The Department of Engineering at the University of Cambridge is inviting applications for a fully funded PhD Studentship titled “Growing AI.”

Project Overview: Resilient and productive agriculture is reliant on bespoke planning involving data-driven decisions guided by local practice, required practice, local data (such as crop yield), and global data (such as commodity prices and weather predictions). Technological progress has made it possible to automatically collect a wide variety of sensor data and self-reported practices. The main challenge is understanding how to leverage this information to design an AI-bestowed system that delivers bespoke advice to individual crop-producing farmers regarding strategy and practice for profitable and environmentally restorative farming systems.

This PhD position is funded and supported through a collaborative agreement between Hutchinsons and the charity LEAF Linking Environment And Farming, both of which share complementary goals regarding improving how collected and available data is leveraged to enhance agricultural practices.

Key Opportunities & Objectives:

• Direct access to domain experts and proprietary/field data from Hutchinsons and LEAF. • Development of a human-centred decision support system leveraging multimodal data and artificial intelligence.

• Delivery of individualized, actionable insights allowing farmers to make informed decisions regarding the profitability and sustainability of their agricultural practices.

Application Process & Selection Timeline:

• Initial Application: Applicants must submit a two-page CV and a one-page cover letter outlining their suitability via email. Please include “[CAM-GROWING-AI]” in the email subject line.

• Interviews: Expected to take place during the week of Monday, August 24, 2026.

• Formal Postgraduate Portal Admission: Preferred candidates will be required to submit a formal application to the University’s Postgraduate Application Portal by August 28, 2026 note: a £20 application fee applies for portal processing. Offers of funding remain conditional on securing formal PhD admission.

Eligibility Criteria:

• Open to eligible UK Home students.

• Holds or expects to obtain by the project start date at least a good Upper Second-Class (2:1) Honours degree in Engineering or Computer Science.

Required expertise/skills:

• Strong programming and software development skills.

• Awareness and baseline understanding of machine learning theory and techniques.

• Practical experience working with large multimodal datasets.

• Strong interest in human-computer interaction (HCI) and human-centred system design.

• Excellent communication and organizational skills.

• Prior knowledge of farming practices is not strictly required, but would be advantageous for the project.

Salary details: Fully funded studentship covering University tuition fees and providing a full standard doctoral maintenance stipend.

Application Deadline: August 21, 2026 at 5:00 pm BST Applications may close early if the position is filled prior to this date

Application Link