The ACCIS Centre for Doctoral Training will train the next generation of engineers and scientists to design and manufacture the advanced composite materials now used in aircraft, wind turbines, and high-performance cars. This matters because the UK is already a major supplier of composite airframes for the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350, and demand is growing exponentially. Yet the country faces a shortage of highly skilled people who can work across engineering, physics, chemistry, and life sciences to develop these materials further. Composites—defined here as synergistic combinations of materials that can do multiple jobs at once—are critical for lightweight, high-performance, sustainable manufacturing. If this training programme succeeds, it will widen the pool of elite home and overseas graduates entering UK industry, supported by industrial and scholarship funding. The direct impact is on the workforce, not on a specific product. Stronger expertise in composites could accelerate the shift to lighter vehicles, longer wind turbine blades, and more efficient manufacturing processes—all of which quietly underpin the UK’s goal of rebalancing its economy toward export-driven, high-value manufacturing.
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The ACCIS CDT will continue to address the EPSRC's goal of Developing Leaders in the key area of advanced materials under the EPSRC priority area of Materials Technologies. The underpinning philosophy will be to train the next generation of pioneers in composites technologies at the interface between engineering, life sciences, physics and chemistry, noting that within ACCIS, composites are defined as synergistic combinations of materials which may exhibit multifunctional attributes. The need for the ACCIS CDT is now even more important strategically than was the case for the initial award. The utilisation of composites is growing at an unprecedented rate, as illustrated by the significant UK technological contribution to both the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350 with composite airframes, the need for rapid development of renewable energy (wind turbine blades) and the nascent interest in large scale production of automotive components by organisations such as McLaren and BMW. The need for lightweight, high performance, multifunctional materials is a key element in meeting the goals of a sustainable future. Thus, industrial usage is within a period of exponential rise. Furthermore, composite materials has been recognized as one of the key industries by which the UK can seek to rebalance the economy towards export driven high value manufacturing. We intend to build upon our strong existing platform by further increasing our international engagement and by attracting elite home and overseas students to widen the pool of highly skilled labour for UK industry, supported by a combination of industrial and scholarship funding.
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