Industrial Doctorate Centre: Optics and Photonics Technologies

自2001年赫瑞瓦特大学、圣安德鲁斯大学和斯特拉斯克莱德大学合作开设目前的光电子工程学项目以来，赫瑞瓦特大学的工程学中心在整合工业相关研究和培训方面建立了良好的记录；涉及49个项目和29家不同的公司，从大学初创企业到跨国公司。我们在此建议延续现有的EngD中心，加强赫瑞瓦特大学、圣安德鲁斯大学和斯特拉斯克莱德大学与苏格兰大学物理联盟之间的合作。我们在苏格兰光子学的研究和培训活动中进行了大量的扩展，以扩大范围和支持该提案的学术选区。原来的工程博士中心由27名从事光子学研究的员工提供支援，而拟议的中心将由87名学者提供支援，其中约90%从事核心光学和光子学学科的研究；其余为中心带来了对光学和光子学技术开发至关重要的专业知识；即用于光子产品开发的信号和图像处理、微系统和数字工具。这个小组构成了英国最大的相干光子学研究小组，占EPSRC所有光子学资金的50%左右。该中心将继续我们目前的EngD中心的运作模式：提供75%的基于行业的研究项目，25%的课程由光子学、微系统、纳米技术、信号和图像处理等现有理学硕士课程的技术模块组成，以及爱丁堡商学院MBA课程的商业内容。研究工程师将受益于一个充满活力和不断扩大的研究生教学计划，使用最先进的互动视频会议设施，非常适合工程博士的培训理念。项目和工程博士学生将通过我们扩大的学术人员的联系和合作的工业网络，通过展示演讲和与新的光子学知识转移网络的互动来招募。从目前赫瑞瓦特工程博士中心日益增加的活动水平推断，以及2006年政府支出审查中强调的优先领域与拟议计划的良好一致性，可以明显看出对光学和光子学领域工程博士毕业生的需求。国防和安全、零部件和医疗保健等市场领域活动的快速增长，进一步强调了对这些领域工程博士毕业生的需求。所有技术领域和市场部门都表现出日益活跃的态势。在光子学领域，英国大约有1000家光子学公司，提供25万个就业岗位，创造200亿英镑的收入。2500亿美元的全球光电子市场正以每年11%的速度增长。英国皇家工程院（Royal academy of engineering）发现，在所有工程领域，缺乏高质量的英国学生，会危及英国工业界和学术界技术人才的供应链。

Since the launch of the current Photonics EngD programme in 2001, a collaboration between Heriot-Watt, St Andrews and Strathclyde Universities, the Heriot-Watt-based EngD Centre has established an excellent track-record for integration of industrially-relevant research and training; involving 49 projects and 29 different companies ranging from university start-ups to multinationals. We propose here a continuation of the existing EngD Centre as an enhanced collaboration between Heriot-Watt, St Andrews and Strathclyde Universities and the Scottish Universities Physics Alliance. We build upon substantial expansions in research and training activity within Scottish photonics to broaden the scope and the academic constituency supporting the proposal. Whereas the original EngD Centre was supported by 27 staff active in photonics research, the proposed Centre will be supported by 87 academics of whom about 90% conduct research in core optics and photonics subjects; the remainder bring to the Centre expertise vital to the exploitation of Optics and Photonics Technologies; that is Signal and Image processing, Microsystems and Digital Tools for the development of photonic products. This group constitutes the largest coherent grouping of photonics researchers in the UK and account for about 50% of all EPSRC funding in photonics.The Centre will continue the mode of operation of our current EngD Centre: offering 75% industry-based research project with 25% coursework composed of technical modules taken from established MSc courses in photonics, microsystems, nanotechnology and signal and image processing together with business content from the Edinburgh Business School MBA course. Research Engineers will benefit from a vibrant and expanding graduate teaching programme delivered using state-of-the-art interactive video conferencing facilities that are highly suited to the EngD training concept.Projects and EngD students will be recruited using the industrial network of contacts and collaborations of our expanded academic staff, through showcase presentations and through interaction with the new Photonics Knowledge Transfer Network.The need for Engineering Doctorate graduates in optics and photonics areas is evident from the extrapolation of the increasing activity levels of the current Heriot-Watt engineering doctorate centre and by good alignment of the proposed programmes with priority areas highlighted in the 2006 Government Spending Review. The requirement for EngD graduates in these areas is further emphasised by the rapid growth of activity in market sectors ranging across defence and security, components and health care. All technical fields and market sectors exhibit an increasing activity. In the photonics field there are approximately 1,000 photonics companies in the UK supporting 250,000 jobs and generating 20Bn of revenue. The global photonics market of 250 Bn is growing at 11% per annum. Across all fields of engineering, the Royal academy of engineering have identified that the lack of UK-based students of sufficient quality endangers the supply chain of skilled personnel into UK industry and academia .