Student Casual – Research Assistant - Mathematical Modelling of Crime – Social Policy, Sociology and Criminology – Grade 6 – 907725

Location: United Kingdom Department: Academic Non-clinical

Post title

Research Assistant – Mathematical Modelling of Crime

College/Division

Social Sciences

School/Department

Social Policy, Sociology and Criminology

Full time/Part time

Part time

Duration of the Post

01/12/2026 – 23/X02/2027

Grade

6

Hourly rate

£17.26 per hour plus holiday entitlement

Number of positions available

1

Closing Date

18/11/2026 at 23:55

Please note that this vacancy may be taken down early depending on the number of applications received. We advise you to submit your application promptly.

Our offer to you

At the University of Birmingham, Worklink is the dedicated student employment service which helps students to find flexible, well paid part-time roles that fit around your studies. Each year, the University invests more than £2.5 million to employ 3,000 of our own students in a wide range of roles, supporting our student community into part-time work. Roles available via Worklink include a range of positions, including administrative roles, support staff such as cleaners or baristas, research roles and many more.

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Our jobs are flexible and can be scheduled around your academic commitments, so you can focus on your studies first. Our team are passionate about supporting students into work. Worklink are based in a central location on campus which is easily accessible for students and can also be contacted online.

Find out more about working through Worklink here or via the student intranet.

Job context

Most mathematical models of crime look at where and when offences occur. MATCH instead explores how people’s interactions with one another may influence their likelihood of offending. The project has already developed an agent-based model, which the Research Assistant will help extend. The model is described in the preprint Agent-based dynamics of criminal propensity.

Job summary

The Research Assistant will join the interdisciplinary team of Dr Svingen (Criminology) and Dr Luo (Mathematics) to extend the existing agent-based model. The main task is to develop the model so that individuals’ perceptions of their environment can change as they gain experience, and to investigate how this affects the results. This work will form the basis of a second paper, on which the Research Assistant will be a co-author. There may also be opportunities to present the findings at academic conferences with the project team.

Main duties

Extend the existing agent-based model to reflect how individuals’ perceptions of their environment change over time

Test the model under different assumptions and analyse how changes in its parameters affect the results

Produce clear figures and visualisations to communicate the findings

Contribute to a review of research using mathematical approaches to explain the causes of crime

Help organise the MATCH workshop, including the call for participation, correspondence with participants and practical arrangements

Support the MATCH research network by maintaining contact lists and sharing project updates

Keep clear documentation of code and results, and report progress at regular project meetings

Contribute to preparing the results for publication

Required knowledge, skills, qualifications & experience

Essential: currently enrolled as a PhD student at the University of Birmingham

Essential: experience in mathematical or computational modelling, such as agent-based modelling, opinion dynamics or dynamical systems

Essential: proficiency in at least one programming language

Essential: ability to work independently and communicate results clearly to non-specialists

Essential: an interest in applying mathematical and computational methods to understanding social and behavioural phenomena

Desirable: experience reviewing academic literature

Desirable: experience helping to organise academic events

Desirable: experience either researching or communicating research across disciplinary boundaries

Further details

The working pattern will be up to 7 hours per week, arranged flexibly around the student’s studies (91 hours in total).

For any informal queries, please contact Dr Evelyn Svingen ([email protected]).

The University of Birmingham restricts all students to working up to 20 hours per week during term time for a maximum of 13 consecutive weeks. If your application is successful and your course does not follow the usual academic term timetable (e.g.  PGT, PGR or PhD student), you and your supervisor must formally agree vacation periods if this role exceeds 20 hours per week. In addition to this, please be aware if you are an international student you will be required to apply to the Registry for the appropriate authorised absence.

You are only eligible to apply to this role if you are a current University of Birmingham student. If you are not a University of Birmingham student your application will not be considered.

To work you will need to carry out a right to work check. These checks will need to be completed prior to work commencing.

Regarding the use of AI in applications, we review hundreds of applications and shortlist candidates based on their unique perspective, motivations and potential. Cover letters generated through, or edited by, AI tools (e.g. ChatGPT or CoPilot) are easy to identify. They produce generic answers and will not score highly enough to progress. You may use AI tools for research, but all written content in your application must be your own work. Authenticity and originality are key to standing out in this process.

Due to the high volume of applications we receive, we’re unable to contact all applicants individually. You can check the pr