Urban Studies Lab is an assembly of scholars and higher degree researchers, located within the School of Architecture and Built Environment of Queensland University of Technology (QUT), with similar or complementary research expertise on the various aspects of smart and sustainable cities and communities. The lab is founded and directed by Professor Tan Yigitcanlar.
The lab, at present, houses 10 PhD and MPhil researchers conducting investigations on various smart and sustainable urbanisation topics. Former 17 PhD and MPhil researchers of the lab, currently holding academic posts in prestigious Australian and overseas universities, and a dozen of senior academic affiliate members of the lab, from QUT and other eminent universities, provide an invaluable support and network opportunity to the researchers.
The lab has available positions for highly motivated prospective PhD researchers, particularly the ones with the following qualities:
- Analytical ability
- Problem solving skills
- Excellent command in English academic writing
- Knowledge through methodological training and work experience
- Sound understanding in urban issues, technologies and research
- Interest in undertaking the study in Thesis by Publication mode
An exemplar overview of a prospective PhD research is provided below.
Research topic:
- Smart urban technology-driven approaches to sustainable development
Research title:
- Prospects and constraints of smart urban technology-driven approaches to sustainable development
Research background:
- The prospects of smart urban technologies range from expanding infrastructure capacity to generating new services, from reducing emissions to engaging the public, from minimising human errors to improved decision-making, and from supporting sustainable development to improving performances of commercial enterprises and cities. The most popular technologies in the context of cities include, but are not limited to, internet-of-things (IoT), autonomous vehicles (AV), Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS), bigdata, 5G/6G, robotics, blockchain, cloud computing, 3D printing, augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR), digital twins and artificial intelligence (AI). These disruptive technologies are critical in transforming our cities into smarter and more sustainable ones, and have the potential to address the complex urbanisation challenges of our time. Nonetheless, in the case of misapplication, these technologies can also generate undesired externalities to our cities and communities.
Research method:
- Data collection, curation and analytics
- Policy and best practice analyses
- Qualitative, quantitative and spatial analyses
- Scientometric, bibliometric and meta analyses
- Survey and interview design and execution
- Systematic literature reviews
Research outcome:
- Insights into prospects and constraints of technology-driven approaches to sustainable development
- Frameworks to conceptualise technology adoption to achieve sustainable outcomes
- Roadmaps to operationalise technology adoption to achieve sustainable outcomes
- Dissemination of study findings in academic, professional and online media outlets
Express your interest in joining Urban Studies Lab as a PhD researcher by emailing the followings to smartcity@qut.edu.au.
- Your CV (including GPAs of all studies, publications, and research and work experience), and;
- Your brief PhD research proposal (1,500 words including title, background, aim, research question/hypothesis, methodology, outcomes, deliverables and 10-12 most relevant references).
Members
-
Professor Tan Yigitcanlar -
Luke Butler -
Rosemary Adu McVie -
Asif Iqbal Mohammad Faisal -
Fahimeh Golbabei -
Massimo Regona -
Fei Li -
Yi Song Liu -
Wenda Li -
Turgut Acikara -
Jairo Filho Sousa de Almeida
Completed Doctoral Theses
Completed Masters Theses
Michelam, Larissa Diana (2021) Contributions of international events on local development: the case of the knowledge cities world summit in Bento Gonçalves [https://bibliotecatede.uninove.br/handle/tede/2485]