本期为大家推荐悉尼大学、西交利物浦大学2026最新奖学金项目介绍。
1、悉尼大学
Catalytic Air-gap Electrochemistry – a New Way to Fix Nitrogen
University of Sydney School of Chemistry
博导：Dr Haihui Joy Jiang, Prof Thomas Maschmeyer
截止时间：全年可申
资助的博士项目（全球学生）
About the Project
Synthetic nitrogen fertilizer produced by the Haber-Bosch process provides food security for half of the global population (4 billion people) today. However, this industrial process accounts for 1.4% of global CO₂ emissions, 1–2% of the world’s total energy consumption, and nearly 40% of world’s hydrogen fuels every year.
Inspired by lightning strikes in nature, we exploitcatalytic air-gap electrochemistryas a new way tofix nitrogen from air and water. Our group and the Laboratory of Advanced Catalysis for Sustainability (Prof. Maschmeyer, Prof. Masters, and Dr Yuen) jointly design green reaction pathways using high energy electrons (e.g., in a non-thermal plasma) to activate inert N2 from air, and drive radical reactions at the air–water–catalyst interfaces.
About this opportunity:
Interested in starting a PhD in 2026 and completing the program in 3.5 years? We are looking for curious, energetic, and self-motivated candidates, who are passionate about solving interdisciplinary problems.
Two fully funded positions are available (as part of our recently awarded ARC discovery project, 2026-2029) joint between the MMY group (in catalysis) and the Jiang group (in plasma chemistry).
The project involves a combination of heterogeneous and homogenous catalysis, design of materials and bench-top reactors, how the structure of catalysts influence their performance in electrochemistry and in radical-driven reaction pathways, and a range of characterization techniques (e.g., chromatography, microscopy, spectroscopy etc.).
Visit our group websites:
HJ Jiang group: www.hjj-group.com
MMY group: www.mmy-group.com.au
Requirements:
- a major in Chemistry (with knowledge in materials science)
- a 4-year undergraduate degree (with First Class Honours or with a research thesis), or a Master’s Degree (by research) by early 2026
- prior research experience (preferably with a publication)
- excellent communication skills in English (e.g., English native speaker or equivalent)
- an overall GPA of above 3.5/4.0 (or >85/100 or top 10% in your class)
- graduating from one of the top 100 universities worldwide (required), preferably top 50 worldwide.
How to apply:
Please submit this google form and attach your CV for initial screening:
https://forms.gle/4uZvWejpn3CQUhCy9
*no email nor platform enquiry please*
International (non-Australian) candidates should submit their applications 3-6 months in advance. Australian (domestic) candidates are encouraged to apply >2 months in advance.
Note:
Please make sure that you meet all requirements specified above before submission.
If you pass initial screening, you will likely receive an email from me to request more info within 2–3 weeks after applying.
If you don't hear back >1 month after applying, that means you did not pass initial screening. Due to the large volume of applications that we receive on a daily basis, please do not send any follow-up email nor platform enquiry, otherwise your email may be considered as spam and will be blocked by our server.
2、西交利物浦大学
The Framework of Large Audio Model based on Audio Recognition
Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University |School of Advanced Technology
博导：Dr Shengchen Li
截止日期：全年可申
资助的博士项目（全球学生）
About the Project
This project aims to define and develop a Large Audio Model (LAM) framework that hierarchically models audio features to establish relationships between sound objects. Unlike traditional audio models, LAMs approach audio recognition by mimicking human perception through multi-level feature extraction and contextual understanding. The framework will integrate acoustic and semantic analysis to comprehend complex audio environments, enabling the model to perform effectively across diverse downstream tasks including classification, separation, and generation. By focusing on human recognition patterns, this research will bridge the gap between computational audio processing and perceptual understanding, creating a versatile foundation model for next-generation audio applications.
There are three more PhD projects under the supervisor of Dr. Shengchen Li are advertised at the same time. Please refer https://shengchenli.github.io/application.html for more information.
For more information about doctoral scholarship and PhD programme at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU), please visit:
- https://www.xjtlu.edu.cn/en/admissions/global/entry-requirements/
- https://www.xjtlu.edu.cn/en/admissions/global/fees-and-scholarship
Supervisors:
- Principal supervisor: Dr. Shengchen Li (XJTLU)
- Co-supervisor: Professor Eng Gee Lim (XJTLU)
- Co-supervisor: Dr. Jacopo de Berardinis (UoL)
- External supervisor: Professor Mark D. Plumbley (KCL)
Requirements:
A Master's degree with Merit and a Bachelor's degree with first-class or upper second-class honors are required for PhD admissions. Exceptional candidates holding only a Bachelor's degree may be considered on an individual basis in certain disciplines.
Evidence of good spoken and written English is essential. The candidate should have an IELTS (or equivalent) score of 6.5 or above, if the first language is not English. This position is open to all qualified candidates irrespective of nationality.
Degree:
The student will be awarded a PhD degree from the University of Liverpool (UK) upon successful completion of the program.
Funding:
The PhD studentship is available for three years subject to satisfactory progress by the student. The award covers tuition fees for three years (currently equivalent to RMB 99,000 per annum) and provides a monthly stipend of 5,000 RMB as a contribution to living expenses. It also provides up to RMB 16,500 to allow participation at international conferences during the period of the award. It is a condition of the award that holders of XJTLU PhD scholarships carry out 300-500 hours of teaching assistance work per year. The scholarship holders are expected to conduct the majority of their research at XJTLU in Suzhou, China. However, they may apply for a short-term research visit to the University of Liverpool if the project requires it.
How to Apply:
Interested applicants are advised to fill in the form at https://shengchenli.github.io/application.html with the following documents for initial review and assessment (please put the project title in the subject line).
- CV
- Two reference letters with company/university letterhead
- Personal statement outlining your interest in the position
- Proof of English language proficiency (an IELTS score of 6.5 or above)
- Verified school transcripts in both Chinese and English (for international students, only the English version is required)
- Verified certificates of education qualifications in both Chinese and English (for international students, only the English version is required)
- PDF copy of Master Degree dissertation (or an equivalent writing sample) and examiners reports available
Contact:
Informal enquiries may be addressed to Dr. Shengchen Li (shengchen.li@xjtlu.edu.cn), whose personal profile is linked below:
https://scholar.xjtlu.edu.cn/en/persons/ShengchenLi/
https://shengchenli.github.io/
