Imperial to create new Centres for Doctoral Training for postgraduates

Over 400 postgraduates will join seven Imperial doctoral training centres in the next five years. The research will be in areas ranging from fluid dynamics to chemical biology.

There will be a total of 70 Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs) between 24 UK universities. The research will be in areas that are considered important for economic growth, this represents the UK’s largest investment in postgraduate training in engineering and the physical sciences. The ESPRC will be providing £350 million to the CDTs, furthermore another £250 million will come from industry partners.

The announcement was made by David Willetts, who is the Minister for Universities and Science, he said: “scientists and engineers are vital to our economy and society. It is their talent and imagination, as well as their knowledge and skills, that inspire innovation and drive growth across a range of sectors, from manufacturing to financial services.

“I am particularly pleased to see strong partnerships between universities, industry and business among the new centres announced today. This type of collaboration is a key element of our industrial strategy and will continue to keep us at the forefront of the global science race.”

The Provost of Imperial, Professor James Stirling commented: “These awards underline Imperial’s status as a powerhouse for postgraduate education and research.

“Imperial will use its highest ever number of CDTs to train the next generation of leaders in science and engineering while undertaking research that makes a real, long-lasting contribution. This will strengthen higher education, industry and society alike. “In recent years, Imperial’s CDTs have pioneered a series of innovations in doctoral training, including the development of bespoke professional skills training, public engagement, entrepreneurship and cohort-building. This approach has cultivated the right environment for students to combine world-class training in research with the acquisition of a broad range of work-ready skills. Our new CDTs will enable us to take this successful approach to the next level.”

The Chair of the EPSRC, Paul Golby said that: “Centres for Doctoral Training have already proved to be a great success and the model is popular with students, business and industry. These new centres will give the country the highly trained scientists and engineers it needs and they will be equipped with skills to move on in their careers.”