It feels like it's been a really long road towards securing funding for my PhD, and I won't lie: there have been tears along the way. But this week I got the news I've been waiting for! I've been awarded a fully-funded scholarship to research exactly what I want to research, at the university I want to study at (ie where I currently am: the University of Nottingham) and I am so happy, relieved, and excited that I can hardly contain myself.
There have been a few opportunities to apply for funding over the past year, and I've applied for whatever I could. Earlier in the year (April maybe?) I got through to the final 'round' of scholarship awards from the funding body I most wanted to be funded by, only to fall at the final hurdle. It was a tough blow, not least because I am currently not working, and I have a mortgage and a young child to support, and I need income from somewhere in order to put food on the table. So that was very disheartening, but there was still a glimmer of hope because I had heard word that there was set to be some funding available for arts and humanities research in the field of AI, which is exactly my preferred field of study.
I think it's probably fair to say that it was science fiction which cultivated my interest in philosophy before I even knew what philosophy was. Time travel paradoxes, robots with feelings, mind-body swaps, the ethics of dealing with alien cultures - ah, I love it! Throughout all these years, I've continued to enjoy sci-fi and philosophy, but separately. But the opportunity to study emerging technologies through the lenspiece of philosophy, well, I'm in heaven! So when I found out about a funded scholarship studying how AI robots should conceive of consent/harm, I didn't need to think too hard before applying.
What can I say, the rest is history: I applied, I was selected, offered the scholarship (covering fees, plus a living stipend), and I accepted. Now I'm just finishing off my MA dissertation before starting work proper on something I can't wait to get started on: it's like a dream come true for me. Yes I know that's a cliche, and I'm sure it will be difficult, hard work, and at times maybe exasperating, but right now I am just filled with excitement for what lies ahead over the next three years.
Bring it on!!
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