Difficult to Digitalise hard work (Digit)

Difficult to Digitalise hard work: barriers and opportunities for digital adoption in agri-food value chains (ESRC Centre for Digital Futures at Work PhD Studentship) (2025)

What you get

The successful candidate will recieve:

• Full UK tuition fees only for up to four years.
• A stipend equivalent to UKRI doctoral stipend, £20,780 (2025/26) per annum for up to four years.

Type of award

Postgraduate Research

PhD project

Difficult to Digitalise hard work: barriers and opportunities for digital adoption in agri-food value chains

Supervisors at Sussex: Prof Adrian Smith (Dept of Management & Digit), Prof Jacqueline O’Reilly (Dept of Management & Digit) and Dr Steve Rolf (Digit).

UK government policy is committed to enhancing the role of digital and automated technologies to ensure UK food security, and to overcome labour supply constraints and reliance on foreign food imports. The project will examine the barriers to and opportunities for the introduction of digital technologies in ‘difficult to digitalise’ work environments, the implications for the quality and nature of work in the agrifood system, and the ways in which digital work in agrifood articulates with local workforce skill levels. Using a value chain methodology, the research will involve qualitative semi-structured interviews with key informants in the agrifood value chain and analysis of ‘grey’ policy and industry literature.

The research student will be part of the Digit Doctoral Network and will benefit from support from the Business School’s early-career researcher networks. They will receive research training as part of the first-year programme of the Management Integrated PhD degree and will be integrated into the Mid- and early-Career Researchers Forum of Digit.

Eligibility

Minimum of a 2.1 undergraduate honours degree.

A Master’s degree ideally in a relevant subject area, with ideally at least a merit mark (60%), or equivalent professional experience.

Proof of proficiency in English language to meet the university’s entry requirements.

We require a 2.1 undergraduate honours degree, or equivalent, and a Master’s degree in a relevant subject area such as work and employee relations, value chains and economic geography, political economy or agri-food studies. This studentship can only cover Home Student fees and is therefore open to UK students (or those with indefinite leave to remain/settled status in the UK). Overseas (including EU) applicants would need to demonstrate how they would fund the difference between the UK and Overseas fees, which are not covered by this studentship.

Number of scholarships available

One.

Deadline

How to apply

Please submit by email to Professor Adrian Smith at a.m.smith@sussex.ac.uk and as one pdf file an application including:

• A statement of interest that outlines why you would like to be considered for this studentship project and what you would like to research (maximum 1 page)
• A CV (2-3 pages)
• Degree transcripts and certificates
• A piece of written work (e.g. an essay or project from your undergraduate or master’s degree)
• Names and contact details for two academic referees

Shortlisted applicants will be invited to interview. The successful candidate will then need to apply for the PhD programme at the University of Sussex.

Sponsors

University of Sussex and ESRC

Contact us

For any enquiries about the PhD studentship research proposal, please contact Professor Adrian Smith (a.m.smith@sussex.ac.uk).

For questions relating to the application process, contact business-researchstudents@sussex.ac.uk.

Timetable

Application deadline 17^th March 2025

Shortlisting by 21^st March 2025

Online interviews week of 31^st March 2025