MSCA PhD Research Assistant — IoE AI & Digital Twin

Overview

The Faculty wishes to recruit three Graduate Research Assistants (PhD studentship) as part the SAILING Doctoral Network
, an EU-funded Marie Skłodowska-Curie’s Actions (MSCA) initiative (part of the HORIZON-MSCA-2024-DN-01-01 call; Grant Agreement  ).

The University of Exeter has 3 vacancies. Please see the below links for details of each project and ensure you apply directly to the role(s) you are interested in:

• Graduate Research Assistant MSCA D11
• Graduate Research Assistant MSCA DC7
• Graduate Research Assistant MSCA DC4

The SAILING Doctoral Network aims to train 12 next generation scientists in creating an intelligent and automated energy management system powered by secure AI and digital twin for the Internet-of-Energy (IoE). SAILING will carry out the project on an international and inter-sector scale via extensive collaboration and knowledge sharing.

Individual projects within the SAILING programme map into five interrelated science objectives:

1) to create a high-fidelity IoE digital twin;

2) to develop secure AI techniques for IoE;

3) to design an intelligent and scalable IoE energy management strategy;

4) to develop agile IoE fault detection and accurate failure prediction methods;

5) to construct an intelligent energy optimisation system.

SAILING combines excellent training for doctoral researchers, diverse supervisions and international mobility for impactful research to benefit society and the economy. SAILING aims to provide next generation scientists with skills and knowledge “most sought-after” in academic and non-academic employability sectors.

The successful applicant will be able to present research progress and outcomes, communicate complex information (orally, in writing and electronically), and contribute to proposals and applications to external bodies.

Applicants will be educated to first degree level (or equivalent qualification/experience) in a relevant discipline (e.g., Computer Science, Communication Engineering, Electrical/Power Engineering, Energy Systems, Applied Mathematics, Data Science, Cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence) and be able to demonstrate sufficient knowledge of research methods and techniques to work within established research programmes. Applicants will be able to:

• Demonstrate strong quantitative and analytical skills and an ability to learn new methods quickly.
• Show interest in Computer Science/Internet-of-Energy/Cybersecurity/Artificial Intelligence and their data, modelling, and operational challenges.
• Develop and evaluate algorithmic solutions (e.g., machine learning, optimisation, statistical modelling, distributed systems), depending on project direction.
• Implement research prototypes and run reproducible experiments using programming and tooling.
• Work with datasets, including data preparation, experimental design, benchmarking, and reporting of results.
• Collaborate effectively with supervisors and partners, including contributing to network-wide training, secondments, and dissemination.

• Full employment contract with competitive salary for three years.
• An additional supplementary allowance of ~£3300
  * per annum which attracts both NI and pension.
• Mobility allowance (~£5750*/year), and family allowance if applicable (~£4000*/year) adjusted for the cost of living in the host country (in this case UK).
  * Values subject to exchange rate when appointment is made.
• Access to state-of-the-art facilities, laboratories and expert supervision.
• International secondments and training events and networking with 11 fellow PhD students from the SAILING MSCA Doctoral Network.

For further information please see our website SAILING Doctoral Network or contact Professor Geyong Min, e-mail

The starting salary will be £33,951 GBP on Grade E depending on experience and skill set.

The Final date to receive applications is 22 March 2026.