Re-Sounding Identities: VR Music-Making & Storytelling with Asylum-Seeking Communities

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Re-Sounding Identities: VR Music-Making & Storytelling with Asylum-Seeking Communities

• Re-Sounding Identities: VR Music-Making & Storytelling with Asylum-Seeking Communities: School of Arts, English and Languages | PHD Applications are now CLOSED
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Overview

This PhD project investigates how immersive technologies can foster inclusion, belonging, and skills development for marginalised groups in Northern Ireland. The focus is on asylum-seeking communities, with particular attention to young women and girls, who often face compounded challenges of displacement, gender inequalities, and cultural invisibility.

The student will be supported by a strong supervisory team that includes Dr Kim-Marie Spence, whose expertise in cultural policy and non-Western creative industries will enrich the project’s analysis of global policy frameworks and transnational creative practices. This complements the technical expertise in VR and inclusive music-making (Prof Schroeder) and the industry leadership of Immersive Ireland (Linda Curtin), ensuring an interdisciplinary and balanced supervisory environment. Objectives: 1. Identity and Belonging – explore how VR-based music-making and sensory mapping can support expressions and negotiations of identity in contexts of displacement. 2. Inclusive Design – co-develop VR and immersive storytelling tools with asylum-seeking participants, ensuring accessibility, cultural sensitivity, and ethical design. 3. Education and Skills – examine the potential of immersive creative practices for enhancing digital literacy, creative confidence, and transferable skills in young asylum seekers. 4. Wellbeing and Civic Impact – assess the contribution of inclusive VR music-making to wellbeing, intercultural dialogue, and civic inclusion. Key Activities: • Year 1: Literature review across migration, identity, sensory ethnography, VR/AR, and inclusive music technologies. Training in VR development and participatory methods. Partnership-building with NGOs and schools. Initial sensory mapping workshops to co-create multimodal “maps of belonging,” combining sound, gesture, image, and memory. • Year 2: Participatory workshops with young asylum seekers, particularly girls, to co-design VR music and storytelling prototypes. Development of immersive environments with Immersive Ireland. Pilot implementation in schools, youth hubs, and community centres, embedding evaluation of accessibility, usability, and cultural resonance (if time allows) • Year 3: Comprehensive analysis of impacts on identity, skills, and wellbeing. Dissemination through immersive showcases, exhibitions, public installations, and performances. Policy briefs to be co-authored with NGOs and cultural partners to inform wider debates on inclusion.

Funding Information

You can apply for this award via the form at https://tinyurl.com/3u6p2kav

Dr Anders Rykkja

Full-time: 3 years

Arts Management and Cultural Policy overview

You will be part of a growing doctoral research environment and will study alongside students from Northern Ireland and abroad. We supervise students undertaking research in: • The design and delivery of cultural policy and the interpretation of these processes by arts managers and policy makers • The attachment of social policy areas to cultural policy • The social processes of cultural production within institutional settings • Access, participation and audience development in the arts • Issues of equality and diversity • Internationalisation and transnational exchange • Reception of art and culture • Institutional, historical and social frameworks for the making and displaying of art and heritage • Impact of arts and cultural work We are also interested in projects developed through interdisciplinary approaches and supervision teams: • The management and governance of cultural sectors and institutions • Sustainability and relevance of business models for arts management • Evolving theories of cultural economy and cultural ecology • The impact of new technologies on arts and cultural industries management and cultural policymaking

Research students are encouraged to play a full and active role in relation to the wide range of research activities undertaken within the School and there are many resources available.

• Brokering Intercultural Exchange is an Arts & Humanities Research Council Funded research network that brings international arts and cultural management practitioners together with educators, policymakers and researchers to explore the relationship of arts and cultural management to intercultural, transcultural and international exchange www.managingculture.net
• Cultural Policy Observatory Ireland is an all-island research network based at Queen’s to further research and information exchange on cultural policy across the island of Ireland https://culturalpolicyireland.org/
• Students are supported to publish their work as well as initiate and lead seminars with invited national and international researchers. By encouraging public engagement activities, we actively encourage students to realise the real-life impact of their research.
• Based in the School of Art, English & Languages, we have the advantage of the networks, research possibilities and professionals associated with the Brian Friel Theatre, Queen's Film Centre, Sonic Arts Research Centre and the Naughton Gallery.
• The PhD programme is deeply connected to the arts and cultural sector in Northern Ireland, the UK and Ireland and with global connections.
• We are open to both theoretical and practice-based research projects.

Course content

Introduction We encourage applicants who are interested in further academic work or work within the arts and cultural or public policy sector. Queen's postgraduates reap exceptional benefits. Unique initiatives, such as Degree Plus and Researcher Plus bolster our commitment to employability.

