The outcome of the Natural Environments Research Council (NERC) call for Doctoral Training Partnerships (DTPs) was announced late on Monday 4th November. I am delighted to be able to report that The Open University (OU) has been funded through the DTP scheme as part of the “Central England NERC Training Alliance” (CENTA). Having co-developed the OU contribution to CENTA with our research centre director Prof. Simon Kelley I am also somewhat relieved by this positive outcome.
The CENTA group comprises four other universities in addition to the OU (University of Birmingham, University of Leicester, University of Warwick, and Loughborough University) and two partner organisations (British Geological Survey and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology). CENTA will host studentships across the range of NERC science with particular focus on four key science themes:
- Anthropogenic impact and environmental sustainability
- Evolution of organisms and ecosystems
- Dynamic Earth
- Organisms, ‘omics and biogeochemistry
Opportunities to join the PCRG here at the OU through this scheme will be adverstised shortly. If you are interested in PhD projects in any of the above areas keep an eye out for further details of CENTA projects and opportunities over the next few weeks.
To find out more about CENTA visit the DTP website by clicking here.
Ecology of the past 