Services
What can we do for you?Since 2006, the Urban Informatics Research Lab has conducted research and development of direct relevance to industry and community needs, as well as government priorities. The lab currently conducts studies for various partners using qualitative methods such as interviewing, focus groups, literature reviews, to investigate urban mobility and the use of heads-up displays in cars; the impact of the National Broadband Network (NBN) roll-out on libraries, collaboration and co-working spaces; food in the city; user experiences in public transport; community and civic engagement; digital fabrication, and; urban data visualisations, among others.
The lab uses creative and design methodologies in order to conduct rigorous user needs studies and market research analyses that produce far more nuanced and richer insights than conventional research approaches. Such studies have been conducted for the construction industry, as well as in a study commissioned by the Australian Red Cross Blood Service.
For further information, and to discuss your research requirements, please contact us.
Research Training
The Urban Informatics Research Lab is an internationally recognised transdisciplinary team working across research and practice at the intersection of people, places and technologies in urban contexts.
We are interested in people and cultures but we are not a humanities research lab; we are interested in place and space but we are not an architectural or planning lab, and; we are interested in digital and analogue technologies but we are not an engineering lab. We traverse, converge, and develop new ways of understanding and creating but with disciplinary rigour. Our team comprises and collaborates with architects with degrees in media studies, software engineers with expertise in urban sociology, human-computer interaction designers with a grounding in cultural studies, urban planners with an interest in digital media and social networking, and interior designers with a passion for social entrepreneurship.
The lab provides an ideal environment for a dynamic and vibrant research culture to flourish with research staff, post-docs, and higher degree research students working on related topics under senior supervision. This research culture includes a regular seminar series, weekly team meetings, an annual retreat, and mature mentoring arrangements. All lab members are encouraged and supported to publish their research in high-quality journals and conference proceedings. Being part of the QUT Design Lab hosted by the Creative Industries Faculty at QUT enables the lab to embrace the creative energy of a range of disciplines across design and other related fields including Health, Business, Science and Engineering, Education, and Law.
We are always looking for passionate people who would like to conduct higher degree research (PhD, or Master of Design by Research) in urban informatics and related topics. You are welcome to propose your own topic and discuss it with us, or consider aligning yourself with one of our current projects, or choose one of the following topics that we are currently interested in:
- Crowdsourcing and Physical Computing /Spatial Information and Participatory Visualisation for Risk Assessment
- Social Entrepreneurship and Empowerment of Youth and the Disenfranchised
- Care and Wellbeing of People Living, Working, and Playing Alone
- Urban and Civic Innovations with Open Data
- Urban mobilities and Public Space
SCHOLARSHIPS FOR RESEARCH STUDENTS
QUT’s Annual Scholarships Round for both domestic and international applicants closes 30 September each year, for commencement of study in the following year. If you are interested in higher degree research, please review the information about applying for admission and scholarships at http://www.qut.edu.au/study/applying/phd-and-research-degree-applications
Please contact us to discuss potential higher degree research topics.
ENDEAVOUR AWARDS
The Endeavour Awards is the Australian Government’s internationally competitive, merit-based scholarship program providing opportunities for citizens of the Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas to undertake study, research and professional development in Australia. Guidelines and the Application Process are available here >
RESEARCH INTERNSHIPS
We regularly give selected applicants from overseas universities the opportunity to join the Urban Informatics Research Lab as research interns and write their Bachelor or Master theses. During their stay, research interns will be part of a highly productive team working on applied research topics across people, place and technology, such as urban computing, human-computer interaction, ubiquitous computing, social media, mobile interaction, and related areas. Topics for research theses can be proposed by either the lab or the internship applicant. Research interns will receive supervision from a senior member of the lab, and associate supervision from a member of the lab with domain expertise relevant to the proposed thesis topic. Research interns will be hosted for up to 6 months, and a bench fee is payable to QUT. In return, interns receive University Visitor status which includes a desk in the lab’s office space, access to QUT support and library facilities.
Information brochure about research internships with QUT Urban Informatics (PDF) >
Please contact us to inquire about research internship opportunities.
Continuing Professional Education
We offer you to participate in professional development workshops, seminars, and master classes. These events are designed to facilitate learning in stimulating environments designed to ignite your creativity and inspire individual and collective change. Classes can be tailored to your individual or organisational needs, allowing you to take in the best of the knowledge, skills and expertise of the Urban Informatics Research Lab.
For further information, and to discuss your research requirements, please contact us.