DTP 2016-2017 Brunel University

Brunel University London has a well-founded reputation as a leader in research, consistently
offering "research and enterprise for the benefit of individual and society" since 1966 when
the University received its Royal Charter. Brunel University London is firmly within the top
quarter of research universities in the UK according to REF 2014. Our research in
engineering, design and physical sciences spans a variety of major fields from energy,
automotive, materials and manufacturing, as well as mathematical sciences and computing.
Our College of Engineering, Design and Physical Sciences ranks amongst London's biggest
and best for the quality of its research. We are a leading expert in energy and food
sustainability-related research, with the EPSRC-funded National Centre for Sustainable
Energy Use in Food Chains developing energy-efficient manufacturing, distribution and retail
solutions.
The Advanced Metal Casting Centre is being established on campus with funding from
HEFCE, in partnership with a number of industrial companies, led by Jaguar Land Rover, to
serve the automotive, aerospace and other engineering sectors as a national scale-up facility
to bridge the gap between fundamental, laboratory-scale research and full-scale industrial
trials.
The National Structural Integrity Research Centre (NSIRC) based in Cambridge, also funded
by HEFCE, is a partnership between Brunel and internationally-renowned technology,
engineering and research organisation TWI, also supported by BP and the Lloyd's Register
Foundation.
Postgraduate research students are valued members of the University's research community
and make a significant contribution to the University's thriving research activities. The
importance of developing transferable skills during a research programme is well recognised
by research funders, employers and doctoral graduates. A doctoral qualification demonstrates
an exceptionally high level of academic achievement. However, to be effective as a doctoral
researcher and subsequently in a doctoral career (within or outside academia), postgraduate
researchers also need a broader range of professional (transferable) skills. Brunel offers a
variety of opportunities for postgraduate research students to develop their skills. Research
students are expected to take responsibility for shaping, managing and directing their research
training (taking advice from the supervisory team). The Brunel 3D Researcher Development
Tool has been developed by the University to provide a common framework to enable all
research students to reflect upon their training and development needs.
A number of EPSRC Doctoral Training Partnerships (DTP) studentships are available to
support postgraduate research opportunities in engineering, design and physical sciences in
the Institute of Materials and Manufacturing (IMM) (for improving the performance of
materials and structures), Institute of Energy Futures (IEF) (for improving energy usage and
reducing greenhouse gas emissions), and the College of Engineering, Design and Physical
Sciences (CEDPS) (mathematical science, big data, autonomous systems and robotics, digital
technologies). We welcome applications for studentships in these areas. The DTP funding
will be used to match the industrial support of PhD studentships and to support PhD students
spending a period of time at an industrial company.
The DTP funding will be used strategically to consolidate the critical mass in areas of
intensive research activities and excellent infrastructure at Brunel, which are represented by
the research themes in the research institutes and the research clusters in the college. In
support of mathematical sciences and their application to engineering and physical sciences,
the DTP funding will be made available to newly-appointed academic staff in the Department
of Mathematical Sciences to support their first EPSRC grant.