DTP 2018-19 Lancaster University

The EPSRC DTP facilitates the provision of a range of funded opportunities in science and engineering at Lancaster University and enhances the opportunities available to those seeking to undertake postgraduate research. Opportunities include fully funded PhD Scholarships, CASE Awards that facilitate links with new industrial partners, Doctoral Prizes to allow the continued development of PhD research, and Vacation Bursaries that support the identification and development of new researchers.

Over recent years, the EPSRC DTP has had impact on a broad range of subjects:
- Fully funded PhD Scholarships have been awarded to the departments of Physics, Mathematics and Statistics, Computing and Communications, and Engineering
- Industry-focused CASE Awards have been made to students based in Chemistry (2013), Mathematics and Statistics, Physics, and Computing and Communications (2014), Computing and Communications, and Engineering (2015), and Physics, and Computing and Communications (2016)
- Doctoral Prizes have been awarded to develop research in Computing and Communications, Physics, and STOR-i
- Vacation Bursaries have been awarded for projects in Physics, Computing and Communications, Chemistry, Mathematics and Statistics, Psychology, and the Lancaster Environment Centre
The allocation of EPSRC DTP funds has also been aligned with the strategic support of research centres and institutes at Lancaster University, which includes the Data Science Institute, the Material Science Institute, the Institute for Social Futures, Security Lancaster and Energy Lancaster. The institutes seek to strengthen the University's commitment to interdisciplinary thinking in a way unique to the UK context.
EPSRC funded students are part of the Science and Technology Graduate School and the wider postgraduate research community at Lancaster. Details of the Graduate School can be found at http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/sci-tech/postgraduate/.
Research training for PhD students across the University is aligned to Vitae's Researcher Development Framework. The Graduate School Research Training programme is designed to enhance research skills and capacity, providing PhD students with vital transferable skills, whilst also bringing together students to discuss their research. For further information regarding the Research Training on offer within the Science and Technology Graduate School see http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/sci-tech/postgraduate/graduate-school/research-training/.
All PhD students are encouraged to complete a Development Needs Analysis when they arrive at Lancaster, to help identify their specific training needs. There is also in place a schedule of appraisals by which the progress and development of all PhD students is monitored. Appraisals take place at regular, 6 monthly intervals where progress is discussed and requirements for future development are identified.