Research Studentship in Tidal Stream Energy in Oxford

Research Studentship in Tidal Stream Energy

University of Oxford – Department of Engineering Science

Qualification Type: PhD

Location: Oxford

Funding for: UK Students, EU Students, International Students

Funding amount: £10,470 to £20,780 – please see advert

Hours: Full Time

Placed On: 14th November 2025

Closes: 2nd December 2025

Tidal stream energy using hydrokinetic turbines to convert energy from water flows driven by the tides to generate power is an emerging and exciting renewable energy technology that has significant scope to contribute towards achieving climate change objectives and the transition to Net Zero.

Oxford is leading the flagship EPSRC‑funded research programme CoTide: Co‑design to deliver Scalable Tidal Stream Energy. CoTide is developing and demonstrating new solutions and integrated tools and design processes for tidal stream energy that will help to reduce costs and support innovation to accelerate technology development and deployment. This is the largest tidal energy research programme in the UK with partners across four universities and more than twenty companies and leading developers. The multi‑university team consists of around forty academics and researchers including doctoral students.

We are seeking a doctoral student with interests in one or more areas of turbine hydrodynamics and design, resource modelling, naval architecture and ocean engineering, system optimisation and control co‑design. Candidates should identify their area of interest as part of their research proposal which accompanies their graduate application. You will work within the CoTide team using a range of numerical modelling and optimisation techniques supported by high performance computing facilities and / or experimental facilities including our current and wave flume.

Applicants could come from a range of backgrounds (e.g. engineering, physics, applied mathematics) and should have interests, and preferably experience, in a relevant area of fluid mechanics or offshore renewable energy.

The successful applicant will be a member of the Environmental Fluid Mechanics group and will join an Oxford‑based team of over twenty‑five engineers with diverse interests spanning renewable energy and related problems. Further information on the CoTide project and the group can be found at cotide.ac.uk and eng.ox.ac.uk/efm.