The Sensor CDT is part of the UK TechExpert pilot offering an enhanced stipend of £10,000 above the UKRI minimum stipend of £21,000 for students eligible for home fee status in the 2026/27 cohort. Join us and help grow the UK’s national capability in sensor technologies, part of the UK’s modern industrial strategy.
The TechExpert pilot, part of the TechFirst skills programme, will support 500 new doctoral students eligible for home fee status in participating UKRI Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs) and Doctoral Focal Awards (DFAs) in the six frontier industries under the digital and technologies sector in the UK’s modern industrial strategy, plus a small number prioritised for digital and technologies in the Financial Services sector agreed between DSIT and HM Treasury.
TechExpert students will receive an enhanced stipend of £10,000 above the UKRI minimum stipend. In return, students will be asked to take part in additional TechExpert activities for up to 10 days each year, including outreach to promote tech careers, networking with the TechFirst community and engagement with the tech industry.
The aim of the TechExpert pilot is to strengthen the UK’s innovation pipeline and build a more inclusive, resilient and high-impact research ecosystem. This programme will be delivered by the UKRI Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), working with the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), on behalf of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).