BBSRC invests £3m in biosciences postgraduate training

The Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde have received £3m in funding to become a hub for postgraduate training in biosciences in the West of Scotland.

The award was made by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) as part of a £67m investment in 14 Doctoral Training Partnerships (DTP) around the UK, as well as a number of industrial CASE studentship awards announced by David Willetts, UK Minister for Universities and Science on Tuesday 24 January.

The money, to be supplemented with £2m from the University of Glasgow, will support 10 studentships every year for 2012-14 – a total of 30 – and will involve collaboration with the Moredun Research Institute in Edinburgh and the Scottish Universities Life Sciences Alliance.

Over the next three years, the DTPs will support 660 four-year PhD students throughout the UK in addition the CASE studentships will support 70 postgraduates from this autumn. Both programmes will provide highly skilled scientists for academia, policy and industry and support the BBSRC mission to further scientific knowledge for economic growth, wealth and job creation – improving the quality of life in the UK and beyond.

The West of Scotland partnership will focus on research training in crop science, animal health (in collaboration with The Moredun Institute), ageing, bio-energy and other world-class biosciences fields. The BBSRC will fund 30 four-year studentships over the next three years. The Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde will also provide up to £3m of additional funds to support further studentships in the biosciences.

Professor Mandy MacLean, Dean of Graduate Studies at the College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences at the University of Glasgow, said: “We are delighted to host this exciting new Partnership and that our excellence in postgraduate training in the biosciences at Glasgow University has been rewarded by this investment. This will provide ongoing support for our mission to provide world class training in research and generic skills to our postgraduate students.

“The studentships will be underpinned by the £24million of BBSRC research grant funding across the College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences and the College of Science and Engineering at the University of Glasgow, an additional £119million of grant support for basic and applied biology is provided by other funding sources. This will allow the opportunity for students to participate in quality cutting-edge multi-disciplinary research.”

Professor Philip Winn, Head of the Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, said: “Today’s announcement reflects the City of Glasgow’s position as a leader in bioscience, and is another milestone in our mission to train the highly-skilled scientists of tomorrow.

“The news follows the recent opening of our new £36 million Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences building, which is already helping our leading researchers in basic bioscience and those driving forward the search for new and better medicines. We are delighted to be working with the University of Glasgow to develop the new doctoral training partnership, which will offer students access to both cutting-edge facilities and world-renowned expertise.”

According to the BBSRC, the DTPs represent a new, more strategic approach to delivering highly-skilled scientists for the UK research base. Built in to the programme is the requirement for students to undertake a three-month professional internship outside of the lab to widen their experience of the areas of work in which they apply their PhD skills and training.

Minister for Universities and Science David Willetts said: “This £67 million investment in postgraduate training is excellent news for students, research organisations, industry and the UK as a whole. The brightest and best students will be finding solutions to some of the biggest challenges facing us all, from food security through to renewable energy.

“The partnership approach means that many institutions are combining their strengths to provide students with improved training and relevant work experience. This will better equip them for future careers, be it in research, industry, or elsewhere.”

Celia Caulcott, BBSRC Director of Innovation and Skills said, “We believe that this approach is a great way of doing things, enabling us to support the very best students working in the most important areas from food security through to crucial underpinning bioscience.

“DTPs are all about training researchers to be the best they can be. By doing this we can make real inroads into answering global conundrums which will ultimately have a massive impact on the UK economy and further afield.”