6 Fully-funded PhD Scholarships in Artificial Intelligence for Weather Forecasting and Climate Change

University College Dublin (UCD) and Met Éireann, Ireland’s National Meteorological Service, have announced a major collaboration, establishing the new Centre for Artificial Intelligence in Weather Forecasting and Climate Change. This €5 million joint initiative is offering six fully-funded PhD scholarships aimed at leveraging artificial intelligence to enhance Ireland’s weather forecasting services and build climate resilience.

The programme is actively seeking applicants and is committed to equality, diversity, and inclusion, with a special encouragement for applications from under-represented groups.

Programme Highlights

Successful candidates will be part of a comprehensive, cohort-based training programme scheduled to begin in January 2026. The key benefits of this unique opportunity include:

• A fully-funded four-year PhD scholarship.
• An annual tax-free stipend of €28,000.
• Complete coverage of university fees for both EU and international students.
• A generous budget allocated for travel, training, and computing resources.
• Extensive training and access to cutting-edge High-Performance Computing (HPC) facilities.

A Unique Training Structure

The programme features a distinctive structure designed to foster interdisciplinary expertise. During the initial semester, all students will receive foundational training in AI, weather forecasting, climate science, and advanced computational methods.

A unique feature of the centre is its “matchmaking” process. Students join the programme without a pre-existing commitment to a specific research project or supervisor. This allows them to meet with supervisors from both UCD and Met Éireann to discuss research interests and find the ideal match between the student, supervisors, and project topic.

Available AI-Focussed Research Projects

After the foundational training period, students will choose one of the following cutting-edge research projects:

• Advancing Offshore Weather Forecasting in Ireland through the Integration of Artificial Intelligence and Physics-Based Models.
• Discovering the physics hidden in AI-powered weather forecast models.
• Effects of weather on psychiatric hospital admissions in Ireland – risk analysis and development of early warning systems.
• Fog forecasting using camera archive and machine learning (ML) algorithms.
• Investigating Links Between Viral Infections and Extreme Weather in Ireland.
• Real-Time Weather Impact Assessment via Social Media Sentiment Analysis.
• Using explainable AI to understand the drivers of evapotranspiration.
• Wind-driven infrastructure resilience platform utilizing ML-AI techniques.

Who is Eligible?

• Ideal candidates are expected to hold, or be close to obtaining, an MSc degree in a relevant field such as Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Meteorology, Climate Science, Physics, or Engineering. The degree should have a significant mathematical, computational, meteorological, or climatological component.
• Exceptional candidates who do not hold an MSc but possess equivalent experience or notable achievements are also strongly encouraged to apply.
• Non-native English speakers must provide proof of an IELTS score of at least 6.5 (with a minimum of 6.0 in all components) or an equivalent qualification. Students who have completed their MSc at an institution in the UK, US, or Ireland are exempt from this requirement.

Non-native English speakers require at least IELTS 6.5 (with at least 6 in all components) or
equivalent. Further details on equivalence of tests are available at:

Students who have completedtheir MSc at a UK, US, or Irish institution do not need to provide documentation.

Application Process

To be considered, applicants must complete the online form available at:

https://forms.gle/BHH6hBFYn6WwfJ87A.

Applicants are required to upload a CV (maximum 5 pages) and a cover letter (maximum 2 pages).

Applications will be reviewed on a continuous basis, with interviews and offers being made until all six positions are filled. Therefore, early application is highly recommended.

For informal enquiries, please contact Prof. Andrew Parnell at Andrew.parnell1@ucd.ie. Please note that applications submitted via email will not be considered.