The Central England NERC Training Alliance 2 (CENTA2)

CENTA2 will train the next generation of environmental scientists through a consortium of universities and research organisations across central England. This matters because the UK needs skilled researchers who can tackle complex environmental challenges—from climate change and biodiversity loss to natural resource management and pollution. Without sustained investment in doctoral training, the pipeline of experts who understand how the Earth’s systems work, and can apply that knowledge to real-world problems, would shrink. CENTA2 fills this gap by providing structured, interdisciplinary PhD programmes that combine academic research with practical experience in partner organisations such as government agencies, businesses, and charities. If successful, CENTA2 will produce scientists equipped to work across sectors—improving flood forecasting, informing sustainable land use, advising on net-zero energy transitions, or monitoring ecosystem health. These are not abstract concerns: better-trained researchers feed directly into the policies and technologies that keep water supplies clean, protect farmland from erosion, and help communities adapt to extreme weather. The training also strengthens the UK’s research base, ensuring that fundamental science about how the planet works continues to generate unexpected insights—much as past Earth-science training has underpinned advances in satellite navigation, mineral exploration, and climate modelling.