The Nottingham Doctoral Training Programme is led by the University of Nottingham in partnership with Nottingham Trent University.
Alongside associate partners Research Complex at Harwell, Diamond Light Source, Rothamsted Research and CPI. Find out more about what each partner offers below.
Nottingham Trent University (NTU) has been named UK ‘University of the Year’ five times in six years, (Times Higher Education Awards 2017, The Guardian University Awards 2019, The Times and Sunday Times 2018 and 2023, Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2023) and is consistently one of the top performing modern universities in the UK.
NTU’s research was ranked joint 34th for overall GPA in REF 2014 (81% of outputs, 86% of research and 100% of impact as world-leading or internationally excellent). Furthermore, NTU has continued to enhance its investment in research infrastructure, state of the art facilities and world leading science. The Research Excellence Framework (2021) classed 83% of NTU’s research activity as either world-leading or internationally excellent.
Relationships between the University of Nottingham and NTU have been growing, with increasing research collaborations, jointly supervised students and new innovations. NTU offers opportunities for student training expertise focusing on fundamental and applied molecular cell biology and sustainable agriculture.
This offers particular expertise in innovative urban agriculture and vertical farming, including resource use efficiency (LED lighting, water and nutrients), productivity, sustainability and scalability. As a working farm and a wildlife haven, our Brackenhurst countryside estate is fully equipped with outstanding facilities — from our dedicated veterinary nursing centre, to our animal unit, food laboratory and more. These tools allow us to work on some of the most dynamic and innovative work in the field of animal, rural and environmental sciences.
The Poultry Research Nutrition Unit provides a platform for industry technologists and fundamental scientists to explore the interplay between nutrition, welfare and sustainability of poultry production through strong links to the UK animal feed industry.
The facility caters to a range of interests within the field of biomedical science, including the study of:
- Human disease
- Forensic science
- Cognitive health
- Sports performance
- Bio-mathematical study of complex systems
- Medical imaging (MRI).
UoN and RRes have a long history of research and teaching collaborations, including previous BBSRC DTPs and the Future Food Beacon International DTP. These collaborations span across areas such as crop improvement, soil health and food systems with a focus on sustainable agricultural practices and global food security. RRes is a world-leading, non-profit agricultural research centre, focusing on sustainable agriculture and food production.
RRes conducts interdisciplinary research focussed on crop improvement and long-term field trials, using its farm and field research facilities and state-of-the-art laboratories.
Research Complex at Harwell is a centre for cutting-edge scientific research at the heart of Harwell’s thriving science and technology campus. Building on synergies with the other large scale facilities at Harwell, such as Diamond Light Source, ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, Central Laser Facility and the Rosalind Franklin institute. Its mission is to accelerate research collaboration, to generate internationally leading science. It brings together research teams from universities and industry under one roof and training the next generation of scientists and engineers.
Diamond Light Source is another associate partner of the Doctoral Landscape Award. the UK’s national 3rd generation synchrotron situated at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory on the Harwell Campus in Oxfordshire. Diamond is a not-for-profit limited company funded as a joint venture by the UK Government as part of the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) through the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), and in partnership with Wellcome.
Diamond will support the DLA by hosting students and provide interdisciplinary training opportunities through access to their unique facilities. Areas of mutual development for the DTP are in biological cryo-imaging, structural and cell biology, and drug discovery. A major area of current collaboration with UoN is in AI and machine learning, with jointly supervised PhD projects with physics, mathematics and computer science in image analysis.
Centre for Process Innovation contributes expertise in linking from innovation to commercialisation in biotechnology, with strengths in:
- systems and synthetic biology
- engineering by design
- vaccines
- cells as factories