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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Aptos;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual">------------Apologies for any cross postings------------------<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Aptos;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual">Dear all,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Aptos;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Aptos;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual">Please find below a PhD position call in our team at University of Edinburgh, kindly share widely amongst your networks.
<b><u>The deadline is in a week – 20<sup>th</sup> April. <o:p></o:p></u></b></span></p>
</div>
<p><b><u><span style="color:#4472C4">PhD opportunity call:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></p>
<p><span style="color:#4472C4">The <strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">WARSHARE: The New War Front – Digital Participation in War</span></strong> project, funded by a
<strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">UKRI European Research Council Advanced Grant</span></strong> and led by
<strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">Professor Andrew Hoskins at the University of Edinburgh</span></strong>, investigates how digital technologies and data-driven communication reshape contemporary warfare. From a
<strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">computer science, artificial intelligence (AI), and data analytics perspective</span></strong>, the project examines the large-scale production, distribution, and interpretation of war-related digital content
generated through smartphones, social media platforms, and messaging applications.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style="color:#4472C4">Modern conflicts produce vast volumes of <strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">multimodal digital data</span></strong>, including text messages, images, videos, memes, and emojis. These data streams form complex
digital traces that can be analyzed computationally to understand patterns of participation, narrative formation, and information propagation during wartime. The project applies
<strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">AI and machine learning techniques</span></strong>—including
<strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">natural language processing (NLP), computer vision, and multimodal analytics</span></strong>—to mine and interpret these large-scale datasets. Such methods enable automated classification of textual discourse,
detection of visual patterns, and identification of coordinated information campaigns across digital networks.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style="color:#4472C4">A key methodological component involves building <strong>
<span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">data pipelines capable of collecting, processing, and analyzing high-volume social media data</span></strong>. These pipelines support tasks such as large-scale content retrieval, feature extraction, clustering,
and network analysis to map interactions between actors involved in digital warfare communication.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style="color:#4472C4">The project uses <strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">Telegram</span></strong>, a hybrid messaging and social media platform, as its principal case study due to its central role in the
<strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine</span></strong>. Telegram provides a rich environment for studying
<strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">information diffusion, network dynamics, and digital participation in conflict narratives</span></strong>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style="color:#4472C4">By integrating <strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">computational methods with interdisciplinary social research</span></strong>, WARSHARE demonstrates how
<strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">AI-driven analytics can reveal the mechanisms through which digital platforms influence the perception, documentation, and strategic communication of modern warfare.</span></strong></span><strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></strong></p>
<p><strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#4472C4">We invite applications from eligible candidates as per the application process mentioned in the links below. The deadline is on 20<sup>th</sup> April 2026.<o:p></o:p></span></strong></p>
<p><strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;font-weight:normal">For any queries, please email me at
<u><span style="color:#A02B93">d.bhattacharya at ed.ac.uk</span></u><span style="color:#A02B93">
</span>or Prof. Andrew Hoskins, <u><span style="color:#A02B93">andrew.hoskins at ed.ac.uk</span></u>.<o:p></o:p></span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:36.0pt">1. <span style="color:#002060">Scholarship webpage:
</span><u><span style="color:#0563C1"><a href="https://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/study/prospective/postgraduate-research-programmes/scholarships/external-awards-or-project-scholarships/warshare-phd-scholarships"><span style="color:#0563C1">https://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/study/prospective/postgraduate-research-programmes/scholarships/external-awards-or-project-scholarships/warshare-phd-scholarships</span></a></span></u><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Aptos"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:37.5pt">2. <span style="color:#002060">School Projects listing webpage:
</span><u><span style="color:#0070C0"><a href="https://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/study/prospective/postgraduate-research-programmes/scholarships/external-awards-or-project-scholarships"><span style="color:#0070C0">https://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/study/prospective/postgraduate-research-programmes/scholarships/external-awards-or-project-scholarships</span></a></span></u><span style="color:#0070C0"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Aptos;mso-fareast-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US">Please feel free to ask me in case of any queries.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Aptos;mso-fareast-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Aptos;mso-fareast-language:EN-US">Thank you.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US">Best,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US">Devanjan<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Aptos">------------------------<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Aptos">Dr. Devanjan Bhattacharya (FHEA)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Aptos">Research Fellow, WARSHARE,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Aptos">SSPS, University of Edinburgh<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Aptos">Profile link: <a href="https://www.research.ed.ac.uk/en/persons/devanjan-bhattacharya/">
https://www.research.ed.ac.uk/en/persons/devanjan-bhattacharya/</a> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Aptos">
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Aptos"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in Scotland, with registration number SC005336. Is e buidheann carthannais a th’ ann an Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann, clàraichte an Alba, àireamh clàraidh SC005336.
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