A major focus of the QUADRAT core and systems-wide integrated skills training are the cohort building and peer-to-peer activities that ensure students operate within a socially cohesive team that spans all sites, years and disciplines, and that our students have affiliation with the QUADRAT-DTP rather than just their individual institutes.
QUADRAT-DTP students also benefit from interaction with a diverse community of PhD students in both University of Aberdeen and Queen’s University Belfast, which includes the BBSRC EastBio DTP, NERC CDT in Oil and Gas, Leverhulme CDT in Sustainable Production of Chemicals and Materials, the Aurora Universities Network, and research pooling initiatives such as Marine Alliance of Science and Technology Scotland (MASTS), Scottish Alliance for Geoscience, Environment and Society (SAGES), and Scottish Universities Life Science Alliance (SULSA).
Existing long-term research projects in Assynt, Kielder, Fair Isle, Strangford Lough, Mendarte (Canada), Mull, Islay, Eynhallow and Rathlin Island may also provide opportunities for skills development and experience.
