Closing date: 2 February 2026
Open to: UK applicants only
Funding provider: EPSRC
Subject areas: Formal Verification (Coq Theorem Prover), Cryptography, Electronic Voting
Project start date: 1 April 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 straightforward, 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 ballots 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 are resistant 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.
Funding duration: 3 years
For more details please see here: https://www.swansea.ac.uk/postgraduate/scholarships/research/fse-epsrc-phd-argument-of-knowledge-rs915.php
Due to funding restrictions, this scholarship is open to applicants eligible to pay tuition fees at the UK rate only, as defined by UKCISA.
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.
Funding
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
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. RS915
2) In section ‘Research’ you will see ‘Proposed project title/studentship title’* (Mandatory)
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:
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):
Informal enquiries are welcome; please contact Mukesh Tiwari ([email protected])
*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.
UK fee eligible applicants only
Discover a range of postgraduate research funding opportunities at Swansea University Now more than ever, we recognise the importance of offering a ...