5 November, 2013 News stories

NERC invests £100m in environmental science doctoral training

The Minister for Universities and Science, David Willetts, today announced £100 million of new NERC investment in fifteen Doctoral Training Partnerships (DTPs), which specialise in training environmental science PhD students.

The British Antarctic Survey has involvement in four of the DTPs announced today, strengthening links with the University of East Anglia, Cambridge University, University of Bristol and University of Southampton.

The BAS DTPs are:

  • Environment East (EnvEast) headed by the University of East Anglia;
  • The Cambridge Earth System Science DTP led by Cambridge University;
  • GW4+ – a consortium of excellence in innovative research training, led by University of Bristol;
  • SPITFIRE – the Southampton Partnership for Innovative Training of Future Investigators Researching the Environment led by the University of Southampton.

This investment reflects NERC’s renewed commitment to postgraduate training, as set out in the new NERC strategy, also published today.

The DTPs will support 1200 PhD students across the fifteen partnerships. This means at least 240 new students will begin training every year for five years, with the opportunity for partners to co-fund, boosting the number of studentships available.

The fifteen partnerships include collaborations between 38 UK higher education institutions and 280 partner organisations, including businesses, policy-makers, and public and third sector organisations, such as Unilever, Scottish Water, and The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).

  • More information and a full list of DTPs and partners.