EPSRC has invested £1billion in 65 Centres of Doctoral Training (CDTs) who will train and develop the next generation of industry experts and researchers in differing disciplines across a wide range of sectors and industries to address the challenges of the UK economy.
Following on the announcement of the EPSRC award for FIBE3 CDT, Director Professor Abir Al-Tabbaa and Dr Rob Foster attended the EPSRC & UKRI AI CDT Director's Meeting on 14th March 2024. It was held at the DoubleTree by Hilton Manchester Airport.
To achieve Environmental Sustainability, the award to the CDTs represent:
• Opportunity to engage and collaborate with industry
• Embed environmental sustainability into the training programmes of the next generation of researchers
• Identify shared solutions to stimulate sector-wide cultural change
• Focus on how we reduce the environmental impact of R&I practice
- Source: UKRI
The event was about setting expectations, monitoring, evaluation and reporting for the newly announced EPSRC CDTs. There were breakout sessions for the 2 groups of CDTs. For the EPSRC CDTS, this centred on an overview of working together to develop plans for EDI, RRI, trusted research, environmental sustainability and student wellbeing with the focus on EDI and RRI. The UKRI AI CDTs' breakout session focused on Responsible AI UK, Partnership working and recruitment. The afternoon sessions were aimed at Sharing good Practice including Student Wellbeing as well as Trusted Research and Environmental Sustainability.
The event wrapped up with next steps for the CDTs. It was very well-attended and provided opportunities for the CDT directors to network and share knowledge and expertise on the UK-wide CDTs awarded EPSRC funding.