Studentships
Areas of research interest for prospective supervision
The CoMo group welcomes applications from prospective PhD students who are interested in contributing to The World Avatar project. This is described in more detail on our research page, and you can get a feel for what this might look like in practice from our preprints page. While the ideas underlying The World Avatar provide a unifying philosophy, you can see that we are active in and contributing to several fields. Examples from current work include chemistry, material science, the energy transition, climate resilience and public health.
We have a track record of excellence, with graduates from the group going on to have hugely successful careers in a range of fields, ranging from global technology, software and consultancy companies, to entrepreneurs leading small businesses all the way to people who set up their own research groups in academia. This excellence has been recognised internationally by the award of various prizes to members of the group, and by the award of a Fellowship at the Alan Turing Institute to our group leader, Prof. Markus Kraft, in recognition of his contribution to AI via The World Avatar.
Do we have funding for studentships?
Unfortunately, the answer is not as much as we would like. Funded studentships will be advertised as and when they are available. Most of the time, we rely on prospective applicants applying for scholarships. We are a highly international research group and previous students have been very successful at obtaining scholarships through schemes offered by their country of origin or via the Cambridge Trust. Applications to the Cambridge Trust are made via the application process to the university.
How to apply and expected response times
Please apply via the postgraduate study web pages if you are interested in potential studentships. Please pay careful attention to the deadlines if you are also interested in applying for scholarships. The deadlines are often early in the academic year (typically December) and can sometimes catch people out.
We will be in touch as part of the application process to discuss potential projects. Please understand that we are all busy people, so please do not be surprised if it takes us a week or so to respond to emails.
Criteria for evaluating candidates
The values of CoMo include technical excellence, teamwork and tolerance. We enjoy the challenge of solving difficult, but interesting, problems that will contribute to making the world a better place. Our research is mainly computational, so having a passion for computational work, the aptitude to learn how to program, and the desire to work as part of a research team is important.
As part of your application, we will review your previous education and work experience and interview you. The criteria that we use to evaluate your application will be based on the values and skills described above.
The specific requirements understandably vary from project to project, but we will typically ask for the following:
- A strong performance in a degree in a science or engineering discipline, including computer science and mathematics.
- Excellent communication, writing and presentations skills.
- Excellent organisational and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to work independently and as part of a multi-disciplinary and international team.
- Evidence of an aptitude for programming and/or numerical computing.
- Nice-to-haves include experience with collaborative open source software development, version control (git), containerisation, high-performance computing (HPC), Python, Java, JavaScript, RDF, XML and/or OWL.
How many offers do we make?
The number of offers we make varies from year to year. The university requires us to maintain a particular ratio of supervisors to students, so we do not have a completely free rein, but our general approach is to do our best to make an offer to everyone who meets our criteria and who we think has the technical capability to contribute to the research in the group. Typically this results in two students per year joining the group, but in the past has been as high as six students.
Just want to dip your toe in the water and try an MPhil instead?
Most of the students in CoMo are PhD students, but we know that this does not work for everyone. We have also been home to several MPhil students over the years. We welcome applications from exceptional students who are interested in an MPhil if you feel this is the right option for you.
Diversity and inclusion
Worried about whether you’ll find someone like you in the group? We’re sure that you’ll fit in! The University has built its excellence on the diversity of its staff and student community, and aims to be a leader in fostering equality and inclusion. We are proud of a research group that demonstrates inclusivity. Please have look at our past group members page and see for yourselves.
Postdoctoral positions and research fellowships
CoMo welcomes applications from prospective postdoctoral researchers. Funded positions will be advertised as and when they are available.
Alternatively, you might consider applying for a fellowship. In this case, you will need to identify a suitable fellowship scheme. Please ensure that you carefully check your eligibility for the scheme and familiarise yourself with the application procedure. You will need to write a research proposal that aligns with your professional expertise. The topic should lie within the research areas of the CoMo group.
Below are examples of fellowship schemes that have funded positions in CoMo. The list is not exhaustive. There are many such schemes, including many schemes offered by countries to promote the mobility and research careers of their citizens.
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowships
The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowships offered via the EU provide support for researchers’ careers to foster excellence. The fellowships target researchers holding a PhD who wish to carry out their research activities abroad, acquire new skills and develop their careers. The fellowships can fund postdoctoral research to work at a research institution in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country for up to two years.
Feodor Lynen Fellowships
In 2016, Prof. Markus Kraft was awarded the Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Award and is therefore eligible to host Feodor Lynen Research Fellows sponsored by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. The Feodor Lynen Research Fellowship covers the salary and travel expenses of researchers from Germany to work at the host institution for 6-24 months. In addition, the fellowship enables the successful candidate to apply for alumni sponsorship from the Humboldt Foundation after the end of the fellowship and become part of their international network of academics.
Just want to collaborate?
CoMo actively collaborates with partners in industry and academia. Please get in touch if you think you have common interests.