More industrial placements available for MRC PhD students
The Medical Research Council has significantly expanded its collaborative studentship scheme to allow more postgraduate students the opportunity to gain experience in both academia and industry. In 2008 and 2009, thirty MRC-funded PhD studentships will be offered, an increase on the ten places offered in previous years.
The studentships have the potential to initiate new research collaborations between industrial and academic scientists and the students who receive the awards will benefit from training in both an academic and industrial environment.
The revised scheme will be divided into two funding streams: companies that can demonstrate that they have the experience, training environment and resources required to accommodate and support PhD students will be able to apply for an annual allocation of up to 20 places over a two-year period; the second funding stream is designed to encourage small and medium-sized companies to apply for individual studentships for specific projects.
Proposed projects must be truly collaborative in scope and the company must have a research and development base in the UK. Applications relevant to all areas of the MRC’s remit will be invited though a priority area for this round of the expanded scheme will be in vivo disciplines including pharmacology, physiology and pathology.
Commenting on the expansion of the studentships scheme Professor Ian Kimber, special advisor to the MRC on industry liaison said: ‘‘These collaborative studentships provide a really valuable mechanism for facilitating productive collaborations between industry and academia. In addition, they represent an excellent vehicle for training with PhD students benefiting from the experience of working in both academic and industrial laboratories. The increase in the size of this scheme is very welcome and will allow for fruitful interactions in a broader range of areas.’’
Requests for further information should be sent by email to:
