PhD Studentship - Robotics for Inspection in Confined Steel Structures in Manchester

The successful applicant will be awarded a 4-year studentship covering:

• Tuition fees (Home student rate)
• A tax-free stipend to help with living costs, set at the UKRI minimum rate (£21,805 for 2026/27), which increases annually in line with inflation
• A Research Training and Support Grant to cover travel expenses and project consumables associated with your research including conference attendance, secondments, and other research and training activities.
• Additional funding is available to support a range of CDT activities, such as secondments or institutional visits, the purchase of additional specialised equipment, and an accessibility fund to support students with specific needs.

Funding for this RAINZ CDT studentship is provided by EPSRC and National Highways. This project is subject to funding being confirmed by the industry partner.

The EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence for Net Zero is a partnership between three of the UK’s leading universities: The University of Manchester, University of Glasgow, and University of Oxford. Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS) is an essential enabling technology for the Net Zero transition in the UK’s energy sector. However, significant technological and cultural barriers are limiting its effectiveness. Overcoming these barriers is a key target of this CDT.

The CDT’s research projects will focus on how RAS can be used for the inspection, maintenance, and repair of new infrastructure in renewables (wind, solar, geothermal, tidal, hydrogen) and nuclear (fission and fusion), and to support the decarbonisation of existing maintenance and decommissioning of assets.

Programme structure (1+3):

• Year 1 (Taught component): All students spend the first year at The University of Manchester undertaking taught MSc studies and bespoke CDT training. Students must achieve an average of 65% or higher in their MSc assessments to be considered for progression to the PhD component of the programme. Note: Students do not graduate with an MSc degree as the summer period is spent undertaking a CDT summer school rather than an MSc Dissertation.
• Years 2-4 (PhD research): Students are based at the host institution to undertake their PhD research (i.e., either The University of Manchester, University of Glasgow, or University of Oxford), which will be complemented by a comprehensive cohort-wide training and employability programme.

The RAINZ CDT programme follows a cohort-based training and research designed to ensure that graduates are not only subject matter experts but also equipped with highly valuable skills in teamwork, sustainability, EDIA and wellbeing, industrial engagement, and commercialisation. Each cohort tackles an industry co-created, cross-sector challenge that requires a multi-disciplinary team of engineers and scientists to solve it. Researchers explore different aspects of the challenge, which are then integrated through the RAINZ CDT annual research sprints.

Applicants should hold a First or strong Upper Second-class honours degree (2:1 with 65% average), or international equivalent, in Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, Mathematics, or a related discipline. Applicants should also demonstrate evidence of programming experience. Applications should be submitted through the RAINZ CDT website, where further information about the CDT is also available. Informal enquiries can be made by emailing rainz@manchester.ac.uk.