Strathclyde Uni to Lead Wind Centre for Doctoral Training

A new Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) led by the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, UK, will train researchers to PhD level in wind and marine energy.

Funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) after a winning proposal was submitted by the University, a total of 70 researchers will be employed for four years of training and research.

The CDT is one of 75 announced nationwide, along with the Aura CDT led by the University of Hull and the Industrial CDT in Offshore Renewable Energy (IDCORE) led by the University of Edinburgh,  by UK Research and Innovation, which is part of the EPSRC. Strathclyde has secured more than GBP 6 million of research funding for the new centre.

“This new centre joins together two successful CDTs – Wind and Marine Engineering and Renewable Energy Marine Structures – along with their industrial partners. They have already trained more than 130 researchers to date in offshore renewable energy,” Professor Bill Leithead, Centre Director, said.

“It is a collaboration between the universities of Strathclyde, Edinburgh and Oxford, which will create a comprehensive, world-leading centre covering all aspects of wind and marine renewable energy, both above and below the water.”

Thirty of the researchers will be funded by the three universities and the centre’s industry partners, while the remaining 40 will be funded by the EPSRC over an eight-year period.

Siemens Gamesa will co-fund two PhD fellowships each year from 2019 to 2023, with the recipients completing their PhDs in areas closely aligned to its research priorities.

Steffen Frydendal Poulsen, SGRE’s Head of Technology Development, said: “We are very much looking forward to partnering with the University of Strathclyde and the new Centre for Doctoral Training. Many of the research areas in the University of Strathclyde are aligned with SGRE’s pioneering research interests.”

The new CDT at Strathclyde is part of a GBP 446 million investment in skills development across the UK, with industry partners contributing a further GBP 386 million in cash or in-kind.

“The funding means that we have the platform to plan ahead and ensure we attract the very best candidates from an array of backgrounds,” the centre’s co-director, Professor Feargal Brennan, said.

“They will specialise in subjects from structures and foundations and their interaction with the marine environment, through to electrical systems and large composite blade structures within an environmentally sensitive, safe and economically competitive ethos.”