We are pleased to announce the establishment of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Sensor Technologies and Applications for a Healthy and Sustainable Future at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology. The venture will provide PhD training for at least 50 PhD students between 2019 and 2027.
The programme builds on the current CDT in Sensor Technologies but ventures in new directions to address sustainable development goals and provide training in responsible leadership and entrepreneurship. The CDT learning experience is strongly team-focused and the course includes a dedicated MRes (Masters of Research), with continued training provided through the entire PhD phase.
A large number of companies from all sectors of the UK economy participate in the programme and start-ups and SMEs will particularly benefit from a staged engagement programme, which permits the exploration of ideas in mini-research projects, a leveraged studentship funding model, and from access to excellent students, academics, and infrastructure.
Professor Clemens Kaminski, Director of the CDT, says “I am delighted about this outcome and would like to thank my team for their hard work and outstanding efforts to make this happen. It is truly exciting to think about what the students are able to achieve together in the programme – the Team Challenge is just one example.”
The most recent Team Challenge of the current CDT was used as a pilot study for the ideas proposed for the new programme in responsible innovation. Students engaged the public in the CamBike Sensor project to develop a citizen enabled air quality monitoring network. The students were awarded a prize from the Global Challenges Research Fund and are now taking their technology to citizens in Argentina, Africa, and India.
Dr Beatrix Schlarb-Ridley, Director of Innovation and Impact at the British Antarctic Survey, says “Sensor innovation is a powerful enabler to understanding how our environment is changing, and how we can adapt to this change. It underpins the delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals. I look forward to the vibrant contributions the students will make to address global challenges through sensing.”
The academic leads on the programme are Dr Róisín Owens, Professor Axel Zeitler, and Professor Clemens Kaminski. The management group includes Dr Oliver Hadeler (teaching), Dr Donata Iandolo (industry) and Karen Scrivener (operations). Industrial partners include MedImmune Ltd, Fluidic Analytics Ltd, Alphasense Ltd, British Antarctic Survey, ioLight, Nokia Bell Labs, Zimmer & Peacock Ltd, Panaxium SAS, Anglian Water, TeraView Ltd, Centre for Digital Built Britain, Cambridge Enterprise Ltd, Cambridge Display Technology Ltd, Smart Cambridge, Arm Ltd, National Physical Laboratory, Cartezia, Synoptics Ltd, Silicon Microgravity Ltd, Galvani Bioelectronics, Victoria & Albert Museum, Marks & Clerk LLP, Magna International Inc, Kirkstall Ltd, Iconal Technology Ltd, Blue Bear Systems Research, and the Hitachi Cambridge Laboratory.
More information is available here.