Considering a PhD at the VisHub Lab

If you consider a PhD at the VisHub, please carefully read the following information and get in touch with one of the possible faculty.

Topic

We always have a list of topics. Either these are open topics related to our research or these are funded projects. In any case, get in touch with a potential superisor early in the process to discuss your ideas and directions. It may turn out that the topic is not really fitting our expertise and we are not able to help you.

To come up with a topic, we advise you to

• study our research and publications.
• read research papers.
• try to define a small yet tangible project that we can start with and that helps exploring the bigger picture. For example, if you are intereated in data physicalizations, try to define and illustrate a small problem you see and that you can study in, e.g., 6 months time.

Planning

Start the process of planning for a PhD as early as possible. For example, if you are a Design Informtics students, get in touch with us early in the program if you are thinking about a PhD. We can help you with possible internships for a variety of reasons:

• you will gain experience in research methodology and data visualization,
• you will explore if you are fit for research and want to work in reserch,
• it will help us better know you,
• we will have the opportunity to develop a topic (which can take a lot of time and reading).
• (most important) we would try publish your work to give you a publication which will help you with your PhD application.

Funding

To start your PhD, you/we need full 3 years of funding for your stipend and your tuition fees. Tuition fees vary depending on your nationality (UK or non-UK) and are higher for non-UK nationals. Get in touch with us to understand funding. Also, reach out yourself to funding from organizations or your government.

Supervision and group activities

You need at least 2 supervisors for your PhD. One will be one of the faculty of the VisHub. The other one can be from anywhere in the world and should match the expertise in your topic. Please feel free to suggest possible supervisors and discuss with us.

If you are accepted as a PhD student, we usually meet at least once a week for 1h. That may vary with priorities and tasks.

You will join our weekly group meetings where we discuss ongoing research, discuss papers, and give practice talks. You will also join our monthly PhD seminar where we discuss research methodology.

You are generally free to collaborate with anyone in the group and outside and we are always open to collaborations. However, please discuss with your supervisors.