Management Board
University of Aberdeen is administrative lead partner for QUADRAT-DTP and has overall responsibility for compliance with the NERC award agreement.
The overall running of QUADRAT is overseen by a Management Board comprising a DTP Director (Professor Graeme Paton, Head of School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen), Deputy Director (Professor Jennifer McKinley, School of Natural and Built Environment, Queen’s University Belfast), the Head of School of Geosciences at University of Aberdeen (Professor David Jolley), the Head of School of Biological Sciences at Queen’s University Belfast (Professor Geoff McMullan) and Graduate School leads from both University of Aberdeen and Queen’s University Belfast.
Steering Group
The Management team are joined on a Steering Group by: two academic “champions” for each of the three research themes from both University of Aberdeen and Queen’s University Belfast and six student reps elected by the student body from across the three themes and two sites.
The Steering Group also includes Alistair Carson, Chief Scientific Adviser and Director of Science, Evidence and Innovation Policy at the Department of Agriculture Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland to liaise with the oversight board.
The Steering Group is responsible for:
- overseeing recruitment
- ensuring that the DTP is effective in delivering its training programme
- providing strategic direction to realise the science vision for the DTP
- fostering dialogue and interaction with partners to ensure relevance of research and training, coordinate internships and translational activities
- positioning the DTP to secure future funding and ensuring legacy through development of training materials that can be used beyond the likes of the DTP for postgraduate and CPD training, and by maintaining alumni links
The Steering Group meets (virtually) quarterly, and (formally) at the annual science symposium. Importantly the Steering Group forms the interview panels for student recruitment, co-opting other academic staff from particular disciplines from across University of Aberdeen and Queen’s University Belfast, depending on the focus of the cohort intake.
Oversight Board
An Oversight Board, led by Professor Colin Campbell, CEO of James Hutton Institute, guides the management and direction of the DTP, and provides independent, transparent and ongoing assessment of the effective functioning of the DTP and delivery of the overall DTP vision.
The Board comprises invited representatives from stakeholder and end-user groups and provides objective advice on research and training activity and priority areas for research projects.
The Board meets annually to provide a written report of progress, and will be invited to the annual QUADRAT science symposium to interact with the students and receive feedback on the student experience that can help shape the development of the DTP.
