The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is this year investing £84.2 million in postgraduate training through its annual Doctoral Training Grants (DTGs). This year's investment is the largest ever round of DTGs made by EPSRC, it includes £10 million for Doctoral Prizes and £1 million for Vacation Bursaries.
The announcement comes hard on the heels of last month's £350 million call for proposals for a new tranche of Centres for Doctoral Training. 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."
Professor David Delpy, EPSRC Chief Executive said: "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."
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.
This year 39 universities will benefit from the Doctoral Training Grants funding, which ranges from £287,000 to nearly £9 million. 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.
For further information please contact the EPSRC Press Office on 01793 444404 or email: pressoffice@epsrc.ac.uk
Notes to editors:
The 2013 DTG's have been awarded to the following 39 universities:
Cardiff University
Cranfield University
Durham University
Heriot-Watt University
Imperial College London
King's College London
Lancaster University
Loughborough University
Newcastle University
Queen Mary, University of London
Queen's University of Belfast
Royal Holloway, University of London
Swansea University
The University of Manchester
University College London
University of Bath
University of Birmingham
University of Bristol
University of Cambridge
University of Dundee
University of East Anglia
University of Edinburgh
University of Exeter
University of Glasgow
University of Kent
University of Leeds
University of Leicester
University of Liverpool
University of Nottingham
University of Oxford
University of Reading
University of Sheffield
University of Southampton
University of St Andrews
University of Strathclyde
University of Surrey
University of Sussex
University of Warwick
University of York
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 £800m 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. http://www.epsrc.ac.uk