PhD Student

Updated: 3 months ago
Deadline: 31 Dec 2023

Job description

Ghent University is a top 100 university worldwide and one of the major universities in Belgium, with more than 50000 students and 15000 staff members. At the department of Electromechanical, Systems and Metal Engineering, we have an open vacancy for a PhD researcher in the Dynamical Systems and Control research group at the campus Kortrijk. The research in our group focuses on modelling, control and optimization of the electromechanical and control aspects of industrial machines and energy systems. Typical applications we study are web processing machines, robotics, pick and place machines, renewable energy drivetrains, weaving looms, etc. The industry standard control for these motion systems is cascaded PID. By default, industrial controllers do not yet use adaptive or model-based control, as this requires expert knowledge and sufficient insight in the system dynamics. However, the potential gain in performance can be considerable, especially for non-linear and/or non-time-invariant systems. Also MIMO systems, where the degrees of freedom can be dynamically coupled, benefit from these more advanced controllers.

We have opened a vacancy for a PhD researcher position with the topic ‘Model-based predictive features for cascaded PID control in mechatronic systems’ under the supervision of Prof. Jeroen De Kooning. The objective of this research is to retain the classical cascaded PID control structure, but add performant features of advanced model-based predictive and/or adaptive control. The aim is to compromise between improving the control performance and promoting industrial adoption.

You will work in the Dynamical Systems and Control research group at the campus Kortrijk. You will also work closely with industrial partners and Flanders Make, the research center for the Flemish manufacturing industry. The initial contract duration will be one year. The contract can be extended to a full 4 year PhD research period under the condition of a positive evaluation. You are expected to publish your research in scientific journals and to present your results on international conferences. Ghent University offers an attractive salary with additional benefits, a positive and inspiring working environment and numerous training possibilities.


Job profile

You have a master degree in engineering, preferably in electromechanical, electrical, automation or control engineering. You are motivated, creative and have a passion for research. You have an affinity with both experimental research and simulation software. You must be sufficiently fluent in writing and speaking in English. You will work in a positive and international environment where a constructive collaboration with other researchers is expected. We expect you to be a team-player and a good communicator.


How to apply

Send your CV and motivation letter to [email protected] including ‘MPPID PhD’ in the subject of your e-mail. Please include contact details of two referees. If you pass the pre-selection, you will receive further instructions on the selection process and will be invited for a job interview, possibly via Teams.



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