Solutions for the Marine Environment (SERVO) PhD studentships

Delivering progress on key global challenges related to marine sustainability through innovative, solutions-focused and high impact research
Shellfish on the hull of the ship. Molluscs, overgrown ship bottom, panoramic view - stock photo Getty Images
The SERVO (Solutions for thE maRine enVirOnment) PhD studentships have been developed by the Marine Institute to deliver progress on key global challenges that align with the Institute’s research priorities: towards net zero, sustainable blue economy, safe seas, healthy oceans, and digital ocean. It seeks to harness global expertise in pursuit of world-leading, high impact marine and maritime science for a sustainable future.
 

Scope

These studentships aim to address global challenges related to marine sustainability through novel and timely research that is solutions-focused and of high impact. Outcomes should have measurable positive effects on the marine environment. This could include (but is not limited to) significant advances or innovations in:
  • maritime efficiency and clean operations;
  • maritime cyber security and navigation;
  • offshore renewable energy generation;
  • safeguarding marine biodiversity;
  • maintaining ecosystem services;
  • reducing marine pollution, including inputs from land and rivers;
  • mitigating the effects of climate change on the marine environment;
  • generating knowledge relevant to policy or legislation for sustainable management of the marine environment;
  • aspects of human behaviour change in direct support of the above.
The scheme encourages proposals that would be difficult to fund via traditional routes.

Mechanism

The scheme aims to fund three studentships per year, for three years (2025–2027), supporting a total of nine studentships. Each studentship provides full funding for 3.5 years (followed by a self-funded 'write-up' period). Funding includes full home or international tuition fees plus an annual stipend that reflect the University rates per annum. Bench fees (to cover research costs) will also be funded up to a maximum limit.
The supervisory team should be led by a ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ academic as the Director of Studies (DoS) but should also include leading national or international co-supervisors from relevant academic and/or industrial sectors.
The scheme offers three routes to fund PhD studentships, as outlined across.

Pathways

  1. Staff-led single studentship for open recruitment
    • the DoS / supervisory team submit a proposal for a standalone project, to be completed by one student.
  2. Staff-led multiple studentships for open recruitment
    • the DoS / supervisory team devise a multi-faceted research topic and submit a proposal for interrelated studentships, to be completed by two or three students. For these proposals, it is essential to outline: a) the added value of a multiple student approach; and b) the extent to which each studentship could stand alone, if necessary, avoiding any critical interdependencies.
  3. Student-led single studentship
    • the prospective student develops a proposal based on an original idea they have independently conceived and seeks collaboration with a member of ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ academic staff (and any co-supervisors). The staff member supports the development of the proposal as prospective DoS and submits it as a standalone project on behalf of, and to be completed by, the named student.

Selection

The following selection criteria will be used across all types of proposals:
  • quality and feasibility of the proposal (including budget breakdown);
  • composition and track record of the research team (international excellence);
  • quality of the scientific experience for the candidate;
  • potential to deliver significant measurable benefits at scale in terms of sustainability (alignment with scope of the scheme).
The following selection criteria will be used for specific pathways only:
  • clear rationale on the added value of multiple students (multiple pathway);
  • academic strength of the candidate (student-led pathway).
 

How to apply

The call for project proposals for 2026 is open.

Submissions for a project start in October 2026 should be sent to marineinstitute@plymouth.ac.uk by the closing date of Monday 20 October 2025 at 12:00 noon.
Application forms are provided below.
Staff keen to participate in the student-led pathway should express their interest to marineinstitute@plymouth.ac.uk providing a short list of keywords relevant to their research areas that align with the aims of the scheme. They will be added to the website as soon as possible.
 
 

Staff-led pathways

Proposals should be prepared using the Proposal Submission Form available for download below, which includes further information and full details of what is required. For the multiple pathway, separate copies of the submission form should be completed for each studentship and submitted together.
Open recruitment candidates can browse projects once they are available. Projects are due to be advertised online between November–February and are published on our Postgraduate research studentships page. Adverts will contain a link to the online application portal.

