.ac.uk).