Brunel University London DTP Mobility Pilot 2020 2023

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Delivery of the UK's Industrial Strategy strongly depends on an intensification of research and innovation in industry, which in turn depends on engineers who have undergone rigorous research training. Our vision for the proposed EPSRC Doctoral Mobility Pilot project is to foster sustainability leadership in the UK by developing future cohorts of engineers with the skills, experience and knowledge to drive research and innovation in sustainable technologies and interventions, thereby maximising the advantage to the UK of the global shift to clean growth. Once they have graduated, the engineers will act as the nucleus of a sustained growth in research and development within their companies and the wider sector. As a result, the project aims to drive a significant increase in R&D intensity in the engineering sector, an area which has been static for much of the last decade, promoting greater engagement with the research base and driving productivity. Working with industrial partners Constellium, TWI and others, the doctoral training will be delivered to engineers earmarked for sustainability leadership roles within the partner organisation. The engineers will undertake targeted strategic research projects that support innovation and the creation of new solutions, technologies and knowledge. The engineers will remain employed for the duration of the PhD, while also registered with Brunel. They will benefit from targetted training, development and mentorship to recognise and address the contextual culture shifts of moving from industry to doctoral study. This new PhD pathway will develop a new breed of PhD qualified engineers with the skills and confidence to navigate both industry and academia, to carry out and lead robust collaborative research projects, to develop cross-sector networks and develop career profiles that are attractive across both industry and academia. With competition across the engineering and energy sectors for skilled and knowledgeable staff, from other sectors and other countries, as well as an ageing workforce, this pilot will enable us to test the new model with industry partners who want to promote career opportunities for their engineers and technical staff. The model has been carefully designed to meet the skills needs of the engineers who will lead the development of sustainable technologies that will promote clean growth, whilst addressing the perceived challenges and barriers to greater uptake of doctoral training by industry. We will support 9 PhDs during the pilot over two intakes (3 starting in Autumn 2020 and 6 starting in 2021) providing funding to support the fees and training and development costs of each researcher, and paying a salary top-up on a performance bonus basis. The PhDs can be on a full or part time basis. Full time, the PhD project will be for least 42 and no more than 48 months in duration.