EPSRC DLA: Promoting Healthy Ageing through Diverse Mobility Options

One full scholarship is available in the Institute for Transport Studies for 2025/26 entry for a Home fee rated applicant. This is a highly competitive EPSRC Doctoral Landscape Award Studentship offering the award of UK fees, together with a tax-free maintenance grant (currently £19,237 for academic session 2024/25) for 3.5 years. This award is only available to Home fee rated applicants. Training and support will also be provided. Please note that whilst you may be successful in securing an academic offer for this project, this does not mean that you have been successful in securing an offer of funding. Funding is awarded on a competitive basis.<br /> <br /> With an ageing population throughout the UK, and increased life expectancies, it is crucial to understand and address the transportation needs of older people to ensure sustained mobility and promote healthy, active lives. Today many older people are healthier, and more mobile than previous generations, leading to higher demand for travel, particularly for family, social and leisure purposes. For those who do face poor health, enabling mobility can be critical for sustaining welfare. These factors necessitate an examination of the transportation system to ensure that it is inclusive, equitable, and capable of meeting the diverse needs of an older population.

<p>Good transportation options and accessible walking environments can enable people to remain engaged in their communities as they age, facilitating active lifestyles, reducing the risk of social isolation and associated health problems. Moreover, they allow people to age in place, preserving autonomy and connection to familiar environments. However, people’s transport and mobility needs are diverse and evolve with age, as their lifestyles and abilities change. This variability necessitates a flexible approach to transportation planning and transport infrastructure that can adapt to changing capabilities and preferences of older adults. While car use remains popular, not everyone drives or has access to a car. Further the ability to safely drive can decrease with age. So, there is a need to ensure accessibility of public transportation and active mobility, offering benefits through physical activity and social interaction. Furthermore, new technologies, such as, autonomous vehicles, micromobility, and on-demand transit, offer new mobility options. These innovations have the potential to enhance mobility, provided they are implemented in ways that are inclusive and considerate of the specific needs of older users. </p> <p paraeid="{2b39cd44-96ec-4f07-95ec-331206aaa8b7}{159}" paraid="675085462">This project seeks to recruit a researcher looking to understand the transport needs of older adults and to develop strategies and interventions to facilitate mobility into older age. The objective is to discover what is needed for older people to be able make journeys that are safe, affordable, and reliable, and can accommodate their travel needs and that are appropriate for their journeys. The research will explore the relationships between accessible mobility and quality of life and welfare for older people, focusing both on realised benefits of journeys which people currently make, and the potential benefits if barriers to mobility are removed. It will investigate needs for accessibility, safety, and affordability of journeys from door to door, rather than looking at transport modes in isolation. Informed by this evidence, the project will develop recommendations for built environment designs and/or policy interventions meeting older people’s mobility needs.  </p> <p paraeid="{2b39cd44-96ec-4f07-95ec-331206aaa8b7}{185}" paraid="235850398">Interdisciplinary approaches will be essential to address this objective, and you will work with an interdisciplinary supervisory team with backgrounds in Transport, Engineering and Social Sciences. There is flexibility to focus the research towards specific geographical areas and/or demographics. Methodology will depend on the research focus and may include combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. The researcher would be encouraged to engage with the older adult community through co-design activities to develop appropriate solutions that support mobility. </p>

<p>Formal applications for research degree study should be made online through the <a href="https://www.leeds.ac.uk/research-applying/doc/applying-research-degrees">University's website</a>. You will need to create a login ID with a username and PIN. <strong>Please follow these instructions carefully or your application may not be considered.</strong></p> <ul> <li>For ‘Application type’ please select ‘Research Degrees – Research Postgraduate’.</li> <li>The admission year for this project is 2025/26 Academic Year.</li> <li>You will need to select your ‘Planned Course of Study’ from a drop-down menu. For this project, you must scroll down and select ‘<strong>EPSRC DLA Environment</strong>’. If you do not apply under this programme code, your application cannot be considered.</li> <li>Please state the funding you wish to be considered for is <strong>EPSRC Doctoral Landscape Award 2025/26: Environment</strong>.</li> <li>The project start date for this project is October 2025, please use this as your Proposed Start Date of Research.</li> <li>Please state clearly in the research information section that the research degree you wish to be considered for is <strong>EPSRC DLA: Promoting Healthy Ageing through Diverse Mobility Options</strong> as well as <strong>Dr Steve O’Hern</strong> as your proposed supervisor.</li> <li>You must provide the following documents in your application: <ul> <li>Full transcripts of all degree study, or if in final year of study, full transcripts to date</li> <li>Personal statement outlining your interest in the project</li> <li>CV</li> </ul> </li> </ul> <p paraeid="{790021b7-4ac3-44f0-8be8-850148d45e0e}{232}" paraid="490689747">If English is not your first language, you must provide evidence that you meet the University's minimum English language requirements (below). </p> <p paraeid="{790021b7-4ac3-44f0-8be8-850148d45e0e}{242}" paraid="961643973"><em>As an international research-intensive university, we welcome students from all walks of life and from across the world. We foster an inclusive environment where all can flourish and prosper, and we are proud of our strong commitment to student education. Across all Faculties we are dedicated to diversifying our community and we welcome the unique contributions that individuals can bring, and particularly encourage applications from, but not limited to Black, Asian, people who belong to a minority ethnic community, people who identify as LGBT+ and people with disabilities. Applicants will always be selected based on merit and ability. </em></p>

Applicants should normally have a bachelor degree with a minimum of 2:1 (Hons) or equivalent, or a good performance in a Masters level course. Applicants who are uncertain about the entry requirements for a particular research degree are advised to contact the Postgraduate Research Admissions team prior to making an application.

The minimum English language entry requirement for research postgraduate research study is an IELTS of 6.0 overall with at least 5.5 in each component (reading, writing, listening and speaking) or equivalent. The test must be dated within two years of the start date of the course in order to be valid. Some schools and faculties have a higher requirement.

<p>This competitive EPSRC Doctoral Landscape Award offers the award of tuition fees at the Home rate, together with a tax-free maintenance grant (currently £19,237 for academic session 2024/25) for 3.5 years. Training and support will also be provided. This award is only available to Home fee rated applicants.</p> <p>Please note that whilst you may be successful in securing an academic offer for any project linked to this funding advertised project or own research proposal, this does not mean that you have been successful in securing an offer of funding. Funding is awarded on a competitive basis.</p> <p>Please refer to the <a href="https://www.ukcisa.org.uk/">UKCISA</a> website for information regarding fee status for Non-UK Nationals.</p>

<p>For further information please contact the Postgraduate Research Admissions team: <a href="mailto:env-pgr@leeds.ac.uk?subject=EPSRC%20DLA%3A%20Promoting%20Healthy%20Ageing%20through%20Diverse%20Mobility%20Options">env-pgr@leeds.ac.uk</a>. </p>