[Manchester-Melbourne Dual Award] Urban Digital Twins for Sustainable Cities: Exploring Collaborative Innovation and Value Creation

Cities worldwide are grappling with complex sustainability challenges that require innovative solutions. Urban digital twins – virtual replicas of cities that simulate real-world conditions – offer a promising approach to overcome data silos and address the intricate interdependencies hindering urban innovation. However, developing these systems faces two significant challenges: the need for coordinated adaptation of complex technological systems under various constraints, and the requirement for cooperation among diverse stakeholders with their own goals and interests. This research project aims to tackle these challenges by investigating how urban digital twins can drive sustainable urban development through collaborative innovation. The study will explore three key questions:

1. How do organisations create and capture value in urban digital twin ecosystems?
2. How can governance structures in these ecosystems effectively balance scalability and innovation?
3. How can urban digital twins catalyse cross-sector collaboration for urban sustainability?

To answer these questions, the project will combine the supervisors’ expertise in collaborative innovation, emergent digital technologies, urban infrastructure, and technology diffusion. The research will involve extensive fieldwork in both Manchester, UK and Melbourne, Australia, engaging with various stakeholders in urban digital twin initiatives. This international comparison will provide insights into how different urban contexts impact value co-creation and ecosystem governance. The project will employ a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods, including interviews, case studies, and potentially system dynamics modelling. It will explore innovative business models that encourage collaboration while allowing individual organisations to capture value. The research will also examine how governance structures evolve as digital twin initiatives scale up, and how they can balance centralised control with decentralised innovation.

Furthermore, the study will investigate how urban digital twins can break down silos, facilitating dialogue between technical experts, policymakers, businesses, and citizens. It will explore how these platforms enable collaborative design processes that address both technical and social aspects of urban sustainability.

The project offers a unique opportunity for a PhD candidate to engage with cutting-edge research at the intersection of digital innovation, urban planning, and sustainability. The successful candidate will spend time at both the University of Manchester and the University of Melbourne, benefiting from world-class expertise and research networks at both institutions. This research has significant implications for both theory and practice. It will contribute to academic debates on ecosystem governance, collaborative business models, and the role of digital platforms in urban innovation. For practitioners and policymakers, it will provide insights into designing effective governance structures and value creation mechanisms for urban digital twin platforms.

By bridging the gap between technological potential and practical implementation, this project aims to unlock the full potential of urban digital twins in creating more sustainable, resilient, and liveable cities. The findings will be valuable for city planners, technology companies, policymakers, and anyone interested in the future of urban development and digital innovation.

Eligibility

Academic

• Bachelor’s (Honours) degree at 2:1 or above (or overseas equivalent); and
• Normally, a Master’s degree in a relevant cognate subject normally with an overall average of 65% or above (or overseas equivalent)
• Professional qualifications other than a Bachelors Degree and/or relevant and appropriate experience may be taken into account

English Language

• IELTS test minimum scores – 7.0 overall, 6.5 other sections – or equivalent test and scores
• To demonstrate that you have taken an undergraduate or postgraduate degree in a majority English speaking nation within the last 5 years.

How to apply

The application deadline will be Midnight (GMT) on 14/03/25. Apply online for PhD Science, Technology and Innovation Policy at the University of Manchester.

Under Section 6 Research Details select ‘Yes’ to ‘Are you applying for an advertised project?’. Insert the project title as stated at the top of the advert. It is recommended when entering the name of the supervisor to simply enter this and not use the supervisor search function.

Please indicate in Section 9 Funding Sources your intention to apply for the Manchester-Melbourne Studentship.

Please ensure all required supporting documents are included at the time of submission, as incomplete applications may not be considered:

• A copy of your Bachelor’s academic transcript and certificate.
• A copy of your Master’s academic transcript and certificate. If your Master’s degree is pending, please provide an interim transcript.
• If you have completed more than one Bachelor’s or Master’s degree, please provide evidence for each.
• An academic CV, summarising your employment history, publications and highlighting experience demonstrating your research potential.
• Supporting statement of a maximum of 700 words indicating why you would like to undertake this studentship and explaining how your focus, experience, and skills link to the research outlined above
• You must nominate two academic referees (including one from your most recent institution). Your referees will be contacted directly via the Referee Portal following the submission of your application form. You may wish to contact your referees to request they submit your reference in a reasonable timeframe as this forms part of the review process;
• Research Proposal Guidelines (2000 words maximum): Building on the provided project description, the proposal should focus on:

1. Dissertation Structure: Propose how you would structure the research into three distinct but interrelated essays; explain how these essays connect to the project’s research questions
2. Research Methods and Data Collection, for each proposed essay, clearly describe: the specific research methods you would employ; your data collection approach; timeline for data collection and analysis ; how the methods align with the research objectives
3. Project Management and Risk Mitigation: identify potential challenges in conducting the research and propose specific strategies to address these challenges
4. Ethics and Research Integrity: outline key ethical considerations
5. Your proposal will be evaluated on: Feasibility of completing the research within 3.5 years ; Appropriateness of chosen methods ; Understanding of practical research challenges ; Awareness of ethical considerations ; Clarity and structure of the proposal ; Critical thinking and analytical skills

If you have any questions or would like to discuss this further, please contact Dr Adrien Querbes (adrien.querbes@manchester.ac.uk)

Formal interviews: Interviews are expected to take place week commencing 31st March 2025.

Equality, diversity and inclusion statement