PhD Scholarship: Capacity modelling for responsive planning of various testing scenarios in smart manufacturing (Bursary: £22-25k pa for 3 years)

PhD Scholarship

Ref: ENG-PhD-01-24

Faculty of Engineering and Science, Medway Campus

This project is co-sponsored by a local manufacturing company and School of Engineering of the University of Greenwich. The university has previously completed an industry funded project in managing knowledge of test centre planning to support new product development. This project will consider multiple test chambers all capable of testing multiple products. In order to control and optimise the loading of work into the chambers, it is necessary to be able to plan and schedule various testing scenarios by accurately modelling the testing capabilities and capacities which are frequently changing. This PhD project will investigate industrial problems and advanced Industry 4 technologies, and propose new modelling and decision-making methods, considering various factors in the utilisation of test chambers, maintenance and down times, run times of different units, operator working patterns, social and environmental impacts. The PhD student will also supervise students (Bachelor/Master level) working on tasks related to the project.

We are looking for candidates with a background in manufacturing engineering, systems, operations, or related disciplines, with strong knowledge and skills in Information and Communication Technologies particularly in smart manufacturing applications. Candidates should have achieved an undergraduate degree (2:1 or above). Candidates with postgraduate degree and/or practical experience in research or industry are encouraged to apply. The successful candidate will benefit from both academic research and collaboration with world-class manufacturing companies.

Bursary available (subject to satisfactory performance):  between £22,000 - £25,000 per year (Tax-free) for 3 years. In addition, the successful candidate will receive a contribution to tuition fees equivalent to the university’s Home rate, currently £4786 (FT) or pro-rata (PT), for the duration of their scholarship. International applicants will need to pay the remainder tuition fee for the duration of their scholarship. This fee is subject to an annual increase. Teaching assistance opportunity may be available for this post which would be paid in addition to the bursary, subject to availability and approval by the University.

Information on the application process is available at:  https://www.gre.ac.uk/research/study/apply/application-process .

Applications need to be made online via this link quoting reference: ENG-PhD-01-24, in the personal statement section. No other form of application will be considered. Before submitting your application, you are encouraged to liaise with the Lead Supervisor (Prof James Gao, ideally email your CV prior to a discussion: j.gao@greenwich.ac.uk).

The closing date for applications is midnight (UTC) on Sunday 09/03/2025.