Join the Lab
We welcome motivated researchers at all levels. Explore the opportunities below and get in touch if you're interested.
Looking to do a PhD?
Spatial AI, Visual Reasoning, Cultural Heritage & Interpretive AI
Our lab is always looking for good PhD candidates. If you are interested in doing a PhD in vision-based spatial reasoning, multimodal AI, or AI for cultural heritage, please get in touch to discuss options. Before reaching out, please review our research areas and publications.
A project outline is available at:
FindAPhD — Spatial AI: Understanding the World, Art and HumanitiesFunding Options
Doctoral Training Partnerships
Funded by UK Research Councils (EPSRC, BBSRC, NERC). Covers tuition fees, stipend, and research training support.
Industry-funded PhDs
Collaborative projects with companies, often through Knowledge Transfer Partnerships.
International Scholarships
Commonwealth Scholarships, Chevening Scholarships, and Chinese Scholarships Council (CSC).
Self-funding
Students cover tuition and living costs, potentially combining with part-time work (visa permitting).
How to Apply
- 01Reach out with your CV and a brief statement of research interests and how you plan to fund your PhD.
- 02If there is mutual interest, we will have a brief conversation and detail the application process at Durham University.
- 03Submit a formal application, followed by an interview with myself and a potential second supervisor.
- 04Receive an outcome typically within a couple of weeks of the interview.
MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship — Expression of Interest
Closed · Sept 2025Computer Vision · Durham University · 1–2 Years
Open call for interest in co-writing a MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship on Computer Vision at Durham University. Topics range from digitisation to understanding and reasoning. The MSCA is an international collaborative programme, so a long-term secondment is required.
The EU provides the recruited researcher with a living allowance, mobility allowance, and family/special needs allowances where applicable, plus funding for research, training, networking, management and indirect costs.
Eligibility
- PhD or 4 years of full-time research experience
- Must not have resided in the UK for more than 12 months in the 36 months before the call deadline
- Maximum 8 years of research experience post-PhD (career breaks excluded)
Key Dates
- Call opened8 May 2025
- EOI deadline1 Jul 2025
- Call deadline10 Sep 2025
This round has closed. If you are interested in a future MSCA collaboration, please get in touch.
N8 CIR Winter Internship — HPC Benchmarking Assembly Tasks
Closed · Oct 2025Durham University students only · £2,500 · 6 hrs/week
Funded by EPSRC through the N8 Bede National HPC Service. Ran Michaelmas term to March 2026, alongside full-time study.
This project focused on adapting and implementing benchmarks for performance evaluation of cluster-based assembly tasks in puzzle-solving environments, combining high-performance computing with algorithmic problem-solving.
Project Components
- Development of a benchmark framework for assembly task evaluation
- Adaptation of existing puzzle-solving algorithms for cluster computing
- Evaluation of benchmarks across Durham HPC infrastructure
Skills Developed
- HPC and cluster programming
- Benchmark design and performance evaluation
- Algorithm adaptation for parallel computing
Past Success Story
Samuel Waugh — Durham Computer Science student
Samuel completed a research internship with N8 CIR under my supervision, developing ArteFact — an innovative web-based tool that helps art historians uncover meaningful connections between paintings and scholarly writing using a domain-adapted CLIP model. Samuel demonstrated real creativity, technical skill, and careful consideration for end users.
Don't see a current opening that fits? If you are a strong candidate aligned with our research themes, feel free to reach out speculatively with a CV and a brief note on what you'd like to work on.
Contact Stuart James