EPSRC funds new wave of scientists

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) has today announced plans to fund 44 new centres for doctoral training which will train over 2000 PhD students over the next five years.

The centre for doctoral training will 'bring together many areas of expertise, building relationships between teams in universities and with industry. Students receive taught coursework to develop their technical knowledge and broaden their skills as well as carrying out challenging PhD-level research projects'.

Read the story in full on the EPSRC website.

Where have all the students gone?

The Independent has picked up on a report published by the Royal Society earlier this year which found that there has been a significant drop in the proportion of UK students studying doctorates in science from 65% to 57%. This drop is in contrast with the total number of PhDs being awarded in UK which has increased, due largely to the amount of EU and overseas student coming to study in the UK.



Judith Howard, chair of the Royal Society's higher education working group is quoted as saying, '"We have to be concerned and we have to be concerned now. There could be a lot of consequences for the economy."' The Royal Society would like to see incentives for students to take science, such as bursaries and reduced fees. It also believes increasing the time it takes to achieve a PhD should be increased from seven to eight years, in order to compete with other countries in the Bologna accord.


http://www.independent.co.uk/student/postgraduate/postgraduate-study/how-can-the-hard-sciences-attract-more-phd-students-806720.html

Anyone here who can innovate?

The THES reports that the Royal Society believes that the Government's desire for an innovation-based economy may be unfulfilled if the amount of UK students undertaking science PhDs does not increase. This follows a Royal Society report which shows the proportion of doctorates being awarded to UK students has decreased by nearly 10% in the last 10 years.

The report makes the following key suggestions:

• Reduction of fees for certain subjects
• Introduction of more bursaries
• Better promotion of science as a career option
• Introduction of an 8-year study period from start of first degree to PhD completion
• Detailed review of employer needs to inform study of STEM subjects in Universities
• More emphasis on a collaborative approach to learning

http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=400376

http://royalsociety.org/news.asp?id=7405

Amount of doctorates awarded in US continues to increase

Figures from the National Science Foundation have shown that for the fourth year running US Universities have seen a growth in the number of doctorates awarded in science and engineering with a particular increase in the number of PhDs awarded to international students. More than half of all the new doctorates went to international students with China, India and Korea providing the majority.