Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/M009106/1
STARS CDT - Soils Training And Research Studentships Centre for Doctoral Training
Training Grant Award
- Lead Supervisor:
- Professor PM Haygarth, Lancaster University, Lancaster Environment Centre
- Grant held at:
- Lancaster University, Lancaster Environment Centre
- Science Area:
- Earth
- Freshwater
- Terrestrial
- Overall Classification:
- Terrestrial
- ENRIs:
- Biodiversity
- Environmental Risks and Hazards
- Global Change
- Natural Resource Management
- Pollution and Waste
- Science Topics:
- Soil science
- Abstract:
- The STARS (Soils Training And Research Studentships) consortium brings together 4 Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) (Lancaster [LU], Cranfield [CU], Bangor [BU] and Nottingham [UoN] Universities), with 4 Research Institutes (RIs) (Centre for Ecology and Hydrology [CEH], Rothamsted Research [RRes], the British Geological Survey [BGS] and the James Hutton Institute [JHI]). The STARS consortium constitutes much of the UK's expertise in soil science research. STARS HEIs and RIs hold globally recognized soil science capability with access to unique field experiments, data resources, model platforms and state-of-the-art research laboratories/instruments/facilities. This enables us to deliver excellent soil science and training to address pressing societal, agricultural and environmental challenges with impact. Students will be embedded within the STARS CDT and hosted at one of the UK's top Soil Science institutions as part of a multi-disciplinary research environment. The team has considerable research power, bringing together 169 soil scientists and 175 post-doc researchers and support staff. Since 2008 the consortium has received soils relevant research grant income of #150M and has invested #109M in internationally competitive facilities, platforms and data sets that include long-term experiments, outdoor and indoor laboratories, well suited to supporting a quality learning environment. The STARS CDT mission is to 'innovate to address global grand challenges', with a unifying purpose to provide excellent training for PhD students embedded within a vibrant multi-disciplinary research landscape, while advancing scientific understanding of the soil resource. Soil will be explored through 4 research training programs: (1) Understanding the soilroot interface; (2) Soils and the delivery of ecosystem services; (3) Resilience of the physical, chemical and biological functions of soil systems and how they respond to change; (4) Modelling the soil ecosystem at different spatial and temporal scales. We aim to create a new national training environment (The STARS College). This will offer training, materials and platforms, which will persist thereafter as a legacy (as an 'on-line' virtual resource) to provide a foundation for future generations. Students will be exposed to multiple disciplines, encouraged to develop new thinking and scientific approaches to address global grand challenges with innovative Soil Science research and will graduate with the skills and ambition to lead their own research - in academia, industry, public or the third sector. We will achieve this by providing: Cohort learning via summer schools, online learning and social media; Dedicated web platform (website, Facebook, Twitter), on-line cloud forum to share experiences and host STARS meetings; Exposure to key soil 'platforms' and wider research within the partner institutions; Exciting industrial studentships and placements; Cohort development workshops and training (including stakeholder, industry and society learning); Individual development plans with training opportunities and resources offered by all consortium partners; Option of International Multidisciplinary Internships embedded within an overseas collaborating Institute (e.g. in Europe, Brazil, Africa, and China). We have a governance structure lead by an Academic Director and Director of Training, who will operate a Management Board, a Strategy Board (comprised of external partners) and a Student Representative Group. Many in the consortium already have a proven track record of working together in the Envision DTP, so we have experience and an efficient working system. Financially, three of the HEIs will each match fund an additional studentship every year (i.e. 9 valued at #641k). We estimate that the total financial contribution (in-kind and cash) from partners to STARS is #1.55M, a 69% uplift of the NERC/BBSRC award. We believe that this represents excellent value for money for RCUK.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/M009106/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Doctoral Training
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- CDT
This training grant award has a total value of £2,580,166
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Total - DSA | Total - Other Costs | Total - Fees | Total - Student Stipend | Total - RTSG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £4,578 | £164,943 | £434,016 | £1,496,630 | £480,000 |
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