Are you highly motivated to conduct impactful research? Would you like to collaborate with a diverse group of scientists to improve wildlife conservation practices?
We are looking for 12 Doctoral Candidates to join the “WildBotics - Autonomous Sampling with Robotics in the Wild for Nature Conservation” MSCA Doctoral Network.
Each of the 12 candidates will conduct research based in one of the three main subject areas of WildBotics:
Robot system design for nature conservation (Theme 1)
Autonomy, perception and AI for complex natural environments (Theme 2)
Analysis of large, sample-based datasets for wildlife ecology & biodiversity conservation (Theme 3)
All candidates will be expected to:
work in a multidisciplinary team and in an international environment
have a deep interest in research and science, being curious and proactive
possess outstanding research potential, as demonstrated by scientific accomplishments (e.g., quality of thesis, code repositories, conference presentations, outreach activities or publications)
have excellent communication skills in English, verbally as well as in scientific writing
undertake international secondments, internships and travels
The candidates will work together within the WildBotics network and engage in multi-disciplinary training-by-research activities to develop technologies in close collaboration with all partners and end-users around the world.
The only limit for the candidature is the MSCA mobility rule, dependent on the country of the hosting institution: No residence or main activity (work, studies etc.) in the country of the recruiting beneficiary for more than 12 months in the 36 months before their recruitment date.
The PhD positions are fully funded by the project for 36 months.
The available 12 PhD topics for the Doctoral Candidates are summarized here.
The application portal will be open soon.
The candidature phase will close on January 5th, 23:59 CET.
The application must include:
Motivated two-page application letter: one-page general motivation for WildBotics and one page motivating your interest in specific DC projects (at most 3)
Detailed Curriculum Vitae (including contact information of 2-3 references and a list of publications, if relevant)
Certificates / Diplomas (MSc)
Scientific writing sample (e.g. publication or thesis chapter)
WildBotics Recruitment Form
The recruitment procedure will be divided into 2 stages. In the first stage, recruitment committees for each theme / subject area will evaluate candidate qualifications based on the application materials. All candidates will be informed whether they advance to stage 2. Project supervisors will evaluate these candidates for their specific PhD projects, and the top candidates for each project will be invited for online interviews. References for the top candidates will be contacted at this stage. Interviews are tentatively expected to be held in early February, 2026.