Employment after the Course For further information on career development opportunities at PhD level please contact the Careers, Employability and Skills team on careers@qub.ac.uk / +44 (0) 28 9024 5133. https://www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/sgc/careers/

Dr Ali FitzGibbon Senior Lecturer in Creative and Cultural Industries Management AEL Email: a.fitzgibbon@qub.ac.uk

Dr Anders Rykkja Lecturer in Arts and Cultural Industries Management AEL Email: a.rykkja@qub.ac.uk

Dr Kim-Marie Spence Lecturer, Arts Management and Cultural Policy AEL Email k.spence@qub.ac.uk

Assessment processes for the Research Degree differ from taught degrees. Students will be expected to present drafts of their work at regular intervals to their supervisor who will provide written and oral feedback; a formal assessment process takes place annually. This Annual Progress Review requires students to present their work in writing and orally to a panel of academics from within the School. Successful completion of this process will allow students to register for the next academic year. The final assessment of the doctoral degree is both oral and written. Students will submit their thesis to an internal and external examining team who will review the written thesis before inviting the student to orally defend their work at a Viva Voce.

Supervisors will offer feedback on draft work at regular intervals throughout the period of registration on the degree.

Entrance requirements

Graduate A 2.1 Honours degree or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University. While a Master's degree (or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University) is not essential, it is desirable and applicants without this qualification will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

For information on international qualification equivalents, please check the specific information for your country .

Evidence of an IELTS score of 6.5, with not less than 5.5 in any component, or an equivalent qualification acceptable to the University, is required. Taken within the last two years

International students wishing to apply to Queen's University Belfast (and for whom English is not their first language), must be able to demonstrate their proficiency in English in order to benefit fully from their course of study or research. Non-EEA nationals must also satisfy UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) immigration requirements for English language for visa purposes.

For more information on English Language requirements for EEA and non-EEA nationals see: www.qub.ac.uk/EnglishLanguageReqs .

If you need to improve your English language skills before you enter this degree programme, INTO Queen's University Belfast offers a range of English language courses. These intensive and flexible courses are designed to improve your English ability for admission to this degree.

Tuition Fees

Northern Ireland (NI) 1 | TBC

Republic of Ireland (ROI) 2 | TBC

England, Scotland or Wales (GB) 1 | TBC

EU Other 3 | £23,600

International | £23,600

1 EU citizens in the EU Settlement Scheme, with settled or pre-settled status, are expected to be charged the NI or GB tuition fee based on where they are ordinarily resident, however this is provisional and subject to the publication of the Northern Ireland Assembly Student Fees Regulations. Students who are ROI nationals resident in GB are expected to be charged the GB fee, however this is provisional and subject to the publication of the Northern Ireland Assembly student fees Regulations.

2 It is expected that EU students who are ROI nationals resident in ROI will be eligible for NI tuition fees. The tuition fee set out above is provisional and subject to the publication of the Northern Ireland Assembly student fees Regulations.

3 EU Other students (excludes Republic of Ireland nationals living in GB, NI or ROI) are charged tuition fees in line with international fees.

All tuition fees quoted relate to a single year of study unless stated otherwise. All fees will be subject to an annual inflationary increase, unless explicitly stated otherwise.

More information on postgraduate tuition fees .

Arts Management and Cultural Policy costs

There are no specific additional course costs associated with this programme.

Additional course costs

Depending on the programme of study, there may also be other extra costs which are not covered by tuition fees, which students will need to consider when planning their studies . Students can borrow books and access online learning resources from any Queen's library. If students wish to purchase recommended texts, rather than borrow them from the University Library, prices per text can range from £30 to £100. Students should also budget between £30 to £100 per year for photocopying, memory sticks and printing charges. Students may wish to consider purchasing an electronic device; costs will vary depending on the specification of the model chosen. There are also additional charges for graduation ceremonies, and library fines. In undertaking a research project students may incur costs associated with transport and/or materials, and there will also be additional costs for printing and binding the thesis. There may also be individually tailored research project expenses and students should consult directly with the School for further information.

Some research programmes incur an additional annual charge on top of the tuition fees, often referred to as a bench fee. Bench fees are charged when a programme (or a specific project) incurs extra costs such as those involved with specialist laboratory or field work. If you are required to pay bench fees they will be detailed on your offer letter. If you have any questions about Bench Fees these should be raised with your School at the application stage. Please note that, if you are being funded you will need to ensure your sponsor is aware of and has agreed to fund these additional costs before accepting your place.

How do I fund my study?

Find PhD opportunities and funded studentships by subject area.

We offer numerous opportunities for funded doctoral study in a world-class research environment. Our centres and partnerships, aim to seek out and nurture outstanding postgraduate research students, and provide targeted training and skills development.

The Government offers doctoral loans of up to £26,445 for PhDs and equivalent postgraduate research programmes for English- or Welsh-resident UK and EU students.

Information on Postgraduate Research scholarships for international students .

The Funding & Scholarship Finder helps prospective and current students find funding to help cover costs towards a whole range of study related expenses.

How to Apply

Apply using our online Postgraduate Applications Portal and follow the step-by-step instructions on how to apply .

If you're interested in a particular project, we suggest you contact the relevant academic before you apply, to introduce yourself and ask questions.

To find a potential supervisor aligned with your area of interest, or if you are unsure of who to contact, look through the staff profiles linked here .

You might be asked to provide a short outline of your proposal to help us identify potential supervisors.

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