New government funding will bolster university programs in biological engineering and physical science, inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers
The government will support thousands of postgraduate students to study cutting-edge sciences at 45 universities in the UK.
This funding is part of a £500 million skills drive announced today (Wednesday 13 November) by Science Secretary Peter Kyle.
Encouraging new generations into biological engineering and physical science
By supporting the higher education sector, the UK government hopes to reveal discoveries and bring together an expert workforce to grow the economy.
Certain areas of study where Universities are particularly strong will be targeted with 4,700 students and 45 higher education institutions projected to unlock the next generation of transformative discoveries.
As announced in National Engineering Day, The Doctoral Landscape and Doctoral Focal Awards, provided by UKRI will support students to study projects in biological, engineering physical, and natural and environmental sciences.
The funding for world-leading universities has been made available, and students will be able to apply in the coming months ahead of the next academic year.
Getting ambitious projects off the ground
By creating an opportunity to commercialise discoveries hope to bring millions of pounds to institutions in the future by supporting the launch of ambitious projects.
By supporting ambitious projects, these universities will uphold their reputation by showing strengths in their subjects and, in time, encouraging more researchers to study there.
Past successful funding packages
Similar funding packages have previously supported University of Leicester PhD student, Dr Roland Leigh. This funding allowed the creation of tools, that are now available around the world, to monitor air pollution levels ultimately reducing the harm.
This work, based on six continents, plays a key role in tackling its impact as the largest environmental risk to public health in the UK.
Another successful funding led to the foundation of Wild Bio by former University of Oxford student Ross Hendron. This project works to make crops such as wheat and maize grow faster. This is made possible by integrating expertise in plant biology with computer algorithms to analyse crop genetics.
These two projects show the importance of funding and supporting future generations in biological engineering and physical science.
