Postgraduate training in the UK's universities is to receive another injection of funding from The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
This year EPSRC is investing £83.5 million through its Doctoral Training Partnerships (DTPs) (previously known as DTG see note below). The DTP includes £10 million for Doctoral Prizes and £1 million for Vacation Bursaries.
The announcement comes shortly after the Chancellor's announcement of extra investment in 22 Centres for Doctoral Training.
Announcing the funding, David Willetts, Minister for Universities and Science, said: "This significant investment shows that the UK is committed to top quality postgraduate research and training. Our future as a leading science and engineering nation is dependent on fostering the talent we have in our universities, this investment will reap rewards in the academic and economic arenas and provide us with a wealth of skilled people able to tackle global challenges, from infrastructure planning to public health."
EPSRC's new Chief Executive, Professor Philip Nelson said: "Centres for Doctoral Training are not the only route we use to support PhD training. This year we are allocating £83.5 million to 38 universities via Doctoral Training Partnerships (DTPs) and we are maintaining our financial expenditure on Industrial Case of around £17million per annum.
"DTPs demonstrate our commitment to excellence in postgraduate research and training. The grants will complement the funding for CDTs and provide universities with flexible funding to support doctoral students in their own priority areas."
The DTPs are awarded to universities for the provision of postgraduate study and are allocated each year on the basis of EPSRC research grant income. They were previously known as Doctoral Training Grants.
The grants allow institutions to be flexible in terms of student recruitment and retention, and enable them to vary the length of support (between three and four years) dependent on the project.
This year 38 universities will benefit from the Doctoral Training Partnership funding, which ranges from £300,000 to nearly £8 million. The flexibility of the DTP allows universities to leverage funds, for example from industry, and potentially support higher numbers of students.
Universities will be able to take advantage of the enhanced flexibility of the DTP scheme to offer Doctoral Prizes to EPSRC-supported students so they can maximise the impact of their PhD. These prizes will also help to improve retention of the very best students in research careers.
This year EPSRC has invested £10 million to help universities offer these awards as part of their doctoral support.
Notes to editors:
The 2014 DTPs have been awarded to the following 38 universities:
Cardiff University
Durham University
Heriot-Watt University
Imperial College London
King's College London
Lancaster University
Loughborough University
Newcastle University
Queen Mary, University of London
Queen's University of Belfast
Royal Holloway, University of London
Swansea University
The University of Manchester
University College London
University of Bath
University of Birmingham
University of Bristol
University of Cambridge
University of Dundee
University of East Anglia
University of Edinburgh
University of Exeter
University of Glasgow
University of Kent
University of Leeds
University of Leicester
University of Liverpool
University of Nottingham
University of Oxford
University of Reading
University of Sheffield
University of Southampton
University of St Andrews
University of Strathclyde
University of Surrey
University of Sussex
University of Warwick
University of York
The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is the UK's main agency for funding research in engineering and the physical sciences. EPSRC invests around £800m a year in research and postgraduate training, to help the nation handle the next generation of technological change. The areas covered range from information technology to structural engineering, and mathematics to materials science. This research forms the basis for future economic development in the UK and improvements for everyone's health, lifestyle and culture. EPSRC works alongside other Research Councils with responsibility for other areas of research. The Research Councils work collectively on issues of common concern via Research Councils UK. http://www.epsrc.ac.uk
For media enquiries contact:
The EPSRC Press Office telephone 01793 444 404, or e-mail: pressoffice@epsrc.ac.uk