Sports and Exercise Science: Fully Funded PhD Studentship in SMART Rugby (Statistical Machine A[...]

Swansea University; Swansea; On-site; GBP 19,000 - 23,000

Job description

Organisation/Company Swansea University

Department Central Research

Field Other

Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1)

Positions PhD Positions

Country United Kingdom

Application Deadline 5 May 2025 - 23:59 (Europe/London)

Type of Contract Temporary

Job Status Full-time

Hours Per Week 35

Offer Starting Date 1 Jul 2025

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

This forward-looking PhD project merges performance science with advanced data analytics and machine learning to further enhance performance prediction in elite rugby union. The successful candidate will work with a comprehensive dataset spanning multiple seasons of elite competition, featuring team KPIs, individual player and ball GPS tracking data, and player wellness information.

The project centres on developing predictive frameworks that accurately forecast match outcomes and league positioning through sophisticated data analysis. The candidate will implement machine learning techniques to identify latent patterns in the data, construct hierarchical models integrating individual and team metrics, and employ time-series analysis across seasons. These models will be enhanced with individual player metrics, and we will investigate the use of scale-free frameworks such as topological data analysis to connect multi-level data streams to improve current models.

This project offers significant opportunities to contribute to both theoretical understanding of sports analytics and practical applications for elite teams. The successful candidate will develop expertise in applying cutting-edge computational methods to complex, real-world problems while producing publications for high-impact journals. Ideal candidates will possess strong quantitative skills, programming experience, and an interest in applied machine learning in sports performance contexts.

The successful candidate will also be embedded in a professional rugby environment and gain significant experience in hands-on data collection, data analysis, data presentation, and interpretation.

Specific Requirements

Due to funding restrictions, this Scholarship is open to applicants eligible to pay tuition fees at the UK rate only. As defined by UKCISA regulations.

Applicants for PhD must hold an undergraduate degree at 2.1 (or above) in Mathematics, Physics, Computer Sciences, or Sport Science.

It would be desirable for candidates to have experience in some or all of the following:

• Experience in working in professional sports environments
• Data visualization solutions (i.e. Power BI, Tableau, Google Data Studio) for producing reports
• MATLAB/PYTHON/C programming
• Application of Machine Learning Algorithms

Additional Information

This scholarship covers the full cost of tuition fees and an annual stipend at UKRI rate (currently £19,237 for 2024/25).

Enhanced additional expenses of up to £3,000 per year will also be available.

Eligibility criteria

Due to funding restrictions, this Scholarship is open to applicants eligible to pay tuition fees at the UK rate only. As defined by UKCISA regulations.

Applicants for PhD must hold an undergraduate degree at 2.1 (or above) in Mathematics, Physics, Computer Sciences, or Sport Science.

It would be desirable for candidates to have experience in some or all of the following:

• Experience in working in professional sports environments
• Data visualization solutions (i.e. Power BI, Tableau, Google Data Studio) for producing reports
• MATLAB/PYTHON/C programming
• Application of Machine Learning Algorithms

Selection process

Please see our website for further information.