Fully Funded PhD Scholarship Individual patterns evolution of social media interactions

About the Opportunity

Discipline: Network Science

Northeastern University London Fully Funded PhD Scholarship

Individual patterns evolution of social media interactions.

Northeastern University London > Network Science

Deadline: 2nd of April 2026

Funded PhD Project (UK or International Students)

Funding provider: Sony CSL - Paris

Subject areas: Complex Systems Computational Social Science Network Science Data Science Physics.

Project start date: Flexible before October 2026

Supervisors (*lead):

• Riccardo Di Clemente* (Complex Connections Lab Network Science Institute Northeastern University London)

• Giulio Prevedello (Sony CSL - Paris)

• Andrew Hone (University of Kent)

Aligned programme of study: PhD in Network Science

Mode of study: Full-time

About the Complex Connections Lab

The Complex Connections Lab is a research laboratory based at the NUL dedicated to studying the complex social connections that govern human behaviour and interactions in cities and online. The Lab focuses on the study of the digital traces we left behind to capture human behaviour and social dynamics through the lens of Network Science Complexity Theory and Data Science.

The team is made up of researchers in fields such as data science computer science and mathematics that work together to develop innovative methods and tools to analyze large-scale data sets and gain insights into the underlying principles of the complex connections we live within.

About the Sony CSL - Paris

Sony Computer Science Laboratories Paris (Sony CSL - Paris) is a research centre dedicated to advancing fundamental and applied research across a wide range of fields including music creativity computational social science language and sustainable agriculture.

The Paris laboratory brings together researchers and engineers with backgrounds in computer science physics signal processing and statistics. This interdisciplinary environment encourages researchers to pursue their scientific interests with a high degree of intellectual freedom and from distinctive often unconventional perspectives.

Sony CSL - Paris has a strong track record in securing European research funding and maintains an active network of collaborations with leading research institutions as well as with artists working in visual arts and music. These interactions play a central role in shaping the labs research culture and in fostering innovative cross-disciplinary work.

About the Network Science Institute (NetSI)

In 2023 NetSI established a new institute hub in London UK at Northeastern University London. The new NetSI in London was created to advance research education and innovation centred around network science. The hub in London will also facilitate the development and growth of collaborations and partnerships within the UK and across Europe and US. The London hub along with others in the US is part of the NetSI Global program which is dedicated to engaging and integrating regional network science communities and partnering with regional talent institutions ecosystems of innovation.

The PhD student even though based in London will be a member of the Network Science Institute (NetSI) which has offices in Boston MA Portland MA and London UK. NetSI founded in 2014 has emerged as a world leader of multidisciplinary research communities in the field of network science. NetSI brings together expertise from diverse disciplines from the physical information and social sciences with the goal to build and expand common synthesising methodology and theory of networks and to apply these tools to important societal challenges.

The successful doctoral student will be connected to NetSIs vibrant community with dozens of externally funded research programs diverse faculty and a uniquely skilled pool of fellow doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers across the global network.

About Northeastern University London

As part of a major investment Northeastern University London (NU London) has multiple fully-funded PhD studentships available to accelerate its interdisciplinary research in the humanities social sciences and computing maths engineering and natural sciences. Each scholarship is fully-funded for three and a half years (UKRI rates) and includes full course fees an annual stipend (including an additional London allowance) and associated costs such as training.

NU London is both a UK university governed by UK higher education regulations and the European campus of Northeastern University a large top-tier research intensive Boston-based institution. Founded in 1898 Northeastern received $230.7m of external research funding in 2022 and is the recognized leader in experience-driven lifelong learning. It has campuses across the United States and Canada (in Boston; Charlotte North Carolina; Portland Maine; Oakland California; San Francisco; Seattle; Silicon Valley; Arlington Virginia; the Massachusetts communities of Burlington and Nahant; Toronto and Vancouver). Whilst the PhD will be a UK qualification students will have the opportunity to engage with and visit the Northeastern University network overseas as part of their London-based doctoral studies providing a truly unique and highly sought-after dimension to their research training.

The Project

This PhD project focuses on the quantitative modelling of short-term collective attention dynamics in online cultural and social systems. Collective attention plays a central role in shaping cultural influence diffusion processes and long-term success: before engagement retention or impact can occur attention must first be captured and sustained. Understanding how this happensm especially in the very early stages of exposure is therefore a key challenge for computational social science.

While existing research has revealed robust regularities in long-term attention decay burstiness and competition effects across cultural domains short-term dynamics remain comparatively underexplored. This gap is particularly relevant in a context where attention spans are shrinking and early exposure increasingly determines long-term outcomes. Empirical evidence shows that the popularity trajectory of a cultural item (such as a song or a social media post) can often be predicted with high accuracy using only the first few days of data suggesting the existence of simple general laws governing early collective attention. The core aim of this project is to identify model and test such laws.

