PhD Scholarship, Sheffield Hallam University: Predicting Medal‑Winning Times in Paralympic Sport

About the Project

Applications are invited for a PhD scholarship at the School of Sport and Physical Activity, commencing 01 October 2026.

This fully funded scholarship covers Home PhD fees and provides a stipend at the Living Wage Foundation rate (£22,152 for 2025/26). The stipend increases annually according to the Living Wage rate.

As part of the scholarship, students will complete PhD study and support research activities in the school, for a maximum of 180 hours per academic year and not more than 6 hours in any one week. This activity forms part of the scholarship award and there is no additional payment for it.

Sheffield Hallam University delivers worldleading applied health and wellbeing research. In the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF), 88% of our research was judged worldleading or internationally excellent: https://www.shu.ac.uk/sport-physical-activity-research-centre.

You will join a thriving community of ~65 doctoral researchers supported through a comprehensive doctoral training programme and will be colocated within the Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre (AWRC) - a worldleading hub for health innovation: https://www.shu.ac.uk/advanced-wellbeing-research-centre.

Project Title: Predicting Medal‑Winning Times in Paralympic Sport

How fast do you need to go to win a Paralympic medal – and can we predict it reliably? This PhD offers an exciting opportunity to work at the cutting edge of sport analytics, directly impacting Paralympic performance planning and, ultimately, medal success at future Games.

Delivered in collaboration with Aquatics GB and British Cycling – the two most successful GB Paralympic sports at Paris 2024 – this PhD will use unique, real‑world datasets to develop and evaluate predictive models for medal‑winning performances across Paralympic sport. Throughout the project, you will work closely with both National Governing Bodies to ensure that the research is practically meaningful and methodologically rigorous.

Aims and Objectives

This PhD aims to advance the prediction of medal-winning times in time‑based Paralympic sport. Specifically, the PhD will:

• Critically review existing prediction approaches in Olympic and Paralympic sport.
• Develop an a priori framework for defining “acceptable” prediction accuracy.
• Build and evaluate predictive models tailored to Paralympic performance data.
• Explain how data characteristics – such as variability, sparsity, and classification – influence model performance.

Additional Opportunities

Throughout your PhD, you will be embedded within the world-renowned Sports Engineering Research Group at Sheffield Hallam University. As part of the group, you will contribute to both academic and applied sports analytics projects across a diverse range of Olympic and Paralympic sports. These experiences will broaden your technical expertise, applied impact, and professional network.

Who Should Apply

We welcome applicants from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences.

Applicants should be keen to explore:

• Statistical, time‑series, and machine‑learning approaches for performance prediction.
• Challenges of modelling small, noisy, or heterogeneous datasets.
• How prediction accuracy should be defined, justified, and evaluated in practice.
• Translating complex models into insights usable by National Governing Bodies.

Why Apply?

• Real impact: Influence decision‑making within elite Paralympic sport through applied, performance‑driven research.
• Exceptional data access: Work with rare, high‑quality longitudinal datasets from world‑leading Paralympic performance programmes.
• Outstanding environment: Join a globally renowned sports engineering research group at the forefront of Olympic and Paralympic innovation in the UK.
• Career‑building experience: Develop a strong research profile through publications, applied projects, and extensive networking within the UK high‑performance sports system.

Ready to advance your career? Contact Dr Andy Hext (a.hext@shu.ac.uk) for an informal discussion before applying.

Sheffield as your research base: Sheffield is one of the UK’s greenest and most welcoming cities. With over a third of the city inside the Peak District National Park, outstanding cycling, climbing and walking routes, and a vibrant science and healthcare ecosystem, Sheffield offers a rare combination of natural beauty and research excellence. It is an ideal environment for both academic focus and a high quality of life — a supportive place to thrive during a PhD.

Eligibility

Applicants must hold a 1st class or 2:1 degree in Sport Science, Data Science, Biomedical Science, Engineering, or related subjects. Quantitative skills are desirable; training in specialist methods will be provided. We are offering this as a full-time PhD scholarship, though flexible working hours can be discussed. We welcome applications from all members of our community and are particularly encouraging those from diverse groups, such as members of the LGBTQIA+, BAME and disabled communities.

International applicants

Please read the funding notes section for important information about tuition fees for this scholarship.

Sheffield Hallam has a mandatory English language requirement of IELTS 7, or equivalent language qualification, for all applicants from Countries not included in the UKVI exemption list here:https://www.gov.uk/english-language/exemptions. This qualification must have been taken within the last two-years, with a score of at least 6.5 in all test areas and may be required even if you have previous qualifications gained at UK institutions. Please do check with the Postgraduate research team: DoctoralSchool-HWLS-PGR@shu.ac.uk prior to application as thisqualification must be submitted as part of the scholarship application.

How to Apply

Complete and submit the online application form at: https://www.shu.ac.uk/courses/sport-and-physical-activity/phd-sport-and-physical-activity/full-time/2026

Please add the project title within the Personal Statement field to the application form.

You must ensure that you upload:

1. A 1,500-word research proposal addressing this specific project.
2. Two letters of reference, or details of two academic referees
3. Copy of your highest degree certificate
4. Copy of your passport
5. International applicants must submit IELTS results (or equivalent) taken in the last two years

We do not accept proposals setting out an applicant's own research and cannot consider applications where a research proposal addressing this specific project has not been submitted.

If you experience issues submitting your online application, or for general enquiries please contact: DoctoralSchool-HWLS-PGR@shu.ac.uk

Application deadline: 17 June 2026, 12 noon UK Time (Late applications will not be accepted)

Interviews: W/C 06 July 2026 Please note, we are unable to offer alternative interview slots once allocated to shortlisted candidates.

Funding Notes

Our PhD Scholarships are open to Home, EU and International applicants, however, the bursary will cover the home fee only. The shortfall between the home and EU/ international fee, currently around £13,362 per year, must be covered by the student for the duration of the scholarship. No additional funding will be available to assist international students with this fee gap.

Applicants must have the resources set out above to fund their study. Please note that the monthly stipend payments cannot be used to fund this fee gap, as they cover basic living expenses only.