The University of Bristol has been part of two successful bids for new Doctoral Landscape Award funding from UK Research and Innovation, one from the South West Biosciences Doctoral Landscape Partnership (SWBio DTP) to the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) worth £22.4 million, and the other from the GW4+ Doctoral Landscape Training Partnership to the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) worth £14m.
SWBio4 and GW4+ will offer PhD studentships over five cohorts starting in October 2025, with a vision to train the next generation of highly skilled leaders in research, innovation, science policy, and communication.
Students will receive structured training in data and project management, science communication, innovation, research impact, and artificial intelligence.
Professor Guy Poppy, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation at the University of Bristol, said: “The University of Bristol has earned an excellent reputation for the quality of its research and PhD supervision and training, and I am delighted that this UKRI funding will enable us to build on that success by providing talented PhD students working in biology and environmental change with the support they need to maximise their potential and help tackle significant global challenges.”
The SWBio DTP features the GW4 universities (Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter), along with Rothamsted Research and six associate partners including the Marine Biological Association, SETsquared Bristol, UCB Pharma, Swansea University, the University of the West of England, and the University of Plymouth.
Professor Jon Lane, Director of the SWBio DTP and Professor of Cell Biology at the University of Bristol, said: “This is fantastic news. We are delighted to have received this vote of confidence in our vision to train and inspire future leaders in bioscience research and innovation. This award is a huge endorsement of our sector-leading biosciences departments within our institutions, recognising the world class biosciences research taking place in the South West and Wales.”
Professor Jeremy Tavaré, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences at the University of Bristol, added: “This award is a testament to the excellent academic and support teams across the existing SWBio Doctoral Training Partnership, which have built a buoyant, multi-disciplinary research training environment, with academic and non-academic partners guiding and championing 350 PhD students to date.”
The NERC-funded GW4+ Doctoral Landscape Training Partnership is a powerhouse collaboration between the GW4 universities and five world-leading research organisations: the British Antarctic Survey, British Geological Survey, UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, the Natural History Museum, and Plymouth Marine Laboratory.
The continued success of the GW4+ DLT Partnership has seen more than £250 million of NERC funding awarded over the past six years, including extensive investment into infrastructure, facilities and equipment.
Professor Daniela Schmidt, Director of the GW4+ Doctoral Landscape Training Partnership, said: “Our overarching goal is to create a diverse community of interdisciplinary, multi-skilled environmental scientists who will shape and lead solutions to address many of the world's most pressing challenges.
“We built upon a call from our doctoral researchers to deliver world-class training across environmental research, addressing the skills and capacity gap whilst prioritising equality, diversity, inclusion, and their wellbeing.”
GW4 Alliance Director, Dr Joanna Jenkinson MBE, said: “The GW4 Alliance is committed to developing the researchers of the future, by providing access to expertise and facilities, through our doctoral training programmes. We are delighted that the BBSRC SWBio and NERC GW4+ Doctoral Training Partnerships have been renewed by UKRI and look forward to witnessing the growth of the next generation of highly skilled leaders.”