There’s a three-year, PhD studentship up for grabs for one outdoors minded academic who wants to conduct research into mountain rescue techniques.

The University of Aberdeen’s Inverness outpost is offering the chance to study the value of what it calls ‘miniaturised physiological monitoring devices’.

The successful applicant will need an interest in the outdoors and the mountain environment and a degree at first or 2:1 level. They also need to get their fingers out, since the closing date for applications is tomorrow, 22 September. Details, including contact number are on the Centre for Rural Health’s website.

The research project, overseen by Prof David Godden, will look into the effectiveness of the miniaturised monitoring equipment, originally developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and used by the military, among others. The patch monitors heart-rate, respiration and skin temperature and is designed for use in remote situations.

The successful researcher will be expected to evaluate the equipment’s usefulness with civilian rescue services, potential design modifications and, hopefully, field trials.

Those with a first degree in sports and exercise physiology, biomedical sciences or public health would be ideal candidates for the post, which pays an annual stipend of £12,000.