Up to 10 PhD places will be created at the University of Dundee following an award of more than £300,000 made by the EPSRC

1-4-2013 — /europawire.eu/ — Up to 10 PhD places will be created at the University of Dundee following an award of more than £300,000 made by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

The EPSRC is this year investing £84.2million in postgraduate training through its annual Doctoral Training Grants (DTGs). This year’s investment is the largest ever round of DTGs made by EPSRC.

Dundee will receive a grant of just over £300,000, which will be used to fund engineering, science and technology PhD places. The University will attempt to attract matched funding from other organisations in order to increase the number of doctoral positions made available across its suite of research programmes.

The DTGs are awarded to universities for the provision of postgraduate study and are allocated each year on the basis of EPSRC research grant income. 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.

Welcoming the announcement, David Willetts, Minister for Universities and Science, said, “This significant investment underlines the UK’s commitment to top quality postgraduate research and training. It will drive growth and help secure our future as a leading science and engineering nation, with a wealth of skilled people able to tackle global challenges, from infrastructure planning to public health.”

This year, 39 universities will benefit from the Doctoral Training Grants funding. The flexibility of the DTG mechanism 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 DTG 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.

Professor David Delpy, EPSRC Chief Executive, added, “This year’s Doctoral Training Grants (DTGs) demonstrate our commitment to excellence in postgraduate research and training. The grants will also complement the funding EPSRC is offering for Centres for Doctoral Training. This new investment provides universities with flexible funding to support doctoral students in their own priority areas.

“The grants will enable students to work with world-class research leaders, on innovative, excellent science and develop new technologies to tackle the many global challenges we face as well, as equipping them with the skills and knowledge to further their own career ambitions.”

Notes to editors:

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 £800million 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. www.epsrc.ac.uk

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Grant Hill
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University of Dundee
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