Maths DTP 2020 Lancaster University

Lancaster University will train the next generation of mathematical scientists through a Doctoral Training Partnership funded by EPSRC. This matters because the UK faces a persistent shortage of skilled mathematicians and statisticians in both academia and industry. The DTP model provides structured, cohort-based PhD training rather than leaving students to work in isolation. It ensures that doctoral researchers gain not only deep expertise in their chosen field but also transferable skills in communication, collaboration, and problem-solving. If this training succeeds, it will produce researchers who can apply mathematical thinking to challenges across sectors—from modelling climate systems and optimising energy grids to improving medical imaging algorithms and strengthening cybersecurity. Many of these applications operate invisibly in the systems that keep society running: supply chains, financial risk models, telecommunications networks, and water treatment infrastructure. The project is fundamentally about building human capital rather than pursuing a specific scientific question. It is a training investment, not a research programme with a defined technical outcome. The value lies in the people it produces, who will go on to tackle problems that may not yet exist, using mathematical tools that are still being developed.