World-class environmental research boosted by new doctoral training partnership

gs-tropicalweatherlOutstanding research in the area of environmental science has received a major boost with a new collaboration to train the next generation of doctoral researchers.

The Postgraduate Centre in the Science of the Environment: Natural and Anthropogenic Processes, Impacts and Opportunities (SCENARIO) was yesterday granted £4.9m of funding over the next five years to support 60 PhD studentships. The new centre is a collaboration between universities, research centres and business, and is one of 15 new Doctoral Training 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
  • 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.”

Initial information about the PhD projects to start in October 2014 is available on the Department of Meteorology’s website. Further details will also be made available via the Graduate School’s funding opportunities page in December.

Demystifying the PhD (for prospective PhD students)

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PhD Graduates

Thinking about doing a PhD? Unsure of what it involves or whether it is right for you?

The Graduate School is running an event this term (‘A PhD: What me?’) which is designed for those with an interest in going on to do doctoral (PhD) research, most of whom will currently be taking a Masters or Undergraduate degree.

This event –  which is running on two dates (one for the Sciences and one for the Humanities, Social Sciences and Business) aims to address the big questions about PhD study including how a PhD works, how to find a supervisor, how to apply, funding opportunities and much more.

These sessions will involve academic staff and a current PhD student from a relevant Faculty.  The dates for the different Faculties are as follows (click on the title to download a flier):

PhDs in Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences and Business
Wednesday 20 November 2013 at 14:00

PhDs in Science and Life Sciences
Wednesday 4 December 2013 at 14:00

To book a place on one of these sessions (depending on which Faculty you belong to), please e-mail gradschool@reading.ac.uk