The Electrical and Electronic Engineering PhD degree programme develops your understanding of the research process and your ability to analyse and contribute to a particular research area. It provides you with experience in communicating research results in both written and oral forms and equips you with advanced knowledge and research skills relevant to both academia and industry.

Students enrolled in this programme are registered with the University of Liverpool as off-site postgraduate research students. You will carry out research on XJTLU premises under the guidance of a supervisory team. You will be appointed a designated primary (local) supervisor at XJTLU who is a full-time member of academic staff. In addition, you will have a designated secondary supervisor based at the University of Liverpool.

Pursuing a full-time PhD typically involves three years of conducting research and one year of writing a thesis, supported by subject-specific and generic skills training and development. A full-time PhD student must submit a thesis within four years. A part-time PhD student must submit it in six years.

WHY SHOULD I DO MY PHD IN ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING AT XJTLU?

• Our PhD programme equips you with a range of professional skills to help you maximise your future employability;
• Our supervisors will guide you through one of the most intellectually satisfying experiences of your life;
• You will receive supervision from respected academics at both XJTLU and the University of Liverpool;
• PhD students have dedicated travel budgets for participating in international conferences;
• You will have the chance to apply for a research visit to the University of Liverpool for up to six months; and
• You will have opportunities to work as a teaching assistant and to develop academic skills crucial to your career.

RESEARCH AREAS

Research areas include the following:

• Power systems and their automation: power markets, power system operation and control, power system stability and control, application of artificial intelligence (AI) technology in power systems, power system optimisation, power distribution automation systems;
• Electrical machinery and appliances: cooling technology for large-scale generators; theory, operation, monitoring and diagnosis of large generators and motors; electrical machinery and its intelligent control system; theoretical analysis and numerical calculation of the internal physical field of electrical machinery;
• Power electronics and electromechanics: power quality improvement and power signal processing technology, special power sources, power system signal detection, protection and intelligent control systems of power devices, electromechanics and control technology, control theory and application in power electronics and electromechanics, online monitoring of large electromechanical equipment;
• High voltage and insulation technology: high-voltage digital measurement and metering, online detection and fault diagnosis for electrical equipment, power system overvoltage and insulation coordination, engineering dielectric and special insulation technology, high-voltage technology in non-power systems, electromagnetic compatibility of power systems;
• Electronic engineering: power electronic devices, energy storage materials and devices, telecommunication engineering and networks, microwave circuits and antennas, wireless power transfer, microelectronic engineering, nano and micro technologies, photovoltaic technology, robots and robot control, neuromorphic devices, AI chips, opto chips, antennas, metasurfaces, wireless power transfer, energy harvesting;
• Theoretical electrical engineering and new technologies: circuit analysis and optimised design, electromagnetic fields’ effects on ecological environments, neural networks and genetic algorithms, intelligent network applications, new sensors, multimedia database theory and applications;
• Intelligent robotics and related technologies: robots and robot control, human-robot interaction, soft robotic grippers, sensor fusion, energy storage systems in robotics, micro/nanoscale motion systems, machine vision; and
• Internet of Things (IoT) and intelligent systems: IoT, IoT architecture, IoT for smart cities, artificial intelligence (AI) IoT, application-specific IoT, internet of vehicles, industrial IoT, embedded intelligence, edge AI, AI engineering, human centred and collaborative AI systems, intelligent sensing and analytics, intelligent sensor networks, energy efficiency in IoT, energy harvesting in IoT, network optimisation in IoT.

SCHOOL OF ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY

Find out potential supervisors from Department of Communications and Networking.

Find out potential supervisors from Department of Computing.

Find out potential supervisors from Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.

Find out potential supervisors from Department of Intelligent Science.

Find out potential supervisors from Department of Mechatronics and Robotics.

XJTLU ENTREPRENEUR COLLEGE (TAICANG）

Find out potential supervisors from School of Intelligent Manufacturing Ecosystem.

Find out potential supervisors from School of Internet of Things.

Find out potential supervisors from School of Robotics.

Find out potential supervisors from School of CHIPS.

The scholarship application is open only to those applying for a full-time doctoral programme.

1) Apply for a scholarship for a funded PhD project:
One option is to apply for an existing PhD project that has received funds from the University or external funding bodies. The research topic and supervisory team for these projects have already been established.
There is no specific application deadline for a project as it will remain open until the position is filled. The start date of a PhD programme is usually the first day of March, June, September, or December. You can visit the Postgraduate Research Scholarships Page for information about the specific PhD projects available or to contact potential supervisors to discuss funding opportunities.

2) Apply for a postgraduate research scholarship with your own project

You can also apply for a scholarship with your own project. With this option, there will be two application rounds each academic year: