SICSA Graduate Academy

Since 2009, research training has been a key component of SICSA activities and all research students at SICSA institutions are supported by the SICSA Graduate Academy (SGA).

About

SGA provides training, resources, conferences and funding to PhD students, enhancing provision of research training and opportunities across Scottish HEIs, strengthening interdisciplinary networks and cultivating a leading talent pipeline across all areas of Informatics and Computing Science. We also support a number of Centres for Doctoral Training and PhD supervisors across Scotland.

If you are considering a PhD, explore opportunities and studentships at our member institutions and CDTs

Opportunities

Upcoming events

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funding opportunity

PhD Travel Funding

SICSA can support conference funding for PhD students who are currently studying Informatics and Computing Science within a SICSA institution. Funding of up to £500 is provided to support travel for presenting accepted conference publications.

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staff opportunity

PhD Supervisor Mentoring

As part of the SICSA Graduate Academy’s aim to enhance research training and opportunities across Scottish HEIs, we want to encourage interaction between PhD supervisors across the various SICSA institutions.

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SGA directors

Tristan Henderson
Dr Tristan Henderson
Director of SICSA Graduate Academy
Tristan Henderson is a Senior Lecturer at University of St Andrew’s with interdisciplinary training in Computing Science, Economics and Law. His research interests include data protection, privacy and digital rights. Dr Henderson was appointed SGA Director in August 2024.
Dr Aiden Durrant
Deputy Director of SICSA Graduate Academy
Aiden Durrant is a Lecturer in Computer Science at University of Aberdeen. His research is focussed on unsupervised representation learning and self-supervised learning, with an interest in computer vision with applications for environmental monitoring and agriculture. Dr Durrant started in the role of Deputy SGA Director of in August 2024 and is a supervisor in the SUSTAIN CDT.
2026

SICSA PhD Conference

SICSA represents staff and students at all 14 Scottish Universities with Computing Science departments, including approximately 1000 PhD students. Our annual PhD Conference has been SICSA’s flagship event for over a decade, bringing together Scotland’s PhD community for networking and graduate researcher training.

Join the Committee!

PhD students and ECRs are invited to join our organising committee in 2026. This is a great opportunity to gain experience, meet colleagues across institutions and shape the conference.
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Supervisor of the Year

Each year, we recognise the outstanding support and expertise offered by PhD supervisors across our institutions. Students are invited to nominate their supervisors for recognition in 2026.
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Best Dissertation Prize

This award invites submissions from our talented student research community and celebrates all the ground-breaking research being carried out across the Scottish institutions.
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Sponsor

Sponsorship of the 2026 SICSA PhD Conference will provide you with exposure to 120+ delegates comprising of mainly postgraduate research students and academics from across Scotland.
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News