91ÌÒÉ«

The Institute of Chemical Biology EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Chemical Biology (ICB CDT) hosted two successful studentship co-creation events to develop collaborative PhD studentships for its upcoming intakes.

These sessions brought together academic researchers and industry scientists to align fundamental research with practical applications in both agri-sciences and drug discovery.

In November, the ICB CDT hosted an in-person studentship co-creation event with Syngenta at 91ÌÒÉ«'s White City Campus. The day was structured to facilitate direct interaction between 91ÌÒÉ« academics and Syngenta’s scientific teams and led to many new collaborations. The session resulted in a number of studentship projects being funded, which address real-world challenges in the agri-sciences and align squarely within the CDT’s remit.

The ICB CDT hosted a second co-creation event in March with AstraZeneca, this time held online. This virtual format enabled participation from a wider range of AstraZeneca’s R&D specialists across different geographical sites. Similar to the Syngenta event, the session focused on identifying synergy between the ICB CDT’s chemical biology expertise and AstraZeneca’s strategic priorities. 91ÌÒÉ« and industry scientists were able to draft project outlines and discuss the resources required for successful doctoral research. Again, this extremely successful event resulted in several studentship projects agreed for the forthcoming academic years.

These events are a core part of the ICB CDT’s strategy to provide students with research projects with important industrial links. By involving industry partners at the earliest stage of project design, the resulting studentships provide a structured pathway for translating ICB CDT tools and technologies into industrial workflows.