AGILE PhD School 2026

Why to participate?

The AGILE PhD School brings together PhD students from AGILE member institutions across Europe for two and a half days of keynotes, hands-on workshops, group work, and community building. The 2026 edition — the 8th in the series — is hosted by the Urban Big Data Centre (UBDC) at the University of Glasgow.

Under the theme Urban Analytics in the AI Era: From Smart Data to Participatory Action, the school combines advanced spatial analytics and GeoAI methods with a critical, participatory perspective on urban data. You will get hands-on experience with reproducible spatial analysis in R/Python, GeoAI and street-view analysis, urban mobility insights from mobile phone data, and participatory urban analytics.

Beyond the scientific programme, the school offers training in academic skills — reproducible research, effective presentation, proposal writing — and is especially geared towards networking: with around 20–25 selected participants, group work is at the heart of the event, and the goal is a community of peers that lasts well beyond your PhD. There is no registration fee: lunches and coffee breaks are included, the social dinner is subsidised, and travel and accommodation grants are available.

Where will it take place?

The school takes place at the University of Glasgow, founded in 1451 and located in Glasgow’s lively West End, with sessions hosted by the Urban Big Data Centre, a national research centre for data-driven urban research. The exact meeting room will be confirmed to accepted participants together with practical information.

Getting to Glasgow

• By air: Glasgow International Airport (GLA) is about 20 minutes from the city centre (Airport Express bus 500). Glasgow Prestwick Airport (PIK) is served by budget flights from several European cities and is about 50 minutes from Glasgow Central by direct train. Edinburgh Airport (EDI) offers additional European connections and is about 1 hour and 30 minutes from Glasgow by bus, or tram and train.
• By rail: Glasgow Central and Glasgow Queen Street stations connect to the whole UK network, including direct trains from London (about 4 hours and 30 minutes). The campus is close to Hillhead and Kelvinhall subway stations.
• Accommodation: there are plenty of options in the West End and the city centre; practical suggestions will be shared with accepted participants.

Programme

The programme below is provisional and details may still change slightly.

Day 1: Arrival to the Venue — Monday 7 September

Participants arrive in Glasgow and settle in.

Day 2: Foundations and Advanced Spatial Analytics — Tuesday 8 September

Day 3: Advanced Modelling in Urban Analytics and AI — Wednesday 9 September

Day 4: Integration and Presentation — Thursday 10 September

How to apply

The school is open to PhD students at any stage who are affiliated with a current AGILE member institution. We aim for a balanced cohort of around 20–25 participants from across Europe and the UK, with a variety of institutions, topics, and career stages.

To apply, email your application to Pengyuan.Liu@glasgow.ac.uk with the subject line “AGILE PhD School 2026 Application — Your Name” by Friday 14 August 2026, 17:00 BST. Decisions will be announced by email by Friday 21 August 2026.

Formatting instructions

Please send a single PDF containing:

1. An abstract of your PhD research (max. 300 words): your topic, methods, current stage, and how it connects to the school theme of urban analytics and AI.
2. A short motivation statement (max. 150 words): what you hope to gain from — and bring to — the school.
3. A brief CV (max. 2 pages).

In the body of your email, please state your full name, your institution and PhD supervisor, your year of study, and whether you wish to request travel and accommodation support (if so, your departure city and a rough cost estimate help us plan).

Applications will be assessed on:

• clarity and quality of the research abstract;
• relevance to the school theme, Urban Analytics in the AI Era;
• expected benefit to the applicant and contribution to group work and networking;
• overall balance of the cohort across institutions, countries, and career stages.

Financial support

There is no registration fee: participation, lunches, and coffee breaks are free for accepted participants, and the social dinner is subsidised. Thanks to AGILE co-funding, we can offer partial grants towards travel and accommodation for participants travelling from Europe, and a dedicated budget to support UK-based participants. Support is confirmed together with acceptance. Additional sponsorship is being sought to widen participation further; any updates will be posted here.

Visas

Most European citizens do not need a visa to attend a short school in the UK under the Standard Visitor rules, but please check the requirements for your nationality early. We are happy to provide an invitation letter to accepted participants on request.

Organising Committee

University of Glasgow — Urban Big Data Centre / Urban Studies & Social Policy

• Prof Qunshan Zhao (lead organiser)
• Dr Diego Pajarito Grajales
• Dr José Rafael Verduzco-Torres
• Dr Pengyuan Liu
• Dr Mingyu Zhu
• Dr Michail Georgiou
• Dr Luning Li
• Prof João Porto de Albuquerque
• Prof Nick Bailey
• Prof Jing Yao

University of Glasgow — School of Geographical & Earth Sciences

• Dr Mingshu Wang

Sponsors

Urban Studies & Social Policy

Contact

Questions about the school or your application? Contact the lead organiser, Prof Qunshan Zhao, at qunshan.zhao@glasgow.ac.uk. Websites of previous AGILE PhD Schools are available on the AGILE website — see also the 2024 edition in Castellón.