Breakthrough 2013 (PDF) - Swansea University

Breakthrough
35 %
growth in postgraduate
research students
57 %
growth in postgraduate
taught students
2005 – 2011
residential workshops, which encourage
them to identify ways in which they can
contribute to meeting the “grand challenges”
of RCUK, to reach out to new audiences for
their research, and to develop their
leadership skills. Speakers have included
the Chief Scientific Adviser for Wales
and nationally recognised broadcasters.
To date, 12 researchers from Swansea have
benefitted from this high profile programme.
Support for postgraduate
research students
The University is committed to providing a
supportive, inclusive, and vibrant research
environment and research culture for its
postgraduate community. The Academic
Board for Postgraduate Research
co-ordinates the management of research
students and works to improve the research
student experience. This has led directly to
the appointment of an Associate Dean for
each College, with a specific remit to
facilitate and exchange information and
views, and to disseminate good practice.
The University is successfully integrating
internationalisation within its research degree
environment. Departments are encouraged to
indentify and introduce joint or collaborative
research degrees with international partners,
such as the Erasmus Mundus PhD in Civil
Engineering, which was one of just ten
successful applications throughout Europe.
The University has awarded a joint PhD
with the University of Padua, and has had
collaborative degrees validated with the
University of Oklahoma and the Methodist
Hospital Research Institute in Texas.
Through APECS, a comprehensive skills
development programme for research
students has been expanded to correspond
with the areas identified in the Vitae
Researcher Development Framework. The
programme is freely available to all students
enrolled for postgraduate research degrees.
Training courses are taught by Swansea
University staff and external trainers, and
cover a broad range of topics, including:
• Academic writing skills
• Disseminating research and making
an impact
• Effective research transferable skills
• Employability
• Entrepreneurship
• Global awareness
• Metacognition, teaching
and learning styles
• Professional practice in academia
• Professional research management
• Using IT programmes and platforms in
research
• Working with others and leadership.
The University is also working with Tribal UK
and GradIntel to develop an electronic
Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR)
for Research Students. The HEAR is a single
document, based on each student’s current
academic transcript and Diploma
Supplement. It provides a description of the
nature, level, context and status of the studies,
and highlights the student’s performance. The
HEAR also details the learning outcomes of
the programme undertaken by the student,
and includes achievements in recognised
extra-curricular activities.
Postgraduate training
programmes
Swansea University’s postgraduate
community has grown significantly in recent
years. Between 2005 and 2011, the
University saw a 35% growth in
postgraduate research students, and a
57% growth in postgraduate taught students.
To generate and sustain this growth the
University has provided a range of
studentships and training programmes to
support its doctoral and masters’ students.
The establishment of a Doctoral Training
Centre (DTC) in Wales, funded by the
Economic and Social Research Council
(ESRC), allows 33 new postgraduate
studentships to be offered every year, over a
five-year period by Swansea, Aberystwyth,
Bangor, and Cardiff Universities. The DTC
supports the successful completion of
research degrees and provides the highquality
training needed by the future leaders
of our social-scientific community.
The Swansea arm of the DTC is hosted by the Research Institute for
Applied Social Sciences (RIASS), which offers a number of pathways
from which postgraduate researchers can choose. These encompass
Criminology, Economics and Business, Human Geography and Social
Work and Social Care (including Social Policy and Gerontology).
The Steel Training Research and Innovation Partnership (STRIP), a
£6.5 million programme, was established in 2009 to work with the
entire steel supply chain in Wales at the doctoral and master’s levels.
STRIP trains high-calibre people from academia and industry in
metallurgy, corrosion, coatings, manufacturing, and mechanical
properties. The programme funds eight MRes and 10 EngD projects
per year. EngD activity has been extended to focus on functional
coatings through the Centre of Advanced Training for Engineering
Doctorates (COATED), which is jointly funded by EPSRC and
the Welsh European Funding Office (WEFO), and will support
21 EngD students.
The Manufacturing Advances Through Training Engineering
Researchers (MATTER) EngD programme, funded by EPSRC, will
fund 26 EngD students for four years. MATTER has been developed
to provide doctoral level research in advanced manufacturing across
three critical manufacturing areas for the UK economy: aerospace,
automotive, and packaging. The programme supports industry-led
projects comprising doctoral level research and a range of taught
modules to enhance participants’ knowledge of advanced
manufacturing and business skills. MATTER is fully accredited by
the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) and the Royal
Aeronautical Society (RAeS). Current projects underway include:
• Computational modelling of the ALM melt pool
• Improving colour reproduction for packaging
• Surface engineering for packaging metal forming
• The flow and curing of multi-solvent inks
• Thermal imaging based melt pool depth prediction system
• Tooling design for packaging metals forming.
The Knowledge Economy Skills Scholarships (KESS) scheme is
designed to ensure that postgraduate students develop the higher
level research and development skills demanded by employers
who are aligned with the key priority areas for Wales: Advanced
Engineering, Biosciences, Digital Economy, Health, Low-carbon
Economy, and Manufacturing. The KESS scheme, widens access
to postgraduate study and encourages high-calibre graduates to
work on a range of collaborative research projects with small
and medium-sized businesses. The scheme will provide in excess
of 400 PhD and Masters’ places over five years and is backed
with £33 million from the European Social Fund (ESF) through
the Welsh Government.
Through the Access to Masters (ATM) programme, led by the
University’s College of Engineering, more than 1,400 Masters’
degrees, with annual bursaries and tuition funding worth up to
£8,450, are available to help researchers gain the competences
necessary to drive innovation in businesses in Wales. ATM is
backed with £12.3 million from the ESF through the Welsh
Government. Further funding is provided by the Welsh universities
and their private-sector partners.
ATM students are given the opportunity to acquire and apply
high-level skills through work placements in key industry and
business sectors, thereby improving their prospects of gaining
future employment in these sectors. For high achievers, ATM offers
postgraduate researchers flexibility; providing valuable experience
and insight into the world of work and, at the same time, providing
a stepping stone towards KESS-funded PhDs that further develop the
critical research and development skills required to lead a large-scale
collaborative research project.
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