[Air-L] PhD scholarship on Child Tracking Apps in Melbourne

[Bjorn Nansen]

We are seeking a PhD student to join an interdisciplinary project on Enhancing Ethical Design and Use of Data in Child Tracking Apps, funded by the Australian Research Council (FT250100270).

The successful applicant will commence in early – mid 2026, and work closely with the lead investigator Associate Professor Bjørn Nansen located in the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) group in the School of Computing and Information Systems, at the University of Melbourne.

The student will receive a full-time scholarship of $39,500 AUD per annum for 3 years.
Please email expressions of interest to Assoc. Professor Bjørn Nansen (nansen at unimelb.edu.au<mailto:nansen at unimelb.edu.au>) by November 30th, 2025.


Applicant

The PhD research project will focus on the design, use or social impacts of emerging digital child tracking technologies and applications. Applicants from both applied and theoretical domains of technology use or design, and with interdisciplinary approaches or methods are welcome. Projects may explore: the social contexts in which children, young people, and families engage with technology; critically assess existing tools or propose (re)designs and new technologies; and/or conduct user-experience and co-design research. Applicants from a wide range of relevant disciplines are welcome to apply, including Human-Computer Interaction (HCI); User Experience (UX) design, Digital Media and Communication Studies, Science and Technology Studies (STS), Design Anthropology or related areas.



The range of technologies that may be studied include (but are not limited to): mobile applications, wearable technologies, sensor devices, digital platforms, datafication, dashboard interfaces. Possible topic areas may include (but are not limited to): data tracking in childhood, youth, friendships or family contexts; mobile app tracking platforms, interfaces, dashboards or ecosystems; data tracking industries, developer perspectives, data markets, and regulation; or the ethical design and child co-design of child tracking apps.



Eligibility
To be eligible for this scholarship, the applicant must:

  *   Meet the University’s entry requirements for Higher Degree by Research program,
  *   Have strong qualitative social research and/or interaction design research skills,
  *
Provide evidence of strong oral and written communication skills,
  *
The scholarship is open to both domestic and international applicants who meet the residency requirements.

How to apply
Please include the following information with your EOI:

  1.
A Research Proposal outlining the topic you wish to research for the PhD (<1 page)
  2.
A brief CV that includes contact details for 2 referees (<2 pages)



Further information
The  Ethical Design and Use of Data in Child Tracking Apps (FT250100270) project focuses on how tracking apps are designed to measure and manage children’s physiological, behavioural, and socio-economic activity across categories including health (e.g. physical activity, sleep, diet), lifestyle (e.g. location, mobility, chores, spending) and productivity (e.g. finances, alertness, screen-time). In doing so, they generate valuable data about the lives of children. Yet the types of child data being collected through mobile tracking apps (e.g. physiological, behavioural, personal, real-time, aggregated), and how this data is processed and used – within families or commercial data economies – remain largely opaque and unknown. Thus, there is a need for research to understand the breadth, uses and impacts of children’s tracking apps to enhance their ethical design and use of personal data, which this fellowship aims to achieve. It will employ innovative co-design research with children, and analyse family practices, mobile platforms, developer perspectives, and the regulatory environment of children’s mobile tracking app technologies and services.