Want to get a DTP student?

Find out about our recruitment procedure and schedule, the CASE projects requirements and download our list of official partners to help with collaborations.

E4 DTP Handbook

Prospective DTP supervisors will find useful information in the DTP handbook including training information and expectations from DTP supervisors.

 

E4 DTP Partners

Partners List and Contacts

The E4 includes 33 partners which can be categorised in 4 groups: Academic Partners, National Capabilities, Centres of Excellence and Industry, Society and Policy Organisations. They are described on our Partner pages and the full list and contacts can also be found in the document below.

We have also compiled a list of past, current and potential CASE partners (see below more information on CASE studentships)

E4 DTP Partners Contacts (135.61 KB / PDF)
 
E4 DTP CASE Partners List (155.96 KB / PDF)

Meet Up Event

This event is designed for DTP partners, current/past/future/potential CASE partners and UoE academics/researchers and potential UoE supervisors to meet and build cross-partner PhD proposals. Each partner and UoE research group leader briefly presents their activity and collaboration interests before mixing up and speaking to each other. We hope this will spur new collaborations, ideas and research activities across the DTP partnership.

Each partner receives a formal invitation for up to 1 person representing their organisation and all UoE academic and research staff are able to attend if they wish however, space being limited, they must book their place by emailing the DTP Manager (stephanie.robin@ed.ac.uk) at least a month before the event.

Partner Information Session Recording - 13 May 2021

The recording below is of the E4 DTP presentation that E4 director Richard Essery did to introduce the meeting. [21 min]

Partner Meet-up 13 May 2021 - E4 DTP Presentation by Director Richard Essery

Partners presentation slides

Slides from our 30+ partners and current/potential CASE partners have been collated into a single pdf available from the E4 DTP Partner shared folder

The slides present succinctly the research activities of these partners and their interest in generating new collaborations and new PhD projects with academics from the UoE partner schools. 

You are invited to browse through them and use the contact details information for each partner to establish contact and discuss any potential common research area or interest, which could lead to a new collaborative or CASE PhD project.

 E4 DTP Recruitment Procedure and Schedule  

 E4 DTP Recruitment Schedule 2023/24 (for cohort starting September 2024)

Partner Meet-up Event/Information Session (online): 11/05/2023
Pre-call for projects 22/06/2023
Call for projects proposals sent: 07/09/2023
Supervisor-led projects proposals submission deadline:  09/10/2023
Projects advertised online from: 31/10/2023
Student-led projects submission deadline: 15/12/2023
Candidates applications’ deadline: 04/01/2024
Shortlisting of max 2 candidates by supervisors by: 15/01/2024
Shortlisting of selected candidates for interview by Panels by: 02/02/2024
Invitation to interview sent by:  06/02/2024
Interviews :  Tue-Thurs 27-29/02/2024
Offers sent out to students from : 04/03/2024
Universal NERC DTP acceptance of offers date (before which candidates are not obliged to accept any PhD offer): 20/03/2024

Submitting an E4 DTP Project Proposal

All E4 DTP projects proposals and supervision information have to be submitted online through a webform, accessible at the following link:

https://www.geos.ed.ac.uk/phds

To help you prepare your online submission, please use the below “E4 DTP Online Project Submission Guidance” which details all the fields you will have to fill in on the webform.

If you experience difficulties when using the above webform please email it.geos@ed.ac.uk

Student-led projects

If you are approached by applicants wishing to submit their own research project, this is possible providing you commit to be the lead supervisor, submit the project on their behalf through the online from above and support their application throughout the selection process (if the project is approved). You can support up to 2 student-led projects depending on the number of supervisor-led projects you have advertised (the overall maximum projects you can submit per year is 2). See below the guidance for a student-led projects submission (this document is also available to applicants via our application webpages).

Reviewing your applications

Supervisors listed on the supervision team of an E4 DTP project can access and review their applications as they are submitted, as soon as the applications open (beginning of November). See the below guidance to access the applications.

E4 DTP Recruitment Procedure

Please keep the below document confidential and do not circulate to applicants or external staff who are not on the supervision team.

The evaluation system described in the E4 DTP Recruitment Procedure document below has been put in place to enable consistency between shortlisting panels. However, these marks can be subjective, and we do not want to raise either false hopes or discourage students based on these criteria. For that reason, please keep this document confidential: under no circumstances should the marking criteria be shared with students. The marks are for shortlisting panels’ use only and we will not communicate scores to individuals (supervisors or students).

E4 DTP Recruitment Procedure (472.62 KB / PDF)

CASE Projects Information

  • CASE partners are non-academic organisations within the public, private or third sector who have agreed to contribute at least £1,000 p.a. for 3.5 years (i.e £3,500 total to supplement RTSG) AND to host the student for a placement between 3 and 18 months during the whole PhD. The CASE partner should also commit to cover extra expenses incurred by the student’s visits and stays to their premises. More details on the CASE partner responsibilities can be found on the UKRI CASE Studentships webpage and in the NERC CASE Studentships Information document below.
  • New CASE partners eligibility criteria (2019 entry onwards): Organisations eligible to receive NERC research funding will NOT be eligible to act as a CASE partner. This includes NERC research centres and Independent Research Organisations (IROs) as defined on the UKRI Eligibility for Funding webpage.
  • International CASE partners are possible if you can prove that there is no equivalent to their expertise or/and activity in the UK. They still have to commit to all the CASE requirements (including the placement and associated extra costs).
  • 25% of the E4 DTP studentships must be with CASE partners, this means that CASE projects can be prioritised at the final stage of the DTP recruitment, when offers are issued.
  • We will require to see an official supporting letter from the CASE partner confirming their commitment to the above CASE requirements should your project be approved and a candidate be interviewed, i.e. no later than February. Alternatively, the below E4 DTP CASE Support Form can be returned to us, once completed and signed by the CASE partner.
  • CASE partners can still be added to the project up to the interview stage.

Need help with finding a CASE Partner?

The below contacts might have ideas on who could be a good CASE partner on your project and can help putting you in touch with them. Speak to them!

You can also find below an extensive guidance document aimed at lead supervisors to help them set up a successful CASE studentship, a guidance document aimed at CASE partners and the templates of the legal paperwork (CASE Studentship Agreement and the Student Assignation and Confidentiality Agreement).

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