PhD position for a project titled- “Development of innovative sensor technology for monitoring milk quality, health, and welfare in dairy cattle”

Project

Dairy farming is an important part of global food production, accounting for approximately 10% of the total agricultural market share. Due to genetic advancements and improved feeding and management practices, average milk production per cow per lactation has increased enormously over the past 50 years. However, these modern dairy cows are also more susceptible to production-related disorders. Closely monitoring animal health and welfare is therefore important to continue guaranteeing sustainable milk production.

Due to the strong interaction between milk production and the cow’s metabolism, the milk produced contains a great deal of information about udder health and nutritional and metabolic status. For this reason, regular monitoring of the quality and composition of the produced milk is one of the most efficient ways to monitor cow health. Nowadays, online measurements of production levels, conductivity, and milk color are already common in dairy farming. Nevertheless, these milk parameters, in addition to health status, are also influenced by many other factors. For this reason, there is a need for quality parameters that have a more direct link to the cow’s health. The formation of key milk components, such as milk fat, protein, and lactose, is a direct result of feed intake and the cow’s metabolism, as well as the health of the udder tissue. Consequently, regular analysis of these basic components in milk can provide valuable information about the health of individual cows.

In this project, an optical prototype sensor will be developed, based on a miniature near-infrared spectrometer, for the online analysis of the basic components in milk. This sensor will be implemented and tested in combination with automatic milking systems. After implementation, the robustness of this sensor will be evaluated and improved using various calibration strategies. Finally, the variation in sensor measurements will be studied in relation to cow health and for the development of monitoring tools to detect abnormal health or negative welfare at an early stage.

Profile

To conduct this practice-oriented research, the “Livestock Technology” group at KU Leuven is looking for a highly motivated and independent doctoral researcher with:

• an MSc degree (at least with distinction) in Life Sciences, Industrial Sciences, Engineering Sciences, Bioengineering Sciences or equivalent
• a creative, critical, analytical, and innovative mindset
• good communication skills, both in Dutch and English
• Eager to collaborate in a multidisciplinary team of national and international researchers to discover and develop new techniques
• strong interest in sensor technology, development, data processing and scientific research
• the ambition to build a career in sensor development and data processing

If you meet these requirements, then you are THE candidate we are looking for, and we would very much like you to apply for this fascinating doctoral position.

Experience with scientific data processing software (e.g. Matlab, Python, R, C, Labview or similar) and hands-on engineering, and an interest in dairy farming, are definitely pluses.

You are not eligible for this position if you do not hold an MSc degree with at least distinction obtained from a university in the European Economic Community (EEC) within the last 3 years.

Offer

We offer full-time employment with competitive remuneration for 4 years, preferably starting on September 1, 2026. Our young, dynamic, multidisciplinary, and professional team will provide extensive support in conducting your research and obtaining your doctoral degree. We offer a tailor-made doctoral program within one of the best universities in Europe. Furthermore, we offer the opportunity to collaborate directly with Flemish dairy farmers, the “Hooibeekhoeve” dairy research farm, and milk technology manufacturers. You will also have the opportunity to regularly test your research plan and results with various stakeholders at national and international meetings. This will allow you to build an international network and further develop your communication skills.

Interested?

More information can be obtained from Prof. Dr. Ben Aernouts, email: ben.aernouts@kuleuven.be.

You can apply for this vacancy until 15/07/2026 via our online application system.

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