World-class research into environmental science has been boosted with a new deal to fund the next generation of PhD students. The Postgraduate Centre in the Science of the Environment: Natural and Anthropogenic Processes, Impacts and Opportunities (SCENARIO) was given the go-ahead yesterday, with £4.9m of funding over the next five years to pay for 60 PhD studentships. The new centre is a collaboration between universities, research centres and business, and is one of 15 new Doctoral Research Partnerships (DTP) funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).
SCENARIO is led by the University of Reading, with three other institutes hosting PhD students: University of Surrey, NERC Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and the British Geological Survey. Sixteen other partner organisations will offer a range of additional training opportunities and expertise, including the Met Office, Environment Agency and companies in the space, water, energy, insurance and risk management sectors.
Dr John Methven, who led the SCENARIO funding bid, said: “PhD students are the lifeblood of research at universities and PhD graduates go on to lead in many areas of scientific research, innovation and technological development, both in the UK and abroad. We are proud to announce the start of the SCENARIO DTP and the opportunities it will create for 60 PhD students, who will be the leading environmental researchers of the future in this crucial area of science.” More information about the PhD projects to start in October 2014 is available here.