The PhD will adopt a strongly quantitative and data-driven approach. The student will develop and evaluate mathematical and statistical models of short-term attention dynamics drawing on tools from probability theory stochastic processes and statistical physics. These models will be tested across multiple large-scale datasets including music consumption data social media activity and other online platforms to assess their generality across domains. Where individual-level data is available it will be used to validate behavioural mechanisms underlying observed collective patterns. The project also leaves room for integrating metadata such as content features or contextual information to study how they shape early attention trajectories.

Overall the project offers the opportunity to work at the intersection of theory data and real-world cultural systems contributing both to the fundamental understanding of collective behaviour and to practical questions in cultural analytics and platform design.

The PhD position is funded by Sony providing a stable and well-supported research environment with access to unique datasets and close interaction with an international research lab. The project offers the opportunity to pursue independent within a setting that combines academic excellence with real-world relevance.

The ideal candidate has:

• MSc (or equivalent) in Complex Systems Networks Data Science Computational Social Science Natural Language Models Physics Mathematics Computer Science or related subjects.
• Proficiency in programming languages relevant to research (e.g. Python SQL Julia).
• Experience with software development/maintenance tools libraries and frameworks (e.g. Pandas scikit-learn Spark Git).
• Fluency in English both spoken and written.
• Highly collaborative spirit personal initiative and genuine interest in interdisciplinary teamwork.
• Excellent personal and good communication skills.
• An inquiring mind and the desire to challenge themselves.
• Enthusiasm for interdisciplinary applied research.
• Experience of or willingness to learn data visualisation techniques and vectorial image design for presentation and project websites.

The successful candidate will benefit from a brand-new campus on the banks of the River Thames next to Tower Bridge. This is an interdisciplinary vibrant research environment with international collaborations networking opportunities local events and a dedicated research space. It will form the hub of a highly experienced multi-institution supervisory team from NU London Northeastern University Sony CSL - Paris and the University of Kent.

Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed by the end of March. Candidates are welcome to contact the NU London supervisor with informal enquiries before the application deadline:

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Eligibility

• Bachelors degree in a relevant subject - 2:1 or 1st (essential)
• Masters degree in a relevant subject (optional)

English Language requirements:

If applicable IELTS 6.5 overall (with a score of at least 6.5 in each individual component) or equivalent.

Nationality

Applications are open to UK and international students. Please indicate if you are likely to require a visa on your application. We are unable to support visa costs.

Funding

This scholarship covers the full cost of tuition fees an annual stipend and an additional London allowance (set at UKRI rates) for 3 years. For the 2025/2026 academic year the annual stipend is 20622. Annual increments will be in line with UKRI rates.

International travel

Students will have the opportunity to optionally travel to Northeastern University in North America to further their research training and experience.

Position Type

Additional Information

About the University

Northeastern University London (NU London) is a prestigious higher education institution based in the heart of London and is part of Northeastern Universitys global campus network.

Overlooking the River Thames near Tower Bridge NU London offers academically challenging educational programmes designed to inspire innovative thinking encourage interdisciplinary study and provide global experiences. The bright and modern campus offers award winning contemporary facilities for students and staff including state of the art audio visual technology in its teaching and meeting spaces.

Inspired by excellence infused with an energy of ideas and ability in motion at NU London being a part of our staff is to be a part of a collective of entrepreneurs and educators builders and London is growing quickly offering opportunity and growth for our staff. Currently hosting 1500 students our aim is to have 4000 students by 2028/29.

Choose NU London

As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents the University supports staff maintaining a good work/life balance your health and wellness are of utmost importance to us and our offerings encompass:

• 25 days annual leave plus 8 bank holidays and winter break holidays (normally 2 days between Christmas and New Year).

• Access to personalised Continuous Professional Development (CPD) plans and opportunities.

• Support with private medical insurance.

• Eye test reimbursement.

• Cycle Scheme vouchers.

• 24/7 employee assistance/ support via our Employee Assistance Programme.

• Access to deals and discounts for food & shopping in the local area.

Enquiries

Informal enquiries may be made to However all applications must be made in accordance with the application process specified.

Application process

Applications should be made viaby 00:00 on

Participation in the equal opportunities section is encouraged but voluntary.

Applications must include a covering letter of no more than one page that addresses the criteria for the role and a full curriculum vitae.

The panel will be shortlisting for this position on a rolling basis so please apply as soon as possible. We reserve the right to close this post before the closing date if we receive a large number of applications.

Please note all employees of Northeastern University London are required to undergo at least a basic DBS check. Our organisation acknowledges the duty of care to safeguard protect and promote the welfare of our students and staff and is committed to ensuring safeguarding practice reflects statutory responsibilities government guidance and complies with best practice and Ofsted requirements. You must adhere to the above if you are offered a role with NU London.

For staffs own wellbeing for part time roles the expectation is if you have multiple roles they should not exceed full time (37.5 hours per week) and for full time roles the expectation is that this will be your only role (apart from intermittent roles).

Applications are welcome from all sections of the community and will be judged on merit alone. We welcome applications from all underrepresented groups including the Global Majority. Candidates must be able to demonstrate their eligibility to work in the UK in accordance with the Immigration Asylum and Nationality Act 2006.