Outline

Project Highlights:

• Apply co-design methods and prototyping techniques with community stakeholders (e.g., women, children, carers, healthcare professionals) to explore creative scenarios addressing the drivers of suboptimal infant and young children feeding practices.

• Examine the suitability of existing theoretical frameworks and guidelines for designing socio-technical health interventions and proposing a conceptual framework for design and evaluation for the Peruvian context

• Design and implementation of socio-technical immersive/interactive prototypes and evaluation of their potential impact in enhancing food intake, nutritional status, and health outcomes of infants and young children.

Maternal and infant health is one of the global public health concerns. The prevalence of chronic malnutrition (stunting, micronutrient deficiencies) and the increase of overweight and obesity represent a double burden of malnutrition that in particular impacts children and women in low and low-to- middle income countries. In Peru there is a high prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia, affecting 25% of Peruvian infants/young children. With an increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity, Peru faces a nutritional double burden. There is limited research on understanding how the socio-cultural factors and feeding practices (e.g., early energy intake, types of food and dietary behaviours) influence obesity and overweight in infants and young children in Peru in order to design digital health interventions to enhance health and wellbeing.

This PhD project aims to design and create innovative approaches, strategies and interventions (technological-based or not) that can support and help enhance complementary feeding practices in infants and children in Peru. The project will involve observational and/or user studies (e.g., interviews and focus groups) as well as community engagement through different co-design methods and workshops to design, implement and evaluate socio-technical prototypes that can address the identified needs in relation to complementary feeding practices in Peru.

The project aligns with a 3-year MRC-funded UK-Peru project and will benefit from collaborating with a multidisciplinary group of researchers from Cardiff University and Loughborough University in the UK, the French National Institute of Research for Sustainable Development (IRD) in France and the Nutrition Research Institute, the National University of San Marcos and the National University Hermilio Valdizan in Peru.

What is funded

Cardiff School of Computer Science & Informatics is currently offering a funded 3 year PhD scholarship, starting in October 2020.  Overseas applicants must self-fund the difference between UK/EU and Overseas fees.

Stipend equivalent to Research Council rates (£15,285 per annum in 2020/21), plus travel/conferences, support, consumables/equipment.

Tuition fees at the UK/EU rate (£4,407 per annum in 2020/21).

Overseas applicants must self-fund the difference between the above UK/EU rate and the Overseas rate (£21,950 per annum in 2020/21) each year. Indicate how you will cover this in the Funding Source field.

Students earn additional income supporting the School’s teaching (but not sufficient to fund the Overseas tuition fees).

Eligibility

A 2:1 Honours undergraduate degree or a master's degree, in computing or a related subject. Applicants with appropriate professional experience are also considered. Degree-level mathematics (or equivalent) is required for research in some project areas.

Applicants for whom English is not their first language must demonstrate proficiency by obtaining an IELTS score of at least 6.5 overall, with a minimum of 6.0 in each skills component.

How to Apply

Contact relevant staff to refine and align your research proposal with the research strategy of the School before applying. Follow our guidance online, submit your research proposal of approximately 500 words and enter “PhD Scholarship in Computer Science & Informatics” in the Funding field. www.cardiff.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/research/programmes/programme/computer-science-and-informatics

Applicants should apply to the Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science and Informatics with a start date of October 2020: https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/research/programmes/progra…

In the research proposal section of your application, please specify the project title and supervisors of this project and copy the project description in the text box provided. In the funding section, please select ’I will be applying for a scholarship/grant’ and specify that you are applying for advertised funding from ’Enhancing Children Feeding Practices through Immersive/Interactive Technologies in Peru’.