PhD Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society

Key information

Funding: Self-funded
School: Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society
Location: Dubai
Award: PhD
Delivery type: Full-time, Part-time
Start date: September, January, May
Duration: Up to 4 years (full time)

The School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society has an inherently strong research culture with research students making a highly valued contribution to School’s overall research profile.

The School is divided into three research institutes:

Institute for Infrastructure and Environment
Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Building Design
Institute for Social Policy, Housing, Equalities Research

Our research in Dubai is evolving, as is reflected by the PhD programmes we offer. Research students are presented with exciting opportunities to work in areas relevant to the academic community, research users and employers in the UAE and the Gulf region.

The School’s portfolio of multidisciplinary research makes it an attractive destination for those seeking postgraduate research opportunities of direct relevance to the solving of real world problems in Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society.

PhD studies can be provided in the following thematic areas:

Architectural Engineering

Building Energy Performance
Dynamic Facades for Buildings
Building Scale Alternative Energy Systems
Building Stock Characterisation, Energy Performance and Intervention Studies
Innovations in Passive Cooling Strategies or Technologies
Building Scale Fuel Cells and other Hydrogen Based Energy Systems
Application and Development of Advanced Computational Fluid Dynamics to Building Performance Problems
Investigations into Building Services Systems as applied in the hot arid climate of the UAE and GCC region
Building Energy Use Behaviour Studies
Persuasive Technologies
Building Integrated Energy Harvesting Technologies

Construction and Facilities Management

Establishing criteria for evaluating contractors sustainability in construction
Performance measurement and management for facilities management companies
Quality risk management application in construction projects
Evaluation of Health and Safety management system in oil and construction projects
Evaluation of Environmental management systems for production of construction materials
Carbon emission management in building construction projects
Building Information Management
Passive house technology applications in Qatar
Life cycle costing analysis
Knowledge management
Sustainability in the built environment

Civil Engineering

Transportation Engineering (Dr. Olisanwendu Ogwuda)
Water & Environmental Engineering (Dr. Rabee Rustum & Professor Wael Mualla)
Structural Engineering (Dr. Mustafa Batikha)
Materials (Dr. Olisanwendu Ogwuda)
Sustainability in Civil Engineering (Dr. Rabee Rustum)

Research proposal

The research proposal (normally three to four pages) should contain as much as possible of the following:

Introduction or outline of the proposed topic
Statement of objective(s) and/or specific research questions
Summary of some of the relevant literature that supports the research objective(s)
An indication of the intended research methodology
An indication of the theoretical structure and/or conceptual outline
A provisional timetable of the major phases of the research process
Results expected from the research, e.g., practical value of the research or possible contributions to knowledge, policy or methodology. At this stage we are not looking for a definitive document but merely an indication that you have thought through most of the above issues. Please note that work submitted may be subject to screening using plagiarism software.

Accreditation

Read more about the UAE Federal Accreditation.

This programme is accredited by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in the UAE.

Entry requirements

Candidate criteria

Interested applicants should complete the online application form, selecting the 'PG Research' programme options marked as '(Dubai Campus)'.
If you have any questions about the application process, contact Jaya Sukhani (jaya.sukhani@hw.ac.uk).

Supporting documents

Applicants interested in our PhD opportunities need to submit the following:

Copies of full academic transcripts from all previous academic degree courses and copies of certificates for degrees already awarded.
Confirmation of funding source and/or confirmation of sponsorship/sufficient funds to pursue studies.
A detailed research proposal.

English language requirements

If your first language is not English, we'll need to see evidence of your English language ability.

The minimum English language requirement for entry to this programme is IELTS 6.5 (or equivalent) with no score lower than 6.0.

If you do not have IELTS 6.5, we offer a range of English language courses to help you meet the English language requirement for this programme prior to commencing your studies.

For more information about your application and our English Language requirements, please see Section 10 of our page on English Language Requirements as part of your application.

Funding information

	Full Time	Part Time
Local and International	AED 99,500 per year	AED 49,750 per year

All tuition fees inclusive of VAT.

Additional information

* All tuition fees inclusive of VAT

Scholarships and bursaries

See our range of degree entry, undergraduate, postgraduate taught and PhD scholarships and discounts.

We offer a number of competitive funded scholarships for research degrees. Full or partial support may be available for well-qualified candidates from UK research councils, research pools, charities or industry.

View our full range of scholarships.

Why Heriot-Watt

As the first British university to set up a campus in Dubai in 2005, we have established ourselves as a pioneer in the higher education market in the UAE. The three consecutive five-star ratings by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) is a testament to our reputation for world-class teaching.

The futuristic Dubai campus is designed to offer interactive and collaborative learning experiences with innovative classroom styles fostering group work and engagement like Collaborative lecture theatres, Digitally Classrooms and Seminar rooms. The campus also has dedicated cutting-edge laboratories and workshops that span various engineering disciplines along with Psychology, IT, Photography, Design and Architecture.

Our practical, leading-edge research combined with strong links to business and industry, have made our graduates highly employable and sought after by the best organisations worldwide, with over 90% in graduate-level jobs or further study within six months of graduation. On top of that, we have beautiful campuses, across the globe, so you'll get a truly international education through our Go Global programme.