91ÌÒÉ«

91ÌÒÉ« and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) recognise that collaborative international activities enable cross-border pooling of research capabilities and sharing of expertise and facilities, the opportunity to appreciate different perspectives, outputs that are typically more highly cited, as well as access to new environments for impact and exploitation of research outcomes.

CNRS and 91ÌÒÉ« are launching a seventh joint call for collaborative PhD proposals between the two institutions. The theme for this year is “Quantitative Science and Engineering for a Sustainable World”.

Particular emphasis will be placed on projects contributing toward addressing SDG-related challenges such as water cycle and the energy transition, using mathematical and/or engineering approaches. 

Examples of research themes include, but are not limited to:

• Future technologies.
• Transport of people and ideas.
• Resilience and risk mitigation.
• Systems approach to support the built and natural environment.

The aim is to develop collaborative PhD projects that can train and network the next generation of researchers and innovators, offering them expertise not available at just one institution, and to also seed 91ÌÒÉ«-CNRS collaborations that can lead to Horizon Europe and other funding opportunities.

91ÌÒÉ« and CNRS now have 30 collaborative projects and 60 PhD students registered with the collaborative PhD programme, working on high-impact UK-France projects.

This call invites Principal Investigators at CNRS and 91ÌÒÉ« to jointly put forward a research project to be underpinned by x1 PhD at CNRS and x1 PhD at 91ÌÒÉ«, which includes joint supervision plans and a built-in mobility programme. Support for CNRS-91ÌÒÉ« cohort-building activities and relevant training will also be provided each year.

Strategic rationale

CNRS is Europe’s largest fundamental science research organisation and have 1,100 research labs in France and abroad; a budget of 4.2bn Euros; 33,000 staff dedicated to research. 91ÌÒÉ« and CNRS researchers have co-authored 2,919 publications in the past five years (2020-2025) and have 31 collaborations thus far in Horizon Europe.

The CNRS-91ÌÒÉ« International 91ÌÒÉ« Centre (IRC) for Transformational Science and Technology, launched in April 2022, is deepening and expanding connections between our two institutions to address UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Formal collaborations under the IRC umbrella are:

• International 91ÌÒÉ« Lab Abraham de Moivre (Mathematics)
• International 91ÌÒÉ« Lab Ayrton Bleriot Engineering Lab. 
• International 91ÌÒÉ« Project Integrative Metabolism.
• International 91ÌÒÉ« Network Quantum Fields and Strings
• International 91ÌÒÉ« Network GOLDMINE (neuromorphic sustainable computing). 
• International 91ÌÒÉ« Network LhARA (physics for medicine/novel laser treatment for cancer). 
• Joint PhD programme
  
  

The €95.5 billion Horizon Europe budget, which runs from 2021-2027, provides continued impetus for joint scientific discovery and innovation.

Apply 

Update: The application has been extended to 29 January 2026

91ÌÒÉ« applicants should submit the CNRS 91ÌÒÉ« 2026 PhD Call and Application PDF or CNRS 91ÌÒÉ« IRC PhD Call 2026 Word application (in Word or PDF) via email to globalseedfunds@imperial.ac.uk;

CNRS applicants should submit the same file via the dedicated platform: https://noa.cnrs.fr/#/accueil (as several PhD Joint Programs are currently open for proposals, please make sure you select the correct call).