The University of Strathclyde is using its EPSRC Doctoral Training Partnership to fund over 35 PhD students each year, placing them with companies ranging from small startups to multinationals. This matters because the UK needs a steady pipeline of researchers who can work at the intersection of academia and industry—people trained not just in fundamental science and engineering, but in how to apply that knowledge to real-world problems. The DTP grant alone is not enough to meet demand, so Strathclyde combines it with institutional funds and external contributions under its own "Strathclyde Research Studentship Scheme" (SRSS). This stretches the available money further, creating more PhD positions than the EPSRC grant could support on its own. If this approach succeeds, it will produce a cohort of postgraduate researchers with direct industrial experience across fields such as mechanical engineering, photonics, biomedical science, and naval architecture. These are the people who will later design more efficient energy systems, develop new medical diagnostics, or improve manufacturing processes. The scheme also auto-enrols all PhD students in a Postgraduate Certificate in Researcher Professional Development—the first UK academic award of its kind—formally recognising the skills they gain during their training.
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The University of Strathclyde is a research-intensive International Technological University, with a vibrant postgraduate researcher population of 1390. Given our strengths in engineering, science, and business, our single largest research funder is the EPSRC, and the University is awarded an EPSRC Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) grant on an annual basis. Through a blend of EPSRC DTP support, institutional assets, and external collaboration, the University optimises our DTP grant to develop a cohort of talented postgraduate researchers capable of contributing to the cutting edge and world-leading research required to tackle the global challenges facing society. Through our institutional culture of external collaboration and knowledge exchange, our DTP projects are strongly aligned not only to the University and EPSRC priority research themes but have elevated levels of industrial relevance and alignment. This collaborative approach enables Strathclyde to build on the EPSRC DTP, maximising student numbers and providing a research environment which equips our PG researchers with the knowledge, training, and experiences needed to succeed in the global research arena. The University operates a strategic approach to the EPSRC DTP, combining the EPSRC DTP grant with institutional funds and external contributions under the 'Strathclyde Research Studentship Scheme' (SRSS). Through this approach we optimise available PGR positions whilst enhancing the industrial & business connectivity and impact arising from our research. On an annual basis, over 35 students and an array of companies (from SMEs to large multinationals) benefit directly from DTP funding through the SRSS. As one of the UK's top 20 universities for research intensity, and in support of our ambitious and escalating research portfolio, Strathclyde is committed to the development of research and researchers of the highest quality. In line with this, the University drives to recruit aspiring students and supports their development through a dedicated researcher development programme. In recognition of this training, SRSS students, alongside all Strathclyde-based PhD students, are auto-enrolled on the Postgraduate Certificate in Researcher Professional Development (PG Cert RPD): the first UK academic award of its kind, to recognise and reward the wide array of skills that students acquire during their doctoral training. The SRSS is implemented as a competitive fund available to all relevant Strathclyde Departments; within the Engineering Faculty: Mechanical & Aerospace, Civil & Environmental, Biomedical, Chemical and Process, Naval Architecture, Ocean & Marine, and Electronic & Electrical Engineering, Design Manufacture & Engineering Management, and Architecture; within the Science Faculty: Physics, Computer & Information Sciences, Mathematics & Statistics, the Institute of Photonics, Pure & Applied Chemistry, and the Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences. It should be noted that the SRSS also provides PG students with funding to attend national and international conferences. The 'Strathclyde Research Studentship Scheme' is launched in October each year for studentships to start the following October. Extensive guidance documents are provided to inform both academics and students of the funding approaches available, which encompass both Student Excellence and Research Project Excellence criteria. All students interested in PhD research are invited to contact the relevant Department to discuss their research ideas and to identify a supervisor who can make an application on their behalf. In addition to this, direct project applications of strategic research alignment constitute the other main application pathway. DTP-supported and all additional funded projects are advertised from December with a start date of 1st October the following year. To find out more about funded studentship opportunities, please visit: http://www.strath.ac.uk/pgrfunding/.
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