Data-Driven Microgrid Control: Fully Funded PhD Studentship in Data-driven Microgrid Control (RS801)

Funding providers: EPSRC IDLA and Dyson Institute 

Subject areas: Data-Driven Microgrid Control 

Project start date: 1 October 2025 (Enrolment open from mid-September)

Swansea Supervisors: Dr Meghdad Fazeli, Dr Mohammad Monfared 

Dyson Institute Supervisors: Dr Muhammad Usman Ejaz, Dr Tayyaba Irum

Aligned programme of study: PhD in Electrical and Electronic Engineering 

Mode of study: Full-time  

Project description: 
To combat climate change and achieve the UK's target of Net Zero, it is expected that the integration of renewable energy sources (RESs) at the distribution/consumption level will keep increasing. The volatile and intermittent nature of RESs causes significant difficulties for the network operator to balance generation with demand and maintain power quality, which makes the network prone to instability and blackouts. In addition to their volatile nature, RESs cannot provide the ancillary services (such as voltage and frequency control) that conventional synchronous generators naturally deliver, exacerbating the situation as the penetration of RES increases, especially at the distribution level. 

In this context, microgrids (MGs) refer to clusters of consumers, prosumers (consumers + producers), energy storage systems (ESSs), and electric vehicles (EVs) that collectively form a local energy community (EC). ECs are supposed to facilitate direct peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading mechanisms to optimize objectives such as reduced bills, reduced emissions, or minimization of the exchanged energy with the grid. Such ECs can also potentially provide ancillary services to the grid, such as power balancing, peak shaving/shifting, voltage and frequency support, and virtual inertial response. 

Due to the volatile and intermittent nature of RESs, in this project, machine learning (ML) methods are used to accurately forecast local generation and demand. To do so, historic local data (e.g., the active buildings in Swansea University) and Met Office data will be used to train and validate the proposed ML model. These forecasted data will then be used to propose and optimize an energy management strategy for an EC comprising a number of prosumers, consumers, ESSs, and EVs. Different vehicle-to-home and vehicle-to-community energy trading strategies will also be proposed and investigated to achieve optimized P2P trading within the EC. 

The project will be done using MATLAB coding and modelling in Simulink environment. 

Scholarship open to UK and international fee eligible applicants

Applicants for PhD must hold an undergraduate degree at 2.1 level (or Non-UK equivalent as defined by Swansea University) in Engineering or similar relevant science discipline. See - Country-specific Information for European Applicants 2019 and Country-specific Information for International Applicants 2019.

English Language
IELTS 6.5 Overall (5.5+ each comp.) or Swansea University recognised equivalent. Full details of our English Language policy, including certificate time validity, can be found here.

ATAS
Please note that the programme requires some applicants to hold ATAS clearance, further details on ATAS scheme eligibility are available on the UK Government website. 

ATAS clearance IS NOT required to be held as part of the scholarship application process. Successful award winners (as appropriate) are provided with details as to how to apply for ATAS clearance in tandem with a scholarship course offer. 

International Students
EPSRC IDLA studentships are available to home and international students. Up to 30% of our cohort can comprise international students, once the limit has been reached, we are unable to make offers to international students.    

We are still accepting applications from international applicants.    

International students will not be charged the fee difference between the UK and international rate. Applicants should satisfy the UKRI eligibility requirements. 

This scholarship covers the full cost of tuition fees and an annual stipend at UKRI rate (currently £20,780 for 2025/26) plus a £3,000 enhancement.

Additional research expenses of up to £1,000 per year will also be available.

To apply, please complete your application online with the following information

1. Course choice – please select as per preferred mode of study, either:

(Full Time) Electrical and Electronic Engineering / PhD / Full-time / 3 Years / October

In the event you have already applied for the above programme previously, the application system may issue a warning notice and prevent application, in this case, please email pgrscholarships@swansea.ac.uk where staff will be happy to assist you in submitting your application.

     2. Start year – please select 2025

     3. Funding (page 8 on the application process) –

• ‘Are you funding your studies yourself?’ – please select No
• ‘Name of Individual or organisation providing funds for study’ – please enter ‘RS801 - IDLA Dyson'

*It is the responsibility of the applicant to list the above information accurately when applying, please note that applications received without the above information listed will not be considered for the scholarship award.

One application is required per individual Swansea University led research scholarship award; applications cannot be considered listing multiple Swansea University led research scholarship awards.

NOTE: Applicants for PhD/EngD/ProfD/EdD - to support our commitment to providing an environment free of discrimination and celebrating diversity at Swansea University you are required to complete an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Monitoring Form in addition to your programme application form.  

Please note that completion of the EDI Monitoring Form is mandatory; your application may not progress if this information is not submitted.

As part of your online application, you MUST upload the following documents (please do not send these via email):

• CV
• Degree certificates and transcripts (if you are currently studying for a degree, screenshots of your grades to date are sufficient)
• A cover letter including a ‘Supplementary Personal Statement’ to explain why the position particularly matches your skills and experience and how you choose to develop the project
• One reference (academic or previous employer) on headed paper or using the Swansea University reference form. Please note that we are not able to accept references received citing private email accounts, e.g. Hotmail. Referees should cite their employment email address for verification of reference
• Evidence of meeting English Language requirement (if applicable)
• Copy of UK resident visa (if applicable)
• Confirmation of EDI form submission

Informal enquiries are welcome; please contact Dr Meghdad Fazel m.fazeli@swansea.ac.uk +44(0)1792602768 

*External Partner Application Data Sharing – Please note that as part of the scholarship application selection process, application data sharing may occur with external partners outside of the University, when joint/co- funding of a scholarship project is applicable.