Key Information
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By funding the most innovative engineering students, UCL’s new EngD in Urban Sustainability and Resilience offers your company the opportunity to benefit from a pot of £10.2 Million to invest in your company’s research and development.
The EngD USAR is your chance to create, shape and get involved in a research project that is relevant to you and your company’s vision for its future development. In so doing you will be able to:
- Access to world-renowned academics and intellectual resources
- Interact and help shape some of the world’s best engineering students
- Nurture the research and management potential of your staff
- Use this funding for your specialist needs
- Maintain and build an international competitive advantage
The Engineering Doctorate (EngD) is an enhanced PhD concept, created to specifically meet the needs of industry and is carried out in partnership with industry. The UCL EngD in Urban Sustainability and Resilience is a 4-year PhD programme, which includes a taught component that is customized for the research project. Taught courses can be selected from MSc’s across UCL’s 70 departments and electives can be taken from the London Business School. In this way the EngD aims to nurture a new class of research engineer: a commercially aware research leader who understands the current and future challenges facing our urban environments as well as the opportunities these present to industry.
To read more, click hereDo you want to work on a substantial, well resourced research project with an industrial partner? Would you like to support that project with an outstanding student? Read on this section tells you how we want to help you realise those aims. There are three main steps:
Step 1
Find a company with whom you want to develop a project proposal. Click here for help in finding a company
Step 2
Develop your research ideas with the company into a project proposal and submit it to the centre at our annual EngD project recruitment fair. Click here for guidance on putting a proposal together. We recruit projects annually, using a competitive model to drive up the quality of proposals. Click here for details on how we select proposals and to find out what we are looking for.
Step 3
Recruit a student, plan out the project and off you go. Click here for more details on the substantial advantages the EngD scheme offers to the students, and how to go about recruiting them.
Getting Started
A quick start guide for industrial partners is available here. This gives you guidance on how to set up an EngD contract, advertise and recruit a good student and getting them started at UCL. You will be invited to a kick-off meeting at the start of your project. These are the guidelines you will be given.
Structure of the EngD programme - Expectations
The structure of the programme means the EngD project is a partnership between your company, UCL and the student. As such, it is expected that the industrial supervisor in a project to be actively involved at all stages of research. The research project should be strategically aligned with your company’s long-term goals. Hence, it is expected that the company promote the project within their offices. As a partnership, Intellectual Property developed within the project is shared, and it is expected that joint publications will be a natural result of the research.
The expected outcomes of the project are:
- The aims of the project that affect the company should be realized such that something changes for the better i.e. new knowledge, new practices, patents, licences, products
- That the student matures into a confident, commercially aware, scientifically excellent, practical research engineer with the ability to think laterally and logically and communicate ideas effectively.
- A closer working relationship and knowledge exchange between the company and UCL
Time allocation
The student's time is split between formal taught courses/training and working on the research project itself, both at UCL and at the industrial partner's offices and facilities.
Congratulations on being offered a place at UCL as an Engineering Doctorate student.
You will find that the first few weeks will be very busy with lots of new systems to learn. This section of the website is designed to guide you through this process and can be referred to during your time at UCL.
Read more to see a breakdown of what you'll be doing for the next two years.
To read more, click hereYears 2 - 3
Year 2: Progression
Progression from the second to the third year will be subject to passing a transfer viva at the end of the second year. The process consists of:
- Submitting a 10,000 word report
- Successfully defending the report during an oral examination
- Making a presentation to the Department showing the progress achieved so far and the plan to completion over the following two years.
The first attempt at progression should happen between 2 and 2.5 years (i.e. the first six months of the third year); Second attempt (when applicable) between 2.5 and 3 years (i.e. second half of the third year). The whole process should be completely over by the end of the 3rd year. The time frame is that of normal PhD shifted by one year (the initial MRes).
Email Jane Doogan(j.doogan@ucl.ac.uk) to obtain the current guidelines.
You should also take about 30 credits worth of courses during the second year and ideally take the remainder in the third year.
The following taught module elements are compulsory:
- A Sustainability Module from across UCL
- Resilience Engineering (CEGEG073)
- A Project Management module such as ‘Project Management’ (15 credit module - MSING001) or ‘Collaborative Environmental Systems Project’ (30 credit module - CEGEG015)
Students need to take the following modules between years 1-3 and must complete 120 credits in taught modules by the end of the third year.
To read more, click hereAll you need to know about your funding and purchasing.
To read more, click hereI am interested in doing an EngD in the area of urban sustainability and resilience. How can I apply?
Each year we hold an 'EngD Fair' where we talk to companies about the projects they would like to do. Once we have decided which of these projects to fund, we will advertise them on our website under "EngD Vacancies". If there is a project advertised that you are eligible for then simply fill in the form that comes with the vacancy and upload your CV. If the academic partner is interested in seeing you they will be invited for an interview.
What are the UK residential eligibility criteria?
The EPSRC dictates that EngD students must have been a UK resident for an uninterrupted period for at least three years before the start date of the project. This applies to EU nationals who have been living in the UK for study purposes. International candidates will only be considered if they have been an ordinary resident in the UK for at least three years and this must not include being here as a student. Further details can be found on the EPSRC website: http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/PostgraduateTraining/StudentEligibility.htm
I want to do an EngD but I don’t have a sponsoring company. What do I do?
Each year we hold an ‘EngD Fair’ which results in specific new projects being advertised looking for new students. These will be published on our vacancies page approximately three weeks afer the fair.
I want to do an EngD and I think I can get my company to sponsor me. What do I do?
You’ll first of all need to get agreement from your company to nominate you to do an EngD. When you have a piece of research in mind, you can contact us to tell us about your idea. We will then invite you/your company to submit a proposal and encourage you to talk to one of our relevant academics who would be interested in supervising the project. If your proposal is successful you will need to demonstrate you meet the residential and academic eligibility criteria by application and interview.
Effectively this will involve leaving work and becoming a full time student at UCL for four years. You’ll still spend time in your work place but now it will be solely on work related to your research project.
Can I do an EngD part time?
The EngD programme takes four years to complete full time. Part time options are not available.
What are the academic eligibility criteria?
Each project that is advertised will have a specific academic requirement. This will usually be at least a 2.1 and/or a Masters degree in a related discipline. If you have a 2.2 and a Masters, you should still contact the academic partner to apply.
Is there scope for students to initiate and conduct EngD projects?
Yes but you will independently need to find a company willing to sponsor you. UCL additions may provide an avenue for you to explore match making opportunities.
Contract FAQ's
We have a prepared a "Quick Start Guide" for student applicants.
Companies interested in discussing a research project should refer to the section above "Information for Prospective Industry Partners".
