PhD Research Studentship
School of Engineering and Built Environment
Reference Number: SEBE_2015_3
Studentship Project Title: Integrated communications management for Cooperative Intelligent
Transport Systems
Applications are invited for a full-time PhD research studentship at Glasgow Caledonian University within
the school of Engineering and Built Environment. The studentship is for a period of three years - subject
to satisfactory progress - and provides payment of tuition fees at the UK/EU rate plus an annual stipend
of £14,800 [please note that students from outside the EU are required to pay the difference between the
International and EU fees, currently this would amount to £7,100 per annum which, if required, can be
deducted from the student annual stipend]. The successful candidate will carry out up to 6 hours of
academic-related work per week as part of their research training.
Research Discipline
Wireless communications, cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems, Vehicle to Vehicle communications,
Vehicle to Infrastructure Communications, DSRC, LTE, 4G, 5G
Research Theme
- Interactive and Communications Engineering
- Networks and Communications
Research Project Summary
In spite of the economic and social importance of road transport, the sector faces a number of associated
safety, environmental and traffic problems. In the UK, official statistics indicate that as many as 1,960
fatalities (30,268 in the EU) were tallied in 2011 (EU Transport, 2013). In addition to the social problems
associated with the loss of life, traffic accidents also have significant economic repercussions and traffic
congestion has also become a major issue with an enormous associated price, both economic and
environmental.
In order to address the above economic, social and environmental issues, the main aim of this project is
to produce a reliable, scalable and converged communication system for Cooperative Intelligent
Transport Systems (C-ITS). There are numerous C-ITS applications and services such as safety based,
ecoservices, traffic info and navigation, entertainment and trip planning. The safety based services and
applications would take precedence over infotainment ones. Furthermore depending on the type of data
to be transferred (e.g. streaming or burst), the appropriate type of communications technology would be
chosen. Mobile communications will not fully address C-ITS services such as collision avoidance and lane
change and Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) will not stream entertainment data. As a
result both DSRC and mobile networks (4G/5G) are needed in C-ITS. Currently 4G – Long Term Evolution
(LTE) which is available in some vehicles is focused on infotainment and lacks convergence with DSRC for
the provision of some of the ITS services such as intersection assistance.
Key project objectives are:
- Developing a communications management system which integrates both DSRC and 4G/5G.
- Simulating the system in real scenarios; urban and motorway focusing on Vehicle to Vehicle (V2V)
communication and V2Cloud communication.
- Produce a platform for future implementation and testing.
Staff Contact
Dr. Tuleen Boutaleb – T.Boutaleb@gcu.ac.uk
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Candidate Background
The candidate should possess a relevant 1st or 2.1 honours degree. Candidates whose first language is
not English are expected to hold a current IELTS qualification (or equivalent) with an overall score of 6.5
with no element below 6.0
How to Apply
Applicants should complete the University Research Application Form, available from
http://www.gcu.ac.uk/research/postgraduateresearchopportunities/ under “How to Apply”
Please send the form, stating the studentship project title and reference number, with a CV, copies of
academic qualifications, references, and any other required documentation to:
researchapplications@gcu.ac.uk
At GCU we are committed to promoting a flexible, accessible and inclusive working
environment. Anticipated flexible work patterns for PhD students can be discussed with the project
supervisory team at the interview stage.
The closing date for applications is 22nd May 2015
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