Major investment in doctoral training announced

Sixty-five Centres for Doctoral Training - which will train more than 4000 doctoral students across the UK - have been announced by Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan. The 65 Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs) will support leading research in areas of national importance, including net zero, AI, defence and security, healthcare and quantum technologies. The £1 billion in funding - from government, universities and industry - represents the UK's biggest-ever investment in engineering and physical sciences doctoral skills. The University of Cambridge will lead two of the CDTs and is a partner in a further five CDTs. The funding will support roughly 150 Cambridge PhD students over the next five years. The CDT in Future Infrastructure and Built Environment: Unlocking Net Zero (FIBE3 CDT), led by Professor Abir Al-Tabbaa from the Department of Engineering, will focus on meeting the needs of the infrastructure and construction sector in its pursuit of net zero by 2050 and is a collaboration between Cambridge, 30+ industry partners and eight international academic partners. "The infrastructure sector is responsible for significant CO2 emissions, energy use and consumption of natural resources, and it's key to unlocking net zero," said Al-Tabbaa.