The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) has awarded us a Doctoral Landscape Award, partnered with the University of East Anglia, The Sainsbury Laboratory, the Quadram Institute and the Earlham Institute, all located on the Norwich Research Park. These awards support discovery-driven research at universities across the UK to train the next generation of scientists.

Doctoral students will develop their skills and experience across a four-year PhD studentship, with an integrated three-month Professional Internship for PhD Students (PIPS) working on a topic that does not directly relate to their PhD project, to explore future career options. Some students undertake Co-operative Awards in Science and Technology (CASE) projects, which are partnerships between a Norwich Research Park partner and a non-academic partner.

Programme director and chair of the Norwich Research Park Graduate School, Professor Anne Graham, said: “I am delighted that BBSRC continues to support our successful PhD programme. We are proud to have a long tradition of training highly skilled researchers and scientists, and while the global challenges of the 21st century are huge, it is advances in bioscience which offer real opportunities to make a difference. Our students will address topics such as sustainable agriculture and food, improving plant and human health, and boosting nutrition through plant innovation.”

Professor Graham Moore FRS, director of the John Innes Centre, said: “We are thrilled to receive continued funding from UKRI/BBSRC. It will enable us to train and nurture talented PhD students whose research will drive the future of biosciences. I’m excited to see the impact our new cohorts of PhD researchers will make in society, and the solutions they will find to some of the most pressing world health and environmental challenges.”

The doctoral programme at the Norwich Research Park is unique in bringing together the resources of five world-class research institutions on a single site, so doctoral candidates have the opportunity, within one programme, to pursue multidisciplinary research encompassing everything from computational and systems biology, to large scale crop field trials.

PhD students become part of a vibrant research community where they can learn from internationally recognised scientists and contribute to new and exciting discoveries.

Across the UK, more than £500 million is being invested by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) in Doctoral Landscape Awards and Doctoral Focal Awards, to support doctoral students to develop their skills and experience across the biological sciences, engineering and physical sciences, and natural and environmental sciences.

UKRI Chief Executive, Professor Dame Ottoline Leyser, said: “UKRI’s investments in Doctoral Training are pivotal for the UK’s research and innovation endeavour. The awards provide funding for Universities across the UK to nurture a cadre of creative, talented people to develop their skills and knowledge, to build partnerships and networks, and to peruse the discoveries that will transform tomorrow, with diverse benefits for society and economic growth.”