- 75 Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs) announced
- £446 million invested in skills development across the UK
- Industry partners contributing a further £386 million in cash or in-kind
One of the UK's most significant investments in research skills will be announced today when the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), reveals which university proposals for Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs) have been successful in the latest funding round.
These centres will ensure the next generation of doctoral level students are equipped to tackle research and innovation challenges across the engineering and physical sciences landscape, including subjects such as Quantum Engineering, Medical Imaging and Offshore Renewables.
Over seventy CDTs, that will equip the UK with the next generation of doctoral level researchers needed across the breadth of the engineering and physical sciences landscape, will be announced at a launch event held at the London Stock Exchange.
The Centres will be funded through EPSRC, which has allocated £444 million and a further £2.2 million from The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).
Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) will unilaterally be supporting a Republic of Ireland cohort on seven EPSRC-badged Centres with approximately 39 million euros. These Centres will work collaboratively with some UK Centres, with SFI-funded students working closely with certain EPSRC CDTs as part of an agreed training programme.
The Centres' 1,400 project partners have contributed £386 million in cash and in-kind support, and include companies such as Tata Steel and Procter and Gamble and charities such as Cancer Research UK.
Science and Innovation Minister Chris Skidmore said: "As we explore new research to boost our economy with an increase of over £7 billion invested in R&D over five years to 2021/22 - the highest increase for over 40 years - we will need skilled people to turn ideas into inventions that can have a positive impact on our daily lives.
"The Centres for Doctoral Training at universities across the country will offer the next generation of PHD students the ability to get ahead of the curve. In addition, this has resulted in nearly £400 million being leveraged from industry partners. This is our modern Industrial Strategy in action, ensuring all corners of the UK thrive with the skills they need for the jobs of tomorrow.
"As Science Minister, I'm delighted we're making this massive investment in postgraduate students as part of our increased investment in R&D."
UKRI's Chief Executive, Professor Sir Mark Walport said: "Highly talented people are required to tackle key global challenges such as sustainable energy and cyber security, and provide leadership across industries and our public services.
"Centres for Doctoral Training provide them with the support, tools and training they need to succeed, and the involvement of 1,400 project partners underlines how much industry and the charity sector value this approach."
Professor Sir Ian Diamond, Overall Chair of the CDT panels said: "The high number and outstanding quality of CDT proposals put forward demonstrated just how successful the model has been in energizing the research community and their partners. It also made the process a difficult but heartening task. I would like to congratulate all those who were successful in being funded and look forward to hearing of the research that will emanate from the Centres."
The successful Centres will focus on cohort-based doctoral training and cover a wide range of fields, from Medical Imaging to Quantum Engineering, Offshore Renewable Energy to Statistical Applied Mathematics.
The importance of developing STEM skills is a key part of the Government's Industrial Strategy, ensuring that all areas of the UK embrace innovation and build the skills the economy needs to thrive.
Professor Lynn Gladden, EPSRC's Executive Chair, said: "The UK's research base makes the discoveries that lead to innovations and these can improve lives and generate income for the UK. Centres for Doctoral Training have already proven to be successful in attracting the world's brightest minds and industry support to address the scientific and engineering challenges we face. This new cadre will continue to build on previous investment."
The EPSRC has supported over 50,000 doctoral students over the last 25 years.
Over this time it has reviewed and evolved the support it provides to ensure it meets the needs of the research and innovation community. CDTs are one of three ways that EPSRC funds doctoral training with the other routes being Doctoral Training Partnerships and Industrial CASE. CDT investments comprise around 45 per cent of EPSRC's doctoral training investment.
Forty three per cent of EPSRC invested students go on to be employed in business/public services and 36 per cent go on to work in academia.
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For further information please contact the EPSRC Press Office on 01793 444 404 or email pressoffice@epsrc.ac.uk
Notes to editors:
Centres for Doctoral Training
CDTs students are funded for four years and the programme includes technical and transferrable skills training as well as a research element. The centres bring together diverse areas of expertise to train engineers and scientists with the skills, knowledge and confidence to tackle today's evolving issues, and future challenges. They also provide a supportive and exciting environment for students, create new working cultures, build relationships between teams in universities and forge lasting links with industry.
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is part of UK Research and Innovation, a non-departmental public body funded by a grant-in-aid from the UK government. EPSRC is the main funding body for engineering and physical sciences research in the UK. By investing in research and postgraduate training, we are building the knowledge and skills base needed to address the scientific and technological challenges facing the nation.
