PhD Studentship - Securing the human-AI decision boundary: Cognitive Digital Twins for adaptive cyber defence

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PhD Studentship - Securing the human-AI decision boundary: Cognitive Digital Twins for adaptive cyber defence

The BU Cyber Competence Centre at Bournemouth University invites applications from prospective postgraduate researchers who wish to commence study for a PhD in the academic year 2026/27 (start January 2027). This fully funded PhD place provides an exciting opportunity to pursue postgraduate research in a range of fields relating to cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and human cognition.

Bournemouth University has been awarded two HORIZON-CL3-2025-02-CS-ECCC-02 projects, namely SCIFER and MosAIcSOC. These conduct research in tools for contemporary Security Operations Centres, where both computing systems and people face challenges and pressures due to AI-enabled attacks.

Security analysts increasingly use AI to interpret complex information, investigate incidents, prioritise threats and support decisions. This creates new opportunities for faster and more effective cyber defence, but it also introduces a new and comparatively unexplored source of security risk: the relationship between the human decision-maker and the AI system.

This PhD will investigate this emerging human-AI decision boundary in cybersecurity.

This is a fully-funded PhD studentship which includes a stipend each year to support your living costs.

• Delivery: Full time according to Funding Council definitions

Next start date

25 January 2027

Location

Bournemouth University, Talbot Campus

Duration

36 months

Entry requirements

Outstanding academic potential as measured normally by either a 1st class honours degree or equivalent Grade Point Average (GPA), or a Master’s degree with distinction or equivalent. If English is not your first language you'll need IELTS (Academic) score of 6.5 minimum (with a minimum 6.0 in each component, or equivalent). For more information check out our full entry requirements .

• Project details
• Supervisors
• Funding
• Academic support
• Full entry requirements
• International entry requirements
• How to apply
• Careers

Project details

The BU Cyber Competence Centre at Bournemouth University invites applications from prospective postgraduate researchers who wish to commence study for a PhD in the academic year 2027/28 (start January 2027). This fully funded PhD place provides an exciting opportunity to pursue postgraduate research in a range of fields relating to cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and human cognition.

Bournemouth University has been awarded two HORIZON-CL3-2025-02-CS-ECCC-02 projects, namely SCIFER and MosAIcSOC. These conduct research in tools for contemporary Security Operations Centres, where both computing systems and people face challenges and pressures due to AI-enabled attacks. Security analysts increasingly use AI to interpret complex information, investigate incidents, prioritise threats and support decisions. This creates new opportunities for faster and more effective cyber defence, but it also introduces a new and comparatively unexplored source of security risk: the relationship between the human decision-maker and the AI system.

This PhD will investigate this emerging human-AI decision boundary in cybersecurity. The project will examine how cybersecurity professionals process and respond to AI-generated information, including how attention, interpretation of evidence, uncertainty, trust, dependence on AI and risk judgement shape subsequent security decisions. Particular attention will be given to how these processes develop as interaction with Generative AI becomes a routine part of cybersecurity work. A central element of the project will be the development of a Cognitive Security Twin: a dynamic computational representation of security-relevant aspects of an individual’s interaction with AI.

The successful candidate will join Bournemouth University’s growing interdisciplinary cybersecurity and AI research environment and will benefit from the University’s new Cyber Competence Centre. The Centre provides an immersive environment for simulating realistic cyber incidents and exploring AI-supported threat detection, incident response and human decision-making. Its distinctive emphasis on both technological and human aspects of cyber resilience provides a particularly strong setting for this project, which sits at the intersection of cybersecurity, Generative AI and human cognition.

View full project description (PDF, 230kb)

The closing date for applications is 15 November 2026.

Professor Vasilis Katos

I obtained a Diploma in Electrical Engineering from Democritus University of Thrace in Greece, an MBA from Keele University in the UK and a PhD in Computer Science (network security and cryptography) from Aston University. I am a certified Computer Hacking Forensic Investigator (CHFI). I have worked in the Industry as Information Security Consultant and served as an expert witness in Information Security in the UK and Greece. My research falls in the area of digital forensics and incident response, with the recent years focusing on digital forensics for investigating Intellectual Property infringements, following the close collaboration with the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and UN's Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute, UNICRI. I have participated in a number of EU and nationally funded research projects and in several national and international cyberdefence exercises. I have over 160 publications in journals, book chapters and conference proceedings and serve as a referee on several reputable conferences and journals (for example, IEEE Communications Letters, Computers & Security). I have coordinated and delivered a number of workshops, both in an academic and a security professionals context. I am member of the editorial board of Computers & Security.

Funding

A fully-funded Studentship includes a maintenance grant of £18,622 per year to contribute towards living expenses during the course of your research, as well as a fee waiver for 36 months or 48 months. (depending on studentship).

Associated costs, such as for fieldwork and conference attendance, will also be met under the Studentship.

Academic support

The Research Development Programme , developed by the Doctoral College in line with the Researcher Development Framework (Vitae).An added benefit is the opportunity to meet researchers from other academic schools at BU through the activities of the Doctoral College and benefit from their experiences, skills, and perspectives.

Full entry requirements

The BU PhD and MRes Studentships are open to UK, EU and International students.

Candidates for a PhD Studentship should demonstrate outstanding qualities and be motivated to complete a PhD in 4 years and must demonstrate:

In addition to satisfying minimum entry criteria, BU will look closely at the qualities, skills and background of each candidate and what they can bring to their chosen research project in order to ensure successful completion.

Applicants will be asked to submit an online application form and a proposal (approximately 1500 words) outlining their understanding of the project for which they are applying, the approach they would envisage taking and what qualities they will bring to the research community.

Please note:

• Outstanding academic potential as measured normally by either a 1st class honours degree (or equivalent Grade Point Average (GPA) or a Master’s degree with distinction or equivalent
• An IELTS (Academic) score of 6.5 minimum (with a minimum 6.0 in each component, or equivalent) for candidates for whom English is not their first language and this must be evidenced at point of application.
• current BU Doctoral students are not eligible to apply for a Studentship
• current MRes/MPhil students can apply, subject to satisfactory completion of their Research Degree prior to being able to take up the award
• PhD Studentships cannot be used to support BU staff to complete doctoral programmes.

International entry requirements

If English is not your first language, you will need to provide evidence that you can understand English to a satisfactory level. English language requirements for this course are normally:

IELTS (Academic) score of 6.5 (with a minimum 6.0 in each component) or equivalent .

View further information about our English language requirements.

A number of pre-sessional English and preparatory programmes are offered through our partner institution, Bournemouth University International College , and will get you ready for study at BU at the appropriate level.

You can also find further details of the international qualifications we accept, and what level of study they apply to, on our postgraduate entry requirements page .

How to apply

Click the green ‘Apply now’ button at the top of the page and complete the online application form. You can find further guidance about applying for a postgraduate research degree in our Postgraduate Research section .

The closing date for applications15 November 2026.

Careers

A research degree can open new career opportunities in commercial research and development, consultancy, or could lead you to starting your own business. You may alternatively consider a career in academia. You may wish to undertake research to contribute to your knowledge of a specialist subject, or develop your employability by enhancing your skills in project management and analysis.

The Doctoral College

See how we work alongside Academic Schools and the Faculty to support the postgraduate community at BU.

Fees and funding

Find out about fees and funding, including scholarships and bursaries.

Information for international students

Information on this page relates to next entry point (see box containing fees figures), unless indicated otherwise. Statistics shown throughout this page are taken from The Discover Uni dataset (formerly Unistats) and BU institutional data, unless otherwise stated.

• Information for international students: We have a strong international student community. Find all the practical advice and information you need here.

Research areas