£3 million boost for PhD training at the University of Glasgow
Published: 15 April 2014
The University of Glasgow’s College of Science and Engineering has received just over £3 million to boost its funding for training postgraduates.
The University of Glasgow’s College of Science and Engineering has received just over £3 million to boost its funding for training postgraduates.
The money is Glasgow’s share of £83.5 million divided between 38 universities by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). Glasgow’s funding represents a 50% increase on last year’s disbursement.
The EPSRC’s investment of £83.5 million through its Doctoral Training Partnerships – previously known as Doctoral Training Grants – includes £10 milllion for Doctoral Prizes and £1 million for Vacation Bursaries.
Professor Jon Cooper, Dean of Graduate Studies at the University of Glasgow’s College of Science and Engineering, described the University’s increased award as a measure of the University’s success which had arisen “primarily from the greatly increased volume of EPSRC-funded research within the engineering and physical sciences”.
“This reflects extremely well on the staff from across the College who have brought about this success,” he said.
Professor Cooper added: “This new award also follows on from recent successes in securing funding for a further two Centres for Doctoral Training within the College of Science and Engineering, and will enable us to support an additional 40 PhD students over the coming year.
“The funding will also provide support for us to appoint a further two Early Career Fellowships for recently-graduated UK and EU PhD Students, to continue to develop our highly successful Industrial PhD Collaborative Scheme and to fund a series of summer vacation scholarships for our very best undergraduates."
The EPSRC funding was announced by David Willetts, Minister for Universities and Science, who said: “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.”
The EPSRC supports doctoral training via three main pathways: Centres for Doctoral Training, Doctoral Training Partnerships and Industrial Case Studentships.
Professor Philip Nelson, who was appointed as the EPSRC’s new chief executive in January, said: “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.”
Doctoral Training Partnerships are allocated each year on the basis of EPSRC research grant income. They 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.
The flexibility built into the DTP’s design allows universities to leverage funds, for example from industry, and to support potentially higher numbers of students. It also allows institutions to offer Doctoral Prizes to EPSRC-supported students, allowing them to receive an additional two years’ support. This year, EPSRC has invested £10 million to help universities offer Doctoral Prizes as part of their doctoral support.
Find out more
Media inquiries: Liz Buie at Liz.Buie@glasgow.ac.uk; 0141 330 2702/ 07527 335373
Notes to Editors
The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council is the UK’s main agency for funding research in engineering and the physical sciences. EPSRC invests around £800 million a year in research and postgraduate training, to help the nation handle the next generation of technological change.
First published: 15 April 2014
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