Our portfolio covers a vast range of fields from healthcare technologies to structural engineering, manufacturing to mathematics, advanced materials to chemistry. The research we fund has impact across all sectors. It provides a platform for future UK prosperity by contributing to a healthy, connected, resilient, productive nation.
NERC is the UK's main agency for funding and managing research, training and knowledge exchange in the environmental sciences. Our work covers the full range of atmospheric, Earth, biological, terrestrial and aquatic science, from the deep oceans to the upper atmosphere and from the poles to the equator. We coordinate some of the world's most exciting research projects, tackling major environmental issues such as climate change, environmental influences on human health, the genetic make-up of life on Earth, and much more. NERC is part of UK Research and Innovation, a non-departmental public body funded by a grant-in-aid from the UK government.
UK Research and Innovation is a new body which works in partnership with universities, research organisations, businesses, charities, and government to create the best possible environment for research and innovation to flourish. We aim to maximise the contribution of each of our component parts, working individually and collectively. We work with our many partners to benefit everyone through knowledge, talent and ideas.
Operating across the whole of the UK with a combined budget of more than £7 billion, UK Research and Innovation brings together the Arts and Humanities Research Council; Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council; Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council; Economic and Social Research Council; Innovate UK; Medical Research Council; Natural Environment Research Council; Research England; and Science and Technology Facilities Council.
Lead PI Lead Institution Centre Title
Professor P M Smowton Cardiff University EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Compound Semiconductor Manufacturing
Professor P Jarvis Cranfield University EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Water Resilience for Infrastructure and Cities - WRIC
Professor C Bain Durham University EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Soft Matter for Formulation and Industrial Innovation (SOFI2)
Professor H F Hastie Heriot-Watt University The EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Robotics and Autonomous Systems (CDT-RAS)
Professor D Reid Heriot-Watt University EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Industry-Inspired Photonic Imaging, Sensing and Analysis
Professor A Gandy Imperial College London EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Modern Statistics and Statistical Machine Learning
Professor S J Skinner Imperial College London EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in the Advanced Characterisation of Materials (CDT-ACM)
Dr G Baldwin Imperial College London EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in BioDesign Engineering
Professor K K Hii Imperial College London EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Next Generation Synthesis & Reaction Technology
Professor O Ces Imperial College London The EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Chemical Biology - Innovation for the Life Sciences
Dr M R Wenman Imperial College London EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Nuclear Energy Futures
Professor J A Schnabel Kings College London EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Smart Medical Imaging at King's College London and Imperial College London
Professor J Tawn Lancaster University EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Statistics and Operational Research in Partnership with Industry (STOR-i)
Professor S Barr Newcastle University EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Geospatial Systems
Professor M Waring Newcastle University EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Molecular Sciences for Medicine
Professor V Pickert Newcastle University EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Power Electronics for Sustainable Electric Propulsion (PEEP)
Professor G McHale Northumbria University EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Renewable Energy Northeast Universities (ReNU)
Professor R Bowman Queen's University of Belfast EPSRC CDT in Photonic Integration and Advanced Data Storage
Professor K Martin Royal Holloway, University of London EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Cyber Security for the Everyday
Professor M Jones Swansea University EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Enhancing Human Interactions and Collaborations with Data and Intelligence Driven Systems
Professor J H Sullivan Swansea University EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Functional Industrial Coatings
Professor S H Cartmell The University of Manchester EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Advanced Biomedical Materials
Professor M Greaney The University of Manchester EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Integrated Catalysis
Professor S L Heath The University of Manchester EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Nuclear Energy- GREEN (Growing skills for Reliable Economic Energy from Nuclear)
Professor A J Seeds University College London EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Connected Electronic and Photonic Systems (CEPS)
Professor G Danezis University College London EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Cybersecurity
Professor M Singer University College London EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Geometry and Number Theory at the Interface: London School of Geometry and Number Theory
Professor D Browne University College London EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Delivering Quantum Technologies
Professor G Lye University College London EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Bioprocess Engineering Leadership (Complex Biological Products Manufacture)
Dr H G Zhang University College London EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Intelligent, Integrated Imaging In Healthcare (i4health)
