Doctoral Programme in Sustainable Aviation
The Brahmal Institute at Imperial College London has been established to enable new cross-disciplinary research towards net-zero aviation. We want to nurture ground breaking ideas and develop the skills that the aviation sector needs to transition to a net-zero economy.
The Institute seeks to support a cohort of 10 doctoral students each year on a balanced mix of projects that explore fundamental bottlenecks in the decarbonisation of aviation and/or address industrially relevant challenges. Studentships are for 3.5 years and will provide full coverage of tuition fees, a travel budget, and an annual tax-free stipend for both home and international students. The overarching theme will be system-level problems that benefit from expertise from different areas of engineering.
Studentships
Doctoral students on the DPSA can be registered at any department at Imperial and they will have a secondary affiliation to the Brahmal Institute. They will start work on the projects from day one, supported by short training courses. Students experience will be enriched with cohort building activities, including monthly social gatherings, Brahmal Institute Seminars, and research showcase events (these activities are also open to existing doctoral students whose work is of thematic relevance to the institute. If you are a current PhD student at Imperial and want to get involved, please contact us at brahmal-institute@imperial.ac.uk).
The listed projects below are currently open for applications:
Synthetic fuel design for minimal global impact (CODE: BrahmalPhD23-2)
Modelling and Observation of Aircraft Condensation Trails (CODE: AE0051)
Doctoral Programme in Sustainable Aviation - October 2025 (CODE: AE0064)
Applicants should be home/International candidates with (or who are expected to gain) a first-class honours degree or equivalent in a suitable field.
Applicants to the programme will need to apply through the college PhD admissions system, indicating their interest to work in this doctoral programme. Please address your application to the Department of Aeronautics and indicate in your application the reference code for the project(s) of interest.
For further inquiries, contact us at brahmal-institute@imperial.ac.uk
To learn more about Imperial College, please go to www.imperial.ac.uk/study/pg