Scholarships & funding

SGSAH Collaborative Doctoral Award Studentship

PhD Title: “Mainlining AI into the Veins”? Library collections as data in the age of Extractive AI Capitalism

The University of Glasgow, University of Edinburgh, and the National Library of Scotland are pleased to announce a fully-funded PhD studentship, under the Collaborative Doctoral Award scheme with the Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities (SGSAH). The successful candidate will work with the University of Glasgow and the National Library of Scotland. The supervisors will be Prof. Paul Gooding (University of Glasgow), Prof. Melissa Terras (University of Edinburgh), Dr. Sarah Ames and Dr. Patrick Hart (National Library of Scotland).

The Research Project

Since 2023, there has been an explosion in AI-generated content produced by Generative AI and Large Language Models. Many GenAI companies have been criticised for extractive AI practices grounded in late-stage capitalism, incentivising decisions that maximise shareholder profits without considering human agency and autonomy, extracting data (Eve, 2024) and natural resources (Lehuedé, 2024). At the same time, libraries have sought to make their collections openly available as datasets (Padilla et al., 2018), building on assumptions that open data principles are a fundamental good. However, given the legal and ethical controversies surrounding GenAI, we must consider how the library sector can respond to the challenges of integrating its data into AI systems.

This project will use the National Library of Scotland Data Foundry (https://data.nls.uk/), a sectorleading portal publishing data collections in machine-readable form, as a test-bed for exploring the technical and ethical aspects of making data accessible and reusable for human and non-human users.

Research questions will include:
- What is the place of libraries as trusted information environments in an extractive AI ecosystem?
- How does the emergence of GenAI, and associated data scraping practices, challenge existing OpenGLAM practices in making collections openly licensed and available as data?
- What ethical responsibilities do libraries have in relation to making their data available for training AI?

For more information please click here: SGSAH Collaborative Doctoral Award Studentship

To be eligible you will need to have been accepted onto the PhD programme via University of Glasgow Admissions. Only one candidate will be accepted, after the interview process has been completed.

Eligible qualifications:
- At least an Upper Second Class Honours degree (2:1) in a relevant discipline;
- 1st class / Distinction / Merit expected or earned in Master’s Degree;
- For non-native English speakers, test scores meeting the requirements for the College of Arts;

Number of Scholarships

1

Value

- Scholarship funded for 3 years and 6 months (full time) / 7 years (part time).
- Open to candidates from the world (UK, EU, and International).
- Fully funded PhD studentship with a stipend of approximately £20,780 per annum (2025/26 academic year) plus fees at UKRI home rate, and £500 p/a mobility allowance.

How to apply

To apply for this studentship, you must submit an online application via the University of Glasgow Online Admissions portal by 5pm on Friday 30th May 2025.

Applications received after this date cannot be considered.

When you log into the admissions portal, you will be asked to create a new application. Please select your country of permanent residence and the following details:
- Programme: PhD in Information Studies (Research)
- Proposed Start Date: 1st October 2025
- Mode of Study; Full or Part Time.

The portal will then lead you through the required steps. When you reach the Finances and Supervisor pages, please indicate the following details:
- Intended funding source: External Scholarship/Sponsor
- Scholarship Name: SGSAHAICDA
- Is this funding confirmed? No
- Academic supervisor: Prof. Paul Gooding (email address: paul.gooding@glasgow.ac.uk) 

There is no need to submit a research proposal: when this is requested, please submit the covering letter described below. In addition to the documentation outlined on the Information Studies PGR Admissions webpage, you must provide the following documents:
- A covering letter (maximum two pages) outlining your interest in, suitability for, and intended focus and direction of, this studentship.
- A CV outlining your prior qualifications, work experience and other relevant information.
- A writing sample of up to 3,000 words. If you are unsure about how to choose your writing sample, please email the contact below to discuss.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to an online interview to take place on 13th June 2025.

For more information contact: paul.gooding@glasgow.ac.uk