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Funding
This 4-year PhD project is part of a competition funded by EASTBIO BBSRC Doctoral Training Partnership and is offered in collaboration with Veolia. This opportunity is open to students eligible to pay UK rate tuition fees (including ROI)and provides funding to cover tuition fees, plus a stipend to support living costs.
The proportion of international students appointed through the EASTBIO DTP is capped at 30% by UKRI BBSRC. All students must meet the eligibility criteria as outlined in the UKRI guidance at UKRI Training Grant Terms and Conditions, esp. TGC 5.2 & Annex B. Please contact [Email Address Removed] if you are unsure of your fee status.
The Project
This is a great opportunity for a PhD student to get involved in cutting-edge collaborative research with Veolia, a multinational company that supports building a circular economy and protecting the environment worldwide. The global demand for protein increasing, and so is the level of greenhouse gas emissions associated with its production. As a result, the focus is now shifting to alternative protein sources. Insect protein is regarded as the future protein among all sources because of its lower environmental footprints associated with its production. In the UK, it is expected to play a significant role in replacing soy/fishmeal in animal feed. Black soldier fly (BSF) is considered a common insect protein and a rapid bioconverter of organic wastes to protein and fat. Hence SRUC and Veolia are interested in exploring the role of insects (Black Soldier Fly-BSF) in the circular economy and the UK’s net-zero targets. However, a huge research gaps exist in utilizing BSF to fulfill circular economy goals and potential.
Objectives
1) Review the current policies and work with the industrial partner to select a range of potentially suitable food waste streams and assess their nutritional composition.
2) Conduct BSF rearing trials at the industry partners' facility on the selected food wastes to evaluate the bioconversion efficiency of BSF and GHG emissions during this process.
3) Determine the effect of substrate composition on end-product quality (assessing protein, and fat content alongside other nutritional components) as well as the nutritional composition of frass (leftover product)
4) Conduct environmental impact and life cycle assessment (LCA) to compare BSF composting to other food waste disposal methods (composting, anaerobic digestion etc.) and their potential to replace soya/fishmeal in the animal feeds to assess the carbon-saving potential and the circular economy potential of BSF composting.
Opportunities
This CASE project provides opportunities to:
1) Learn valuable academic skills, particularly relating to the application of research.
2) Work with a global company with access to expertise in the world of industry and business, increasing your skills and networks in these fields.
2) Bridge different collaboration groups through multidisciplinary research.
3) Have access training are offered by EASTBIO and SRUC with the opportunity for further training offered by the industrial partner as part of the placement.
Eligibility
Eligibility criteria are available on the EASTBIO how to apply webpage.
How to Apply
Please note that this project has an extended deadline (14 March), so disregard deadlines on the website and application form.
To apply for an EASTBIO PhD studentship, please follow the guidance on the EASTBIO how to apply webpage. EASTBIO can provide you with support for your application and details are available on the webpage.
Informal enquiries about the project and your application should be addressed to the project supervisor, Dr Arthy Surendran - [Email Address Removed]
After you have approached the project supervisor and discussed your application with them, you should:
1) Download and complete the online EASTBIO Equality, Diversity and Inclusion survey; the survey will automatically generate a Unique Number that you should copy and paste on the relevant section of your EASTBIO Application Form.
2) Download and fill in the EASTBIO Application Form. You can only apply for one EASTBIO PhD project.
3) Download and send the EASTBIO Reference Form to your two academic/professional referees, and ask them to submit the references directly to [Email Address Removed] by 14 March 2024
4) Submit your complete application, along with academic transcripts and certificates to [Email Address Removed] by 14 March 2024
If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at [Email Address Removed]
Research output data provided by the Research Excellence Framework (REF)
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