🔗 Project Summary

This PhD project aims to enhance the sustainability of cattle production systems by developing innovative approaches to assess and protect calf health and welfare under real commercial conditions. Using precision livestock farming technologies, the student will analyse behavioural patterns, microphone‑based acoustic signals (including AI‑driven cough detection), and physiological sensor data such as accelerometers and ruminal boluses.

The research will take place in a fully equipped commercial farm in Lleida, Spain, housing more than 10,000 animals, with secure containment systems for safe handling of calves and adult cattle.

🌟 Why This Scholarship Stands Out

This Fully Funded PhD: Precision Livestock Farming for Calf Welfare is unique because it combines cutting-edge digital technologies (AI-driven cough detection, accelerometers, ruminal boluses) with animal welfare science in a real commercial farm setting – not a controlled research station. You will work with over 10,000 animals, generating massive datasets that can train robust AI models. The project is intrinsically international, involving leading institutions across Europe: INRAE and ENVT (France), IRTA, CSIC and UAB (Spain), UNITUS (Italy), Wageningen University (Netherlands), Aarhus University (Denmark), and La Salle University (Spain). The first phase in Lleida, Spain, means you will be immersed in a large-scale commercial operation, then spend time at IRTA in Monells and ENVT in Toulouse. For someone passionate about animal welfare and digital farming, this is a rare opportunity to develop AI-based acoustic models for early disease detection – potentially reducing antibiotic use and improving calf survival.

✅ Candidate Profile and Eligibility

Desirable Skills:

• Skills in data analysis, statistics, or modelling (R, Python, or similar)
• Experience or interest in precision livestock technologies
• Ability to work with behavioral and acoustic data
• Understanding of multidisciplinary approaches (health, microbiota, behavior, environment)
• Autonomy, critical sense, organization, and motivation for longitudinal follow-up

📝 My Application Strategy

1. Highlight any experience with animal behavior or welfare assessment – Mention ethograms, behavioral scoring, or welfare assessment protocols (e.g., Welfare Quality)
2. Emphasize data analysis skills – R or Python experience is highly desirable. Mention specific packages (lme4, caret, tidyverse) or projects
3. Show interest in acoustic analysis – AI-driven cough detection is novel. Mention any experience with sound analysis, signal processing, or machine learning
4. Demonstrate your ability to work in commercial farm conditions – Large-scale farms are noisy, messy, and unpredictable. Show you can handle that environment
5. Acknowledge the international consortium – Mention specific partners (Wageningen, Aarhus, UNITUS) and why collaborating across countries excites you

💼 What They Offer

🎓 Who Should Apply

This Fully Funded PhD: Precision Livestock Farming for Calf Welfare is perfect for a Master’s graduate in animal science, veterinary medicine, or ethology who is equally comfortable with data analysis and working in commercial farm conditions. If you are excited by the idea of using AI to detect coughs in a barn with 10,000 animals, and want to reduce antibiotic use through early disease detection, this project offers training at the intersection of animal welfare, digital farming, and data science. Candidates with experience in R or Python, or with interest in acoustic analysis, are especially encouraged. The ideal candidate is someone who wants their research to have direct practical impact on farm animal welfare and sustainability.

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