Funding opportunities within EASTBIO

Since 2012, following three separate rounds of funding from UKRI BBSRC (DTP1, DTP2 & DTP3), EASTBIO has recruited twelve cohorts of students. EASTBIO is currently recruiting the 2024 student intake with continued funding from BBSRC. Additional funding will be drawn from across the partnership and industry to create an annual cohort of over 60 students per year.

If you are interested in a PhD studentship...

 

If you are a student...

EASTBIO studentships are awarded on the basis of specific PhD projects advertised in the autumn of each year. These projects are mapped on the BBSRC priority areas and the quotas allocated to each partner university, as they reflect their individual research strengths. Students are invited to apply to projects advertised across the doctoral training partnership after being nominated by the project lead supervisor.

Before you apply for an EASTBIO PhD studentship, you must read carefully our guidance on how to apply. Contact the EASTBIO team if you have any questions about the application process or the local administrator of the institution hosting the project you are applying for (for the list, see here).

If you are a supervisor...

If you are a prospective EASTBIO supervisor based in one of the EASTBIO partner institutions, you are invited to submit your PhD project proposal according to the Project Call and circulated across the partnership in late August 2023.

EASTBIO PhD Project Call - 2024 UKRI BBSRC/EASTBIO Studentships
EASTBIO Collaborative Studentship Guidance for Industry

Your project must be within the BBSRC remit, and align with one of the BBSRC priority areas. We encourage projects which are based on interdisciplinary collaborations between supervisors across the partnership or with industry involvement. Projects must provide recruited students with excellent training opportunities and have a realistic time frame for completion; this allows time for the student to undertake required EASTBIO training, complete a compulsory 3-month non-academic internship (PIPS), or an industrial placement - and to write up the final thesis.

Please note: Supervisors may not lead an EASTBIO studentship project in two consecutive years.

Recruitment briefing Q&A sessions run by each EASTBIO academic lead will be scheduled at each partner institution, with dates to be advised by the local administrative teams.

If you wish to nominate an applicant for your PhD project, you should complete and submit a brief Candidate Nomination Form after having met the candidate and considered their suitability for the project, their academic merit and potential, and their fit with the EASTBIO programme. If you would like to consult the applicants' references, please note that we have requested applicants to use the EASTBIO Reference form.

By proposing an EASTBIO DTP project, academic supervisors and any non-academic partners commit to:
•    actively support their PhD student’s researcher and professional development and full participation in the EASTBIO training programme; this has specific mandatory elements in the first and second year of the PhD
•    attend the two key training events – EASTBIO Induction (Edinburgh, 10 October 2023) and the student-led Bioscience Annual Symposium (St Andrews, 3-4 June 2024)
•    engage with first-year students hosting, in year 1, one of the 4 training meetings in each of the strategic BBSRC thematic area the PhD project is aligned with
•    advise and support your supervisee in their planning of their mandatory placement (PIPS) and attend, if possible, the EASTBIO Placements Q&A session (online, 5 February 2024)
•    engage with any EASTBIO-run training for supervisors: this year we provide an Inclusive Communication workshop at the Induction (Edinburgh, 10 October 2023) and a Neurodiversity Awareness session (online, autumn 2023)
•    advise and support their student regarding any self-selected training that EASTBIO advises.

If you have further questions on the PhD Project Call or our recruitment, please email the EASTBIO academic representative at your local institution or EASTBIO.