NanoKTN Calls For Industrial CASE Award Proposals

The Nanotechnology Knowledge Transfer Network (NanoKTN) has opened the application call for two Industrial Collaborative Awards in Science and Engineering (CASE). The NanoKTN said the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) awarded it with two Industrial CASE awards for 2010, to provide funding for two PhD studentships. The Industrial CASE awards are allocated by UK research councils and are a way of linking academic research with industrial need.

The studentships are supported by companies that offer funding to students, in addition to their already-secured EPSRC funding. The company takes the lead in defining a student project and selects a university to work with, which then recruits a suitable candidate to carry out the project, jointly supervised by the academic and industrial partners. The awards are available to students with a relevant connection in the UK, usually established by residence and an upper-second-class honours degree or a combination of qualifications and experience equivalent to that level.

The successful applicants will receive EPSRC funding of GBP66,838 over the course of the intended project (three and a half years). To be an Industrial CASE sponsor, companies must have research or production facilities in the UK and it is normally expected that the student will spend time at these facilities. In addition to hosting the student for a minimum of three months, the company must provide an additional cash top-up of at least a third (GBP22,419). The NanoKTN is inviting proposals by 4 March 2010. The NanoKTN has identified its priority areas as healthcare and life sciences, ICT-hardware, engineering applications, chemical products and metrology, instrumentation and standards.

Project proposals should align with one of these key areas. To apply for a 2010 Industrial CASE award, applicants must submit a general description covering the proposed scope of work, the NanoKTN technical priority area to which the work best aligns, the objective of the research and the scientific challenge and brief outline of the innovative aspects of the work.