Job Description

About ARU:

We are ranked in the world\xe2\x80\x99s top 350 institutions in the 2022 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, and we are a global university transforming lives through innovative, inclusive and entrepreneurial education and research. Our research institutes and four faculties bridge scientific, technical and creative fields. We deliver impactful research which tackles pressing issues and makes a real difference to our communities. Our academic excellence has been recognised by the UK\xe2\x80\x99s Higher Education funding bodies, with 16 of our research areas assessed as world-leading. In 2021, we were awarded the Queen\xe2\x80\x99s Anniversary Prize for our world-leading music therapy work.

About the Role:

Anglia Ruskin University is inviting applications for a fully-funded Vice-Chancellor\xe2\x80\x99s PhD Scholarship for a period of 36 months within the Faculty of Business and Law.

Project Description:

In this PhD project, you will have an opportunity to explore the complexity and the future of the circular economy transitions in society and businesses. The aim of the project is to understand the scenery of circular economy discussion, especially building an understanding of hopes, dreams and narratives policymakers and companies are imagining about circular economy. These narratives can be powerful assets in our culture and shape how we build our sustainable futures. The results of the study will ideally help to co-produce shared visions with academia, policy and practitioners of what a future circular economy could look like.

You will be given support to follow your own interests when it comes to choosing cases and discussions. The project will critically analyse political and economic discussions about different aspects of circular economy, focusing on the local and the UK situation but also considering European discussions. It will involve organising \xe2\x80\x9cenvisioning the future\xe2\x80\x9d -workshops with policymakers, businesses and citizen-consumers to actively participate in this societal imagination process. These workshops would also bring new empirical findings to the discussions and foster future envisioning in society. Results will be disseminated to inform public discussion about the circular economy and its different aspects, including social and political aspects and strengthen citizen-consumers\xe2\x80\x99 role in the transition.

This work will contribute to the research body that is looking at ideas shaping our understanding of markets and imagining futures. These ideas, dreams and narratives are practices that will actively shape our economies and societies, help understand how our societies are building a culture towards a sustainable future and how different actors contribute to this, and promote new creative thinking and imagination for our sustainable, circular future.

The award is subject to the successful candidate meeting the studentship Terms and Conditions which can be found on our website alongside further information about the project: and enquiries can be directed to

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting welfare of our staff and students and expect all staff to share this commitment.

We value diversity at ARU and welcome applications from all sections of the community.

Anglia Ruskin University