Professor R J Lowe University College London EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Energy Resilience and the Built Environment
Professor A E Kyprianou University of Bath EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Statistical Applied Mathematics at Bath
Professor C Brace University of Bath EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Advanced Automotive Propulsion Systems
Professor M R Dennis University of Birmingham EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Topological Design
Professor P J Fryer University of Birmingham EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Formulation Engineering: Sustainable Structured Products
Professor S Eichhorn University of Bristol EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Composites Science, Engineering and Manufacturing
Professor A Richards University of Bristol EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Future Autonomous Robotic Systems (FARSCOPE-TU: Towards Ubiquity)
Professor A Rashid University of Bristol EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Trust, Identity, Privacy and Security in Large-scale Infrastructures (TIPS-at-Scale)
Professor G Nason University of Bristol EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Computational Statistics and Data Science: COMPASS
Dr P S Turner University of Bristol EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Quantum Engineering
Professor K I Booker-Milburn University of Bristol EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Technology Enhanced Chemical Synthesis
Professor J P Reid University of Bristol Centre for Doctoral Training in Aerosol Science
Professor I J Craddock University of Bristol Centre for Doctoral Training in Digital Health and Care
Professor B Drinkwater University of Bristol EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Future Innovation in Non-Destructive evaluation (FIND)
Dr G Pullan University of Cambridge EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Future Propulsion and Power
Professor J J Baumberg University of Cambridge EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Integrated Functional Nano (i4Nano)
Professor M Gaunt University of Cambridge EPSRC Centre of Doctoral Training in Automated Chemical Synthesis Enabled by Digital Molecular Technologies
Professor C Kaminski University of Cambridge EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Sensor Technologies for a Healthy and Sustainable Future
Professor A Al-Tabbaa University of Cambridge EPSRC Centre in Doctoral Training in Future Infrastructure and Built Environment: Resilience in a Changing World (FIBE2)
Professor B Leimkuhler University of Edinburgh EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Mathematical Modelling, Analysis and Computation (MAC-MIGS)
Professor D M Ingram University of Edinburgh EPSRC Industrial CDT in Offshore Renewable Energy (IDCORE)
Professor M J Dalby University of Glasgow EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Engineered Tissues for Discovery, Industry and Medicine
Professor S Cochran University of Glasgow EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Future Ultrasonic Engineering
Professor D R Parsons University of Hull The EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Offshore Wind Energy and the Environment
Professor E B Martin University of Leeds EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Molecules to Product
Professor P K Jimack University of Leeds EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Fluid Dynamics at Leeds
Professor B E Evans University of Leeds EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Water and Waste Infrastructure Systems Engineered for Resilience (Water-WISER)
Professor T Duckett University of Lincoln EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Agri-Food Robotics: AgriFoRwArdS
Professor S S Maskell University of Liverpool EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Distributed Algorithms: the what, how and where of next-generation data science
Professor S Benford University of Nottingham EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Horizon: Creating Our Lives in Data
Professor P Licence University of Nottingham EPSRC CDT in Sustainable Chemistry: Atoms-2-Products an Integrated Approach to Sustainable Chemistry
Dr S S Stolnik-Trenkic University of Nottingham EPSRC CDT in Transformative Pharmaceutical Technologies
Professor R Irons University of Nottingham EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Resilient Decarbonised Fuel Energy Systems
Professor G S Walker University of Nottingham Centre for Doctoral Training in Sustainable Hydrogen - SusHy
Dr N Trigoni University of Oxford EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Autonomous Intelligent Machines and Systems
Professor J Davies University of Oxford EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Health Data Science
Professor R Cont University of Oxford EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Mathematics of Random Systems: Analysis, Modelling and Simulation
Professor D Gavaghan University of Oxford EPSRC CDT in Sustainable Approaches to Biomedical Science: Responsible and Reproducible Research - SABS:R^3
Professor S Aldridge University of Oxford EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Inorganic Chemistry for Future Manufacturing (OxICFM)
Professor M Granat University of Salford EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Prosthetics & Orthotics
Professor B P Wynne University of Sheffield EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Advanced Metallic Systems: Metallurgical Challenges for the Digital Manufacturing Environment
Professor W E Leithead University of Strathclyde EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Wind and Marine Energy Systems and Structures
Professor M Richardson University of Warwick Mathematics for Real-World Systems II Centre for Doctoral Training
Professor J B Staunton University of Warwick EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Modelling of Heterogeneous Systems
Professor P I Cowling University of York EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Intelligent Games and Game Intelligence (IGGI)