AHRC Doctoral Studentship: Film and Computational Archival Methods (CDP: BT & UCL)

AHRC Doctoral Studentship: Film and Computational Archival Methods (CDP: BT & UCL)

The student will critically investigate, develop and make use of new research methods, based on advances in machine learning and knowledge organisation, for exploring the significant moving image collection at BT Group Archives.

This project will be jointly supervised by James Elder and Elspeth Millar ( BTGA ) , and

BT Group Archives is engaged in a decade-long effort to digitise eighty years of moving image material held on vulnerable film and videotape formats. 'Lossless' digital copies are being created, linked to metadata, and made available. This throws up timely questions in relation to knowledge organisation and access that this PhD project will address in theory and practice.

The collection begins in the 1930s with the work of the GPO Film Unit (part of the UNESCO Memory of the World register) and continues without interruption to the present. The overriding theme of the collection is the transformation of communications and the creation of an 'Information Society', as recorded in the archive of this unique organisation, whose development charts key changes in twentieth-century British history.

Despite the collection being an important historical source, it would be prohibitively labour-intensive to make it available to potential users by cataloguing and organising it manually.Recent developments in audio recognition and computer vision, could potentially help create new catalogue metadata automatically, which could be structured and linked in flexible ways. The student will explore and develop the potential of these new methods, and themselves conduct a substantive piece of research showcasing new insights into the collection and new forms of enquiry more generally.

Core research questions may include asking:

• Can computational methods be used to develop practical and scalable tools that can be deployed by BTGA and comparable archives?
• Can computational methods help meet the needs of different users and audiences? Can computational methods allow new forms of research with this archive?

We hope to see a substantive piece of new research based on the collection in itself. This will be determined in collaboration with the student; however, a strong theme suggested by the collection relates to changes in the workplace during the 20th century, arising from changes in information technology.

How to Apply

CLOSING DATE: Friday 24th April, 23:59

Please DO NOT click the 'Apply Now' button next to the advert.

To apply for this studentship, you must submit an online application to UCL via the website

Applicants should submit the following materials:

More details can be found on the attached document.

Your application must include the title of the CDP project - 'Moving the Frame: New Computational Practices for the Description and Organisation of the BT Film Collection' and should indicate supervisors: Andrew Flinn and Daniel Wilson.

For further details about the post contact - Daniel Wilson () or James Elder ().

Should you require any reasonable adjustments or support throughout the application process, please contact - Terrie Fiawoo, Department Manager, UCL ()

About you

This studentship is open to both Home and International applicants.

• To be classed as a home student, candidates must meet the following criteria:
• Be a UK or Irish National (meeting residency requirements), or
• Have settled status, or
• Have pre-settled status (meeting residency requirements), or Have indefinite leave to remain or enter.
• The latest revision of the AHRC Training Grant Funding Guide.
• International students are eligible to receive the full award for maintenance as are home students.

Applicants should be graduates and have or expect to receive a Masters-level qualification in a relevant subject or discipline including, but not limited to: archival studies, library and information studies, history, film or media studies, computer or data science, computer vision, multimodal AI, digital humanities or cultural analytics; or, be able to demonstrate equivalent experience in a cultural heritage institution or other relevant professional setting.

Applicants must be able to demonstrate an interest in archives and digital cultural heritage and the potential and enthusiasm for developing their technical skills in related areas.

UCL and BTGA are keen to encourage the widest range of potential students to study for this studentship. We particularly welcome applications from people of Global Majority backgrounds as they are currently underrepresented in doctoral student cohorts.

What we offer

CDP doctoral training grants fund full-time studentships for 4 years or part-time equivalent up to a maximum of 7 years. The award pays tuition fees up to the value of the full-time home fee (£5,238) while students with an 'overseas' fee status will receive an international fee waiver from UCL and will therefore pay the same as 'home' students. International students will be required to reside in the UK until completion of the PhD.

The award pays an annual stipend for all students, both home and international students. This stipend is tax free, and is the equivalent of an annual salary, enabling the student to pay living costs. The UKRI Minimum Doctoral Stipend is £21,805 plus London Weighting of £2000/year. There is also a CDP maintenance payment of £600 per year. Further details can be found on the UKRI website .

The successful candidate is eligible to receive an additional travel and related expenses grant during the course of the project courtesy of BTGA worth up to £1000 per year for 4 years.

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

As London's Global University, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation, and we want our community to represent the diversity of the world's talent. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong. We therefore particularly welcome and encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in doctoral student cohorts.

We ask all applicants to complete a voluntary EDI monitoring form here . All responses are anonymous.

Attached documents are available under links. Clicking a document link will initialize its download.