EPSRC is investing in six Centres for Doctoral Training at the University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge will be hosting six of the new EPSRC Centres for Doctoral Training and will be a partner on an additional four Centres, which are planned to support more than 400 studentships at Cambridge over the next 8 years.
For every 40 places funded by EPSRC, the Centres have leveraged on average a further 50% of funding from industrial and institutional partners to provide additional studentships.
This is the third tranche of funding to be released for EPSRC Centres for Doctoral Training, considered flagship programmes which support innovation, skills development and responsible leadership in research and industry. The support letters provided by industry partners illustrate how important the new Centres will be, as they not only pledge funds to pay for studentships but many also offer opportunities for internships, use of their facilities and staff time to support research and training as forms of in-kind commitments. It is likely that the support from industrial and institutional partners is likely to exceed £25M over the life of the six new Centres at the University in a mix of cash and in-kind donations.
One of the core benefits of CDTs is that they support a minimum of 50 students, all of whom follow a cohort-based training approach, which provides opportunities to engage with leading researchers and industrial partners, as well as forming a cohesive network across the group. Centres run with interdisciplinary themes, fostering collaborations across departments, institutions and with industry, enabling students to develop both their cross-discipline skillset and their PhD project research themes in a novel and innovative way. For many students, they will have the chance to develop connections within the academic and work environments that will shape their future careers.
The teams at the University who have played a part in developing all the successful proposals are delighted that the University will be active in ten of the new Centres, which cover many of the UK government’s strategic priority areas for training and research. The programmes will also ensure that students are equipped for the future with demonstrable transferable skills in team building, leadership, knowledge transfer, responsible innovation and entrepreneurship, many of which will be provided across all CDT cohorts to engender a sense of community throughout, ready to become the next generation of leaders in their fields.