The UK is training 70 new doctoral engineers over five years to design, build, and maintain the next generation of offshore wind and marine energy systems. This matters because the UK has committed to cutting carbon emissions to net zero by 2050, and offshore renewable energy is central to that goal. Current turbines and marine devices are already operating, but the next wave of technology—floating platforms, advanced control systems, autonomous inspection robots, and safer anchoring methods—requires engineers who understand the whole system, not just one component. The Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) fills a gap by producing graduates with both deep specialist knowledge and broad systems-level thinking, which existing training programmes do not fully provide. If successful, these engineers will enter industry and academia as future leaders, directly accelerating the deployment of cost-competitive offshore renewable energy. That means more reliable, cheaper clean electricity for homes and businesses, and a stronger UK supply chain for manufacturing, installation, and maintenance. The CDT also keeps the UK competitive globally in a sector where other nations are investing heavily.
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This proposal is for a new EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Wind and Marine Energy Systems and Structures (CDT-WAMSS) which joins together two successful EPSRC CDTs, their industrial partners and strong track records of training more than 130 researchers to date in offshore renewable energy (ORE). The new CDT will create a comprehensive, world-leading centre covering all aspects of wind and marine renewable energy, both above and below the water. It will produce highly skilled industry-ready engineers with multidisciplinary expertise, deep specialist knowledge and a broad understanding of pertinent whole-energy systems. Our graduates will be future leaders in industry and academia world-wide, driving development of the ORE sector, helping to deliver the Government's carbon reduction targets for 2050 and ensuring that the UK remains at the forefront of this vitally important sector. In order to prepare students for the sector in which they will work, CDT-WAMSS will look to the future and focus on areas that will be relevant from 2023 onwards, which are not necessarily the issues of the past and present. For this reason, the scope of CDT-WAMSS will, in addition to in-stilling a solid understanding of wind and marine energy technologies and engineering, have a particular emphasis on: safety and safe systems, emerging advanced power and control technologies, floating substructures, novel foundation and anchoring systems, materials and structural integrity, remote monitoring and inspection including autonomous intervention, all within a cost competitive and environmentally sensitive context. The proposed new EPSRC CDT in Wind and Marine Energy Systems and Structures will provide an unrivalled Offshore Renewable Energy training environment supporting 70 students over five cohorts on a four-year doctorate, with a critical mass of over 100 academic supervisors of internationally recognised research excellence in ORE. The distinct and flexible cohort approach to training, with professional engineering peer-to-peer learning both within and across cohorts, will provide students with opportunities to benefit from such support throughout their doctorate, not just in the first year. An exceptionally strong industrial participation through funding a large number of studentships and provision of advice and contributions to the training programme will ensure that the training and research is relevant and will have a direct impact on the delivery of the UK's carbon reduction targets, allowing the country to retain its world-leading position in this enormously exciting and important sector.
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