I applied online. I interviewed at University of Cambridge (Cambridge, East of England, England) in May 2018
Interview
CV round, skype interview and in person interview. I had to give a presentation about my master's thesis followed by a scientific discussion. They also asked basic questions about motivation; why a PhD and why this research group. Reading papers of the research group is a good way to prepare. They also called a referee (my professor of my master's thesis) whom they knew well. Having a good reference letter really helps. Besides the interviews by the research group, there were also tests by the University, for example to test your English, which were easy test.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Which papers have you read papers of this research group? Why do you want to do a PhD? For this PhD position you need to work together with other researchers as well as with industry, give presentations to you industrial sponsor. Why do you think you are good at that? How well do you know Matlab? Have you worked with large data sets? What did you do for your internship? Discussion after presentation master thesis: have you thought about xyx? Are there any other explanations for what you observe? What is the typical error in these measurements? When did you have a problem during your research and how did you solve it? Describe methodology xyz? Why have you chosen this methodology? Why did you use this material and not something else? What would you suggest for future work and why? And lots of fundamental questions about the topic to test if you have a thorough understanding of the research.
I had a online meeting (30min) with potential supervisor and another professor in the department. They asked details about my research plan and feasibility, and etc.. You need to prepare to answer to detailed questions
I interviewed at University of Cambridge (Cambridge, East of England, England)
Interview
Very easy, just a casual chat with the prof.
Asked me about my experience and what I want to do.
Asked what papers from the lab I had read.
Asked about funding I'd applied for.
30 minutes interview with standard questions such as motivation and your future plan. Good to read few academic papers that are relevant and not relevant to your field. Be prepared to talk about it.
