9 PhD opportunities for the next generation of agricultural research scientists for Africa

This is an exciting opportunity providing nine fully-funded PhD studentships covering a wide range of topics vital for building capacity in African agricultural research. The PhD candidates will work with Cranfield University (UK), Rothamsted Research (UK) and Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (Morocco).

The nine studentships are fully-funded by OCP Group via the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, Morocco. The funding provides tuition fees, a stipend of £17,000* (tax free), travel costs and generous research costs for four years. *See website for full funding details.

Application deadline: 05 May 2019
Start date: 01 July 2019

Each studentship will be part of a larger multidisciplinary collaborative research project. The successful candidates will gain comprehensive training in research techniques, transferable skills in communication, data analysis and team working, equipping them for a multitude of potential roles in the continuing development of African agricultural systems.

The students will benefit from being part of the Agricultural Innovation for Morocco Centre for Doctoral Training (AIM-CDT). Students will develop academic, technical and entrepreneurial skills allowing them to take up leadership roles in an academic or industrial setting to drive forward agricultural research and innovation. This will be achieved through a balance of academic excellence, laboratory and field experience, and strong industrial interconnectivity throughout the students’ training.

Exploitation of beneficial root-associated bacteria in cereal-based cropping systems in Morocco
Supervisors: Prof. Jim Harris (CU), Dr Tim Mauchline (RRes), Dr Adnane Bargaz (UM6P)

New soil and plant diagnostics tools for better fertilizer recommendations
Supervisors: Dr Ruben Sakrabani (CU), Dr Stephan Haefele (RRes), Prof. Fassil Kebede (UM6P)

Technical and practical innovations to reduce soil and water losses by improving soil physical properties
Supervisors: Prof. Wilfred Ottens (CU), Prof. Richard Whalley (RRes), Dr Mohammed El Gharous (UM6P)

Image analysis for plant phenotyping–machine learning based methods for analysis of multi-model and multi-dimensional remote sensing data from high-throughput plant phenotyping
Supervisors: Dr Fady Mohareb (CU), Prof. Malcolm Hawkesford (RRes), Dr Mohamed Arji (UM6P)

Phenotyping the nutritional status of crops using remote sensing technologies
Supervisors: Dr Fady Mohareb (CU), Prof. Malcolm Hawkesford (RRes), Dr Mohamed Arji (UM6P)

Agricultural bioproducts from medicinal and aromatic plants
Supervisors: Dr Maria Anastasiadi (CU), Dr Jane Ward (RRes), Dr Abdelaziz Yasri (UM6P)

Dynamic Landscapes: agent based modelling of crop management
Supervisors: Prof. Ron Corstanje (CU), Dr Alice Milne (RRes), Dr Rafiq Alami (UM6P)

Novel fertilizer formulations for enhanced N use efficiency
Supervisors: Prof. Guy Kirk (CU), Dr Tom Misselbrook (RRes), Dr Martin Jemo (UM6P)

Novel fertilizer formulations exploiting crop genotype differences in P uptake efficiency
Supervisors: Prof. Guy Kirk (CU), Dr Sigrid Heuer (RRes), Dr Martin Jemo (UM6P)

Entry requirements

Applicants should have a first class or 2.1 UK honours degree or equivalent in Agricultural Science, Geography, Soil Science, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Environmental Science, Botany, Genetics, Geographical Information System or other related subjects and a minimum of English language proficiency (IELTS overall minimum score of 6.5).

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