News Release

Osborne announces 22 new Centres for Doctoral Training

Grant and Award Announcement

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

Postgraduate training in a wide range of engineering and scientific fields important to the UK's economy received a further boost today. Twenty two new Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs) were announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, The Rt. Hon George Osborne MP.

Mr Osborne made the announcement during a visit to the University of Manchester, which has been successful in securing funding for one of the new Centres.

The new CDTs come on top of the 91 Centres previously announced by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) in November 2013 and January 2014.

EPSRC and other research councils have been able to fund these new Centres following a £106 million investment announced in the Budget, and by negotiating with universities, industrial partners and the Scottish Funding Council, to maximise the number of centres and the students they will be supporting.

Mr Osborne said: "A forward looking, modern industrial strategy is part of our long term economic plan to deliver security, jobs and growth to all parts of the UK. Our £500 million investment in Centres for Doctoral Training will inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers, ensuring Britain leads the world in high-tech research and manufacturing."

This latest Government investment in a further 1,100 students through an additional 22 Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs), brings the total investment in CDTs to over £500 million.

In addition, universities, industry and other charitable partners will be adding a further £70 million to their already large contribution of £374 million to support the training of tomorrow's scientists and engineers. The combined public and private investment amounts to over £950 million.

Professor David Delpy, Chief Executive of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), said: "We have been working hard with universities and partners to ensure that as many Centres as possible can be supported.

"The CDT model has proved highly popular with universities and industry and these new Centres will mean that the UK is even better placed to maintain the vital supply of trained scientists and engineers."

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For media enquiries contact:

The EPSRC Press Office on telephone: 01793 444 404, or e-mail: pressoffice@epsrc.ac.uk

LIST OF 22 CENTRES TO BE SUPPORTED

Applicant University Centre Title Notes

Professor Andreas Kyprianou
University of Bath EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Statistical Applied Mathematics at Bath (SAMBa)

Professor Peter Fryer
University of Birmingham EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Formulation Engineering

Professor Stephen Hayden
University of Bristol EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Condensed Matter Physics

Professor James Norris
University of Cambridge EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Analysis (Cambridge Centre for Analysis)

Professor Clemens Kaminski
University of Cambridge EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Sensor Technologies and Application

Professor Feargal Brennan
Cranfield University EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Renewable Energy Marine Structures (REMS).

Professor Anthony Carbery
University of Edinburgh EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Mathematical Analysis and its Applications: Maxwell Institute Graduate School in Analysis & Applications - MIGSAA Jointly sponsored by Scottish Funding Council

Professor Mark Bradley
University of Edinburgh EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Optical Medical Imaging - Training the next generation of scientific entrepreneurs in healthcare technologies Jointly sponsored by Scottish Funding Council and MRC

Professor Andrew Harvey
University of Glasgow EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Integrative Sensing and Measurement Jointly sponsored by Scottish Funding Council

Professor Peter Cawley
Imperial College London EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Quantitative NDE

Dr David McPhail
Imperial College London EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in the Advanced Characterisation of Materials

Professor Peter Sollich King's College London
EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Cross-Disciplinary Approaches to Non-Equilibrium Systems

Professor Simon Biggs
University of Leeds EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Complex Particulate Products and Processes

Professor Michael Beer
University of Liverpool EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Quantification and Management of Risk & Uncertainty in Complex Systems & Environments Jointly sponsored by ESRC

Professor Chris Hewitt
Loughborough University EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Regenerative Medicine Jointly sponsored by MRC

Professor Philip Withers
The University of Manchester EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Materials for Demanding Environments

Professor Paul Watson
Newcastle University EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Cloud Computing for Big Data

Professor Peter Jezzard University of Oxford
EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Biomedical Imaging Jointly sponsored by MRC

Professor Mark Sandler
Queen Mary, University of London EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Media and Arts Technology Jointly sponsored by AHRC

Professor William Powrie
University of Southampton EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Sustainable Infrastructure Systems

Professor Andrew Smith
University of St Andrews EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Critical Resource Catalysis - CRITICAT Jointly sponsored by Scottish Funding Council

Dr Kerry Kirwan University of Warwick
EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Sustainable Materials and Manufacturing (EngD)

Notes to Editors:

Centres for Doctoral Training

Centres for Doctoral Training are one of the three main ways by which EPSRC provides support for Doctoral Training. The other routes are the Doctoral Training Grant and Industrial Case Studentships. It is anticipated that much of the need for doctoral students in many areas will continue to be met by the DTG and ICASE, which together make up more than 50 per cent of EPSRC's current spend on studentships.

CDT students are funded for four years and the programme includes technical and transferrable skills training as well as a research element. The centres bring together diverse areas of expertise to train engineers and scientists with the skills, knowledge and confidence to tackle today's evolving issues, and future challenges. They also provide a supportive and exciting environment for students, create new working cultures, build relationships between teams in universities and forge lasting links with industry.

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 £800 million 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

The Medical Research Council

The Medical Research Council has been at the forefront of scientific discovery to improve human health. Founded in 1913 to tackle tuberculosis, the MRC now invests taxpayers' money in some of the best medical research in the world across every area of health. Twenty-nine MRC-funded researchers have won Nobel prizes in a wide range of disciplines, and MRC scientists have been behind such diverse discoveries as vitamins, the structure of DNA and the link between smoking and cancer, as well as achievements such as pioneering the use of randomised controlled trials, the invention of MRI scanning, and the development of a group of antibodies used in the making of some of the most successful drugs ever developed. Today, MRC-funded scientists tackle some of the greatest health problems facing humanity in the 21st century, from the rising tide of chronic diseases associated with ageing to the threats posed by rapidly mutating micro-organisms. http://www.mrc.ac.uk

AHRC

The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funds world-class, independent researchers in a wide range of subjects: ancient history, modern dance, archaeology, digital content, philosophy, English literature, design, the creative and performing arts, and much more. This financial year the AHRC will spend approximately £98m to fund research and postgraduate training in collaboration with a number of partners. The quality and range of research supported by this investment of public funds not only provides social and cultural benefits but also contributes to the economic success of the UK. http://www.ahrc.ac.uk

ESRC

The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) is the UK's largest organisation for funding research on economic and social issues. It supports independent, high-quality research which has an impact on business, the public sector and the third sector. The ESRC's total budget for 2013/14 is £212 million. At any one time the ESRC supports over 4,000 researchers and postgraduate students in academic institutions and independent research institutes.

Scottish Funding Council

The Scottish Funding Council invests in a college and university system which, through enhanced learning, research and knowledge exchange, leads to improved economic, educational, social, civic, and cultural outcomes for the people of Scotland.


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