(sent on behalf of Dr Pablo Mateos)

PhD studentship opportunity at University College London in migration 
statistics and modelling

—-

PHD Studentship – (ENFOLD-ing – Explaining, Modelling and Forecasting 
Global Dynamics), –

UCL Department of Geography
Migration Research Unit
Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis

3-years PhD Studentship

Stipend = £15,290 plus £3,390 tuition fees per annum

ENFOLD is a multidisciplinary, five year modelling project funded by the 
UK Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC: £2.9 
million FEC) spanning seven UCL departments. It will develop new forms 
of complexity science to address the most difficult of human problems: 
those involving global change where there is no organised constituency 
and whose agencies are largely regarded as being ineffective. ENFOLD 
addresses problems arising from the fact that that global systems tend 
to be treated in isolation from one another. Their characteristically 
unexpected dynamics are thus due to the aspects of coupling and 
integration between them that are all too often ignored. To demonstrate 
these dynamics and develop appropriate policy responses, ENFOLD will 
study four related global systems: trade, migration, security and 
development aid. Integrated and coupled models will be developed, whose 
dynamics can be described in the language of complexity theory, 
including chaos, turbulence, bifurcations, catastrophes, and phase 
transition. The programme will apply spatial interaction models to trade 
and migration; reaction diffusion to conflicts and terrorism; and 
network models to international trade, migration and crime. These models 
will be extended to incorporate new events, such as the emergence of new 
entities, including countries, coupling them together in diverse ways. A 
generic framework will ultimately be developed for a coupled global 
dynamics spanning many spatial and temporal scales, pertaining to 
different systems whose behaviours can be both quantitatively and 
qualitatively simulated. Models will be developed which incorporate all 
these ideas into a global intelligence system to inform global policy 
makers about future events. Several UK government departments as well as 
global businesses are partners in this project.

Studentship Description

The role of the Migration PhD studentship within ENFOLD will be:

1. To review and engage with the literature on general theories of 
migration and more specifically that on migration forecasting models

2. To identify, collect, systematise and analyse relevant international 
migration statistics as required by the project

3. To develop and test several models of global migration dynamics in 
collaboration with the rest of ENFOLD team

4. To develop an in-depth case study modelling a migration stream or 
region according to the student's interests


Person Specification

The applicants should possess a good honours degree (1st Class or 2:1 
minimum) in any of the following disciplines: Economics, Statistics, 
Physics, Mathematics, Finance, or in any social science program with a 
strong quantitative component within Geography, Sociology, Epidemiology/ 
Public Health, GIS, Spatial Analysis or any other closely relevant 
subject area. An MSc in one of these areas or/and knowledge in 
econometric and statistical analysis is highly desirable. They should 
also have excellent quantitative research skills in social sciences 
including a good command of statistical analysis and programming 
knowledge of relevant packages (R, SAS,SPSS). As well as strong 
motivation to conduct independent research on the field of migration and 
basic knowledge of contemporary issues on migration.

Eligibility

The studentship is subject to funding restrictions please refer to the 
following 
link:http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/funding/students/Pages/eligibility.aspx.

Candidates should submit an application for graduate study to UCL 
Registry 
(http://www.ucl.ac.uk/admission/graduate-study/application-admission/) 
and should send a duplicate, along with a CV and cover letter, to Dr 
Pablo Mateos via email to [log in to unmask]


UCL Taking Action for Equality

Closing Date = 30th Jun 2010

Interview date = Mid July 2010

Studentship Start Date = 1st October 2010

-- 
Pablo Mateos

Lecturer in Human Geography
Department of Geography
University College London
Room G21
26 Bedford Way
LONDON WC1H 0AP

[log in to unmask]
www.casa.ucl.ac.uk/pablo
Tel +44 (0) 207 679 7552


-- 
Mario Cortina Borja; [log in to unmask]
Centre for Paediatric Epidemiology & Biostatistics
UCL Institute of Child Health, London WC1N 1EH, UK
Phone +44(0)20 7905 2113 Fax +44(0)20 7905 2381

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