Student-led pathway

Project ideas should be prepared by the candidate using the Proposal Development Form available for download below, which includes further information and full details of what is required. These proposals for development should be sent to the proposed lead supervisor (¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ staff member) as soon as possible and by Friday 12 September 2025 at the latest, for consideration for the 2025–26 cycle. Fully developed proposals should be prepared using the Proposal Submission Form available for download below and submitted by staff on behalf of the candidate.
In relation to this scheme, preferentially contact staff who have expressed an interest in considering candidate proposals. These staff and their relevant topics of interest are featured at the bottom of this page. Check back periodically, as the list of participating staff members may grow, even after the call has opened. If your project idea does not clearly align with the research interests of the staff featured here, there may be other staff who would consider supervising your project. You can browse staff profiles on the main website or our . Please contact these staff well in advance to check their willingness before developing your proposal.

Application forms

 

SERVO PhD students

The scheme aims to fund three studentships per year, supporting a total of nine studentships. We expect to welcome three cohorts, joining us in October 2025, 2026 and 2027.
Meet our 2025 cohort.
Alexandra Johnson on Plymouth coastline

Alexandra Johnson (2025)

Alexandra will be working on a staff-led project entitled "Predicting marine biodiversity heatwave vulnerability at management relevant scales". The project aims to pioneer approaches to predicting the impact of heatwaves on biodiversity at regional scales, assessing vulnerability not only by the level of heat challenge, but also the physiological sensitivity of organisms. Modelling of integrated physiological, ecological and temperature data to predict mortality of intertidal species and associated changes in regional communities during heatwaves will identify critical areas for conservation and help support adaptive management of shorelines.
She will be supervised by Dr Manuela Truebano and Dr Oliver Tills , in collaboration with the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS), University of Newcastle, Universidade do Porto and Natural England.

Alvania Lawen (2025)

Alvania will be working on a student-led project entitled "Microplastics in the marine environment of Seychelles". The project will work to enhance knowledge of the characteristics, impacts and risks of marine microplastic pollution in Small Island Developing States (SIDS), such as Seychelles–which receives large quantities via the Indian Ocean gyre–, to develop appropriate policy and management. The project aims to understand the sources, pathways and accumulation zones using field studies and drift data modelling, and also to better understand the scope of the problem and the impacts of microplastic pollution in SIDS through socio-economic research.
She will be supervised by Dr Sarah Gall and Dr Andrew Turner , in collaboration with Nature Seychelles.
Alvania Lawen on the beach in Seychelles
Ahmed Mahid on a beach in the Maldives

Ahmed Mahid (2025)

Ahmed will be working on a student-led project entitled "Wave transformation on coral reefs and implications for coastal defence on atoll islands". Global sea level rise presents an existential threat to the small coral islands of the Maldives and half of public spending goes towards protection measures (2024 data). The project will work to improve the engineering design of shore protection and near-shore infrastructure of island communities to take into account wave transformation processes on coral reefs, to avoid early failure of critical infrastructure and limited funds being misspent. Improved knowledge of hydrodynamic processes and wave loading will contribute towards better coastal engineering practices on low-lying islands across the globe and influence policy decisions towards island resilience.
He will be supervised by Dr Martyn Hann and Professor Gerd Masselink , in collaboration with Delft University of Technology.
 
 
 

Marine Research Plymouth PhD studentship

If you're interested in the SERVO PhD studentships, you may also be interested to learn more about the Marine Research Plymouth PhD studentship.
This studentship brings together research staff from across Marine Research Plymouth, providing a springboard for collaborative research excellence and student prospects.
Close up view of plants on Cornish cliff, with view of sea and blue skies in background
 
 
 

