14 fully funded studentships - an integrated approach to freshwater bioscience training

Sustaining the World’s freshwater ecosystems, while meeting the water demands of a growing population, will require a new brand of intellectually mobile and agile problem solvers.

The NERC Centre for Doctoral Training in Freshwater Bioscience and Sustainability, led by Cardiff University in partnership with the Universities of Bath, Bristol and Exeter, plus the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) and the British Geological Society (BGS), aims to train future leaders with the skills necessary to address the challenges facing the sustainability of freshwater ecosystems. Twenty-five exciting projects are available across a wide spectrum of freshwater bioscience research areas, led by supervisors, co-supervisors and stakeholders who are world-experts in their field.

There are 14 fully-funded studentships available across the partnership this year, giving students the opportunity to become part of the wider GW4 Water Security Alliance.

Why is GW4 FRESH unique?

The GW4 FRESH CDT draws on a critical mass of internationally recognised scientists, including empiricists, experimentalists, modellers, and theoreticians in the field of freshwater bioscience and sustainability across levels of organisation from genes to ecosystems, and from microcosm to continental scales.

Our Common ethos is to provide a world-class research and training environment for these formative years of a career.

What distinguishes the GW4 FRESH journey?

GW4 FRESH is about choosing real life problems –which students will tackle with their academic supervisors and also with a stakeholder partner.

GW4 FRESH is about an integrated approach to freshwater bioscience training – this means, during the first 6 months, undertaking training in the skills necessary to tackle the sustainability of freshwater ecosystems, plus training across multiple disciplines throughout the PhD, so that each student has both in depth expertise and a breadth of experience across all the key challenges identified by FRESH.

GW4 FRESH is about access to a unique pool of experts– so that the student will have flexibility in project progression after 6 months.

GW4 FRESH is about employability – our doctoral academies are now all coordinated and aligned to Vitae under the GW4 agreements.

Our 14 studentships are available for an October 2020 start. Duration of PhD is 3.5 years with an option for part-time study up to 7 years.

Studentship incudes fees, a full UKRI stipend and a Research Training and Support Grant of £11,000. Only UK students or EU students (preferably who meet the UKRI residency requirements) may apply.

Applications close on 16 December 2019, panel interviews will take place in w/c 17 February 2020. For more information on the projects available and the application process visit www.gw4fresh.co.uk