One of a number of pilot programmes aimed at widening participation in Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) doctoral training, specifically those from industry and other non-academic backgrounds.
With funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the University of York is offering a fully-funded PGR programme as part of the EPSRC Mobility DTP in Leadership and Excellence in Circular, Resource-efficient, Sustainable Manufacturing.
- Current opportunity – a fully-funded, one-year PGR programme leading to an MSc by Research (to start in 2025/26)
Find Out More on The University of York Website
As global population continues to increase from 7.5bn (2018) to 9.5bn (2050), coupled with increased urbanisation and industrialisation, we’ll need to better (re)utilise resources to sustain our chemicals, materials and energy needs. In 2015, these concerns were recognised by the UN, who adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to protect the future of our planet and its inhabitants. SDG 12, “Sustainable Consumption and Production”, focuses on better resource utilisation, resource recovery, doing ‘more with less’ and moving from linear to circular economies.
The chemicals sector is one of the largest UK manufacturing sectors, with a turnover of £48.7bn and employs ca. 140,000 people. The UK Chemistry Council’s Chemistry Strategy highlights an emphasis on sourcing renewable raw materials, ensuring products are free from pollutants, and innovating to reduce their carbon footprint. Recent Science Innovation Audits (Northern Powerhouse: Chemical and Process Sector Science and the Bioeconomy in the North of England) highlight the importance of our chemicals and bioeconomy sectors, interconnectivity of chemistry and biology, importance of training, re- and upskilling, and continual professional development in physical and biological sciences.
To protect and enhance our assets, knowledge and infrastructure, businesses will need to transform their current practices, which are often linear and resource-depleting, in partnership with academia to develop leadership and excellence in circular, resource-efficient, sustainable manufacturing. This project explores new, inclusive and flexible pathways to doctoral training to enable mobility from industry to academia through a supportive PhD programme.