VOILAb PhD opportunities

WE ARE CURRENTLY NOT RECRUITING PHD STUDENTS

We will not recruit PhD students in 2026. Instead, we will recruit one or more PhD students from June 2027. PhD projects will be in the fields of aerodynamics and robotics, contributing to the development of a swarm of dandelion-inspired sensing and communication robots carried and distributed by the wind for environmental monitoring, disaster response, agrisecurity, water-resource management, nowcasting, surveillance, and security. We aim to recruit at least one PhD student with a strong interest in theoretical, computational or experimental aerodynamics. We will also consider students with a strong interest in robotics, sensing and communication.

Who should apply for a PhD in VOILAb

We welcome applications from outstanding and ambitious students with the potential to become extraordinary scholars. We select less than 5% of the applications that we receive. The principal selection criterion is excellence. Specific expertise relevant to the project and motivation are also considered.

Previous successful applicants have diverse backgrounds, including engineering, mathematics, physics, and biology. Our research group is very diverse in terms of gender, race, nationality, career ambitions, etc. We strongly value the diversity in our group and thus encourage applicants from groups typically underrepresented in academia to apply. Find the minimum entry requirements by country here.

Being fluent in both spoken and written English is essential. We accept the following English language qualifications at the minimum grades specified:

  • IELTS Academic: total 6.5 with at least 6.0 in each component
  • TOEFL-iBT: total 92 with at least 20 in each section
  • PTE Academic: total 61 with at least 56 in each of the Communicative Skills scores
  • CAE and CPE: total 176, with at least 169 in each paper
  • Trinity ISE: ISE II with distinctions in all four components

The English language qualification must be no more than three and a half years old from the start date of the PhD, unless using IELTS, TOEFL, PTE Academic or Trinity ISE, in which case it must be no more than two years old.