2 Fully Funded PhD Candidate positions in GENIUS MSCA Doctoral Network hosted at Universite Gre[...]

Universite Grenoble Alpes; France; Sur place; EUR 25 000 - 30 000; Plein temps

Résumé du poste

A French research university is offering a fully funded 3-year PhD position focused on energy geostructures. Ideal candidates should be proficient in English and not already hold a doctoral degree. The position includes access to advanced facilities and the opportunity for international collaboration. Start date is September 2026.

Prestations

Fully funded position

Tuition fees covered

Travel and conference budget

State-of-the-art laboratories

Qualifications

• Must be enrolled in a doctoral programme in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country.
• Not possess a doctoral degree already.
• Must not have resided in France for more than 12 months in the last 36 months.

Responsabilités

• Develop advanced analysis and design tools for energy geostructures.
• Integrate energy geostructures with buildings and infrastructure.

Connaissances

Proficient in English

Description du poste

Offer Description

GENIUS is a Marie Sklodowska‑Curie doctoral network funded by the European Commission under Horizon Europe. GENIUS pioneers a comprehensive approach to address the biggest global challenge the energy sector is facing: the transition to renewable‑based, energy‑efficient heating and cooling systems. Space heating and cooling currently makes up the world's largest energy sector, accounting for approximately 50% of final energy consumption. This figure is expected to grow rapidly over the coming decades due to economic and population growth and inevitable increase in urbanisation. At the same time, the world is experiencing one of the most severe global energy crises in history, impacting the fossil fuels’ availability and cost.

More than ever, there is an urgent need for innovative technologies to harvest renewable energy resources, to decrease our dependence on fossil fuels. Energy Geostructures (EGs) represent an effective means to meet the world request of less dependence on unsustainable resources by being designed as dual‑purpose elements targeting geothermal heat exchange and structural support for buildings. Yet, their wider use has been hindered by the lack of (i) sustainable expertise pipeline in the field of energy geotechnology, (ii) technical knowledge regarding the integration of energy geostructures to buildings and infrastructure, (iii) scientific knowledge for the integration of energy geostructures with other underground structures. GENIUS will address all three challenges by developing advanced analysis and design tools for energy geostructures (WP‑1) and by advancing practical and scientific knowledge for their integration with buildings, infrastructure and other energy resources (WP‑2 and WP‑3).

Furthermore, the holistic approach of GENIUS will train the Doctoral Candidates to become pioneering experts in conceptualization, design and implementation of energy geostructure applications. Networking with peers, industry and stakeholders will give them highly attractive skills for transforming their ideas to implementation.

Key Features of the PhD Positions

• Fully funded 3‑year PhD position
• Tuition fees covered
• Travel and conference participation budget
• Access to state‑of‑the‑art laboratories and computing facilities
• International and interdisciplinary research environment
• Secondment of 3 to 12 months to other network partners or associated partners
• Personalised Career Development Plans

Host Institution

University Grenoble Alpes (France)

Secondment Partners

• Politecnico di Torino (Italy)
• University of Lille (France)

Applicants must be proficient in the English language.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicants must not already possess a doctoral degree at the date of the recruitment.
• Applicants who have successfully defended their doctoral thesis but have not yet formally been awarded the doctoral degree will not be considered eligible.
• Doctoral candidates must be recruited and enrolled in a doctoral programme leading to the award of a doctoral degree in at least one EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country.
• Applicants can be of any nationality.
• Applicants must comply with the mobility rule: they must not have resided or carried out their main activity in the country of the recruiting beneficiary for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before their recruitment date.

Application Procedure

• Degree Certificate(s) (and translations if not English)
• Transcript/interim transcript (and translation if not English)
• Syllabus/Course description (and translation if not English)
• Research Proposal (maximum 2 pages)
• CV
• Reference contact information (references will only be contacted for shortlisted candidates)

The start date for all Doctoral Candidate positions is September 2026. Positions requiring an earlier start date will be indicated on the GENIUS website.