Staff open to proposals & relevant research topics

Professor Martin Attrill : seagrass, marine biodiversity, Marine Protected Areas, blue carbon, coastal fish ecology, estuarine ecology, marine management and conservation
Dr Uwe Balthasar : marine calcification, major ion composition of seawater, geobiological cycling of Mg and Ca, Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement
Dr Benjamin Ciotti : fish ecology and physiology; early life stages; fish habitat use; recruitment dynamics; field ecology; feeding, growth and condition
Dr Matthew Craven : offshore renewable energy, optimisation, artificial intelligence
Professor Michael Cunliffe : eDNA-based observation of marine biodiversity, marine microbiomes, role of microbiomes in maintaining ecosystem services (e.g. seagrasses), eDNA-based solutions for sustainable management of the marine environment
Dr Thomas Davies : sustainable coastal cities, sensory (light and noise) pollution, coastal darkening, seas at night, ecology by moonlight
Dr Lee Durndell : seaweed conversion, sustainable energy production, blue economy, functionalised nanomaterials, circularity of resources, pollutant degradation
Dr Clare Embling : marine vertebrate ecology, predator-prey, biological oceanography, marine noise, bioacoustics
Dr Nicola Foster : marine conservation, Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems, biodiversity protection, Marine Protected Areas, population genetics, climate change impacts, coral ecology
Dr Keiron Fraser : seagrass, impacts of pollution on Marine Protected Areas, climate change, polar biology, sewage pollution, understanding population thermal limits, detection of invasive species
Dr Sarah Gall : marine conservation, fisheries management, plastic pollution, socio-ecological systems
Professor Jason Hall-Spencer : Themes: marine biodiversity; ecosystem services; marine pollution; climate change; policy or legislation for sustainable management. Keywords: maerl, marine plants, blue carbon, natural analogies for change, solutions to multiple stressors, bioresources at CO2 seeps
Professor Richard Handy : nanomaterials / plastics / metals in aquatic systems, toxicology / pathology (mainly fish but also bivalves, worms and crabs)
Dr Martyn Hann : floating offshore renewable energy, dynamic power cables, Operations & Maintenance, eco-engineering
Dr Stavros Karamperidis : sustainable blue growth, ESG, clean maritime, circular economy, maritime economics and logistics, climate change and trade/security
Dr Yeaw Chu Lee : artificial reefs, decommissioning, offshore structures, seabed, hydrodynamics, deep sea corals, scouring, environmental impact, multiphase, fluid-structure interaction, modelling, numerical methods, HPC optimisation, machine-learning and AI
Dr Lilian Lieber : ocean predators, biophysics, aerial drones, active acoustics, offshore energy, marine autonomy
Dr Adan Lopez-Santander : maritime efficiency, simulation, AI, machine learning, navigation, routing, optimization, scheduling, environment, clean operations, digital twinning, carbon budget, carbon reduction
Professor Gerd Masselink : impact of sea-level rise and extreme storms on atoll islands, climate change adaptation on atoll islands
Dr Abigail McQuatters-Gollop : plankton, marine conservation, biodiversity indicators, marine policy, biodiversity assessment, working across the science-policy interface
Dr Angela Milne : marine biogeochemistry, marine pollution, trace element and nutrient cycles
Dr Sian Rees : economics, social science, blue carbon, natural capital, ecosystem services, marine conservation
Dr Miriam Reverter : community shifts, coral reefs, ecosystem functioning, biotic interactions
Dr Jahir Rizvi : sustainable large steel ship recycling process, green energy driven propulsion system for ocean going vessels, floating offshore green energy storage for clean maritime
Professor John Spicer : safeguarding marine biodiversity (low oxygen, plasticity, transgenerational effects, laboratory selection); maintaining ecosystem services (biodiversity & ecosystem function, decomposition, strandline model system)
Dr Angela Stevenson : crinoid biology, benthic ecology, predator-prey interactions, community shifts, climate change, biodiversity loss
Dr Raphael Stuhlmeier : water waves; wave forecasting; maritime infrastructure; wave kinematics and applications
Professor John Summerscales : abandoned, boats, derelict, fibreglass, Glass Reinforced Plastic, vessels, yachts
Professor Richard Thompson OBE FRS : plastic pollution – solutions, alternatives and substitutes to plastic, microplastics from paint, microplastics from textiles
Dr Simon Ussher : trace metals, dissolved inorganic carbon, biogeochemistry, ocean alkalinity enhancement