Join the Aerial Robotics Group

We welcome enquiries from researchers and students who are interested in joining the group. Our research focuses on aerial physical interaction and perching, soft and bio-inspired aerial robots, learning-based sensing and control, and aerial robots for environmental monitoring and aerial manufacturing. We are particularly interested in supporting candidates whose plans align with one or more of these themes.

The group is part of the Bristol Flight Lab and the Bristol Robotics Laboratory. We recommend that candidates explore these wider groups and identify where they fit best across the University.

Postdoctoral researchers

Funded positions will be posted here when a research project includes one. They are also advertised on the University’s jobs page.

We also welcome enquiries from postdoctoral researchers who are interested in developing an externally funded fellowship application to join the group. Potential routes include:

• Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellowships: five-year fellowships for early-career engineering researchers at UK universities.
• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships: for researchers with a PhD who wish to carry out research abroad.
• Royal Society Newton International Fellowships: for early-career researchers based outside the UK.
• Royal Society University Research Fellowships and Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowships: long-term support for early-career researchers; the Dorothy Hodgkin scheme is for those who need flexible working arrangements.
• Leverhulme Early Career Fellowships: three-year fellowships for researchers at an early stage of their academic career.
• Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 Research Fellowships: typically three-year fellowships in science and engineering.
• EPSRC fellowship schemes: please check the current calls, as the routes change over time.

Host support and proposal development take time, so please contact us well in advance of the funder’s deadline. Please send:

• a CV and publication list;
• a brief research proposal or a one-page statement of research interests;
• the target fellowship scheme and its expected deadline;
• a short explanation of how your proposed work aligns with the group’s research.

Email subject: “Fellowship enquiry – Your name”.

PhD students

We take on a small number of PhD students each year. The main funding routes are:

• Faculty scholarships. The Faculty of Science and Engineering awards University of Bristol Postgraduate Research Scholarships and EPSRC Doctoral Landscape Award studentships in one round each year, with a deadline in January for a start the following autumn. Details and eligibility are on the Faculty’s scholarship page.
• Project studentships. Studentships attached to funded research projects will be posted here when they are available.
• Externally funded studentships. For example, CSC scholarships and scholarships from your government, employer or home institution.

We enjoy curiosity-driven research, and we expect PhD candidates to lead their projects and to mentor research interns and students as they progress. A background in aerospace, mechanical or electrical engineering, robotics, computer science or physics, and some hands-on experience with robots or drones, control and estimation, PX4 or ROS, or machine learning, are all helpful.

Please send:

• a CV and your degree transcripts;
• a one-page statement of research interests: which of our themes interests you, what you would like to do, and why with us;
• the funding route you have in mind and its deadline;
• the names of two referees, and a thesis, report or paper you have written, if available.

Email subject: “PhD enquiry – Your name”.

If there is a fit, we will arrange a call. You then apply formally to the PhD in Aerospace Engineering, naming Dr Kocer as your proposed supervisor, in time for the scholarship deadline.

University of Bristol resources:

• Postgraduate research at Bristol
• How to apply
• Postgraduate research scholarships
• Bristol Doctoral College
• English language requirements

Visiting researchers and interns

We welcome visiting PhD students and researchers for stays of three to twelve months when there is a clear joint project. Please write to us three to six months ahead, as the University’s visitor and visa paperwork takes time.

We welcome research interns and occasionally host them when a project and funding exist.

Bristol students

Final-year and MSc projects in aerial robotics are offered through the School’s project allocation each year. If you would like to shape a project, please talk to Dr Kocer early, ideally the term before projects are chosen.

Contact

Dr Bahadir Kocer, b.kocer (at) bristol.ac.uk