QUADRAT DTP projects are a mixture of CASE and non-CASE projects. A CASE Studentship is a project that has been developed and will be delivered by the host University in collaboration with a non-academic partner from the private, public and third/civil sectors. CASE studentships tend to stem from real-life issues encountered by that particular organisation, a project will be designed to tackle a specific problem. As such, all collaborators gain from the research output of the studentship.

CASE studentships provide PhD students with enhanced training opportunities by ensuring they spend between 3 and 18 months, in total, with their CASE partner in a workplace outside the academic environment. This will usually be in the form of regular meetings, specialist training and an internship.

The role of CASE partner contacts will vary from a formal supervisory role, an advisory role or provision of facilities, expertise, training and data collection. CASE partners will have a vested interest in the scientific outputs of the project.

Not every project is suited to being a CASE studentship however we aim for a minimum of 25% of our studentships to be CASE supported over the lifetime of the DTP.

Organisation CASE / non-CASE NERC Classification
Agri-Food & Biosciences Institute (AFBI) CASE eligible Public sector research establishment
Environment Agency (EA) CASE eligible Public sector research establishment
Forest Research CASE eligible Public sector research establishment
Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) CASE eligible Public sector research establishment
Marine Scotland Science (MSS) CASE eligible Public sector research establishment
Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) CASE eligible Public sector research establishment
Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) CASE eligible Public sector research establishment
The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) CASE eligible Public sector research establishment
3DEO CASE eligible
Aberdeen Harbour Board CASE eligible
Arup CASE eligible
Aberdeen City Council CASE eligible
Belfast City Council CASE eligible
Bioversity International CASE eligible
Botanæco CASE eligible
Causeway Coast and Glens Heritage Trust CASE eligible
CNOOC CASE eligible
DAERA CASE eligible
Defra CASE eligible
Equinor CASE eligible
Forestry and Land Scotland CASE eligible
Forestry Commission Scotland CASE eligible
Forestry England CASE eligible
Historic Environment Department NI CASE eligible
Ireland Brownfield Network CASE eligible
Keenan Recycling Ltd CASE eligible
Loughs Agency CASE eligible
Mournes Heritage Trust CASE eligible
National Biodiversity Data Centre County Waterford, Ireland CASE eligible
National Collection of Industrial, Food & Marine Bacteria (NCIMB) CASE eligible
Net Zero Technology Centre CASE eligible
NFU Scotland CASE eligible
Northern Government Department for the Economy (DFE) CASE eligible
Northern Ireland Environment Link (NIEL) CASE eligible
Northern Ireland Water CASE eligible
R&A CASE eligible
Scottish National Heritage (SNH) CASE eligible
Scottish Water CASE eligible
Shetland Amenity Trust CASE eligible
Shetland UNESCO Global Geopark CASE eligible
Siskin Group / Siskin Asset Management NA CASE eligible
South Atlantic Environmental Research Institute (SAERI) CASE eligible
Syngenta CASE eligible
Tillhill Forestry CASE eligible
The C.B. Dennis British Beekeepers’ Research Trust CASE eligible
The Centre for Environmental Data and Recording (CEDaR) CASE eligible
The Crown Estate CASE eligible
Ulster Farmers Union CASE eligible
Ulster Wildlife CASE eligible
Volcanic Basin Petroleum Research CASE eligible
Wildbyte Technologies Ltd CASE eligible
Zeiss / CarlZeiss Microscopy CASE eligible
BGS / BGS Edinburgh non-CASE Eligible to receive NERC funding
Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) non-CASE Independent Research Organisation
Geological Survey Northern Ireland (GSNI) non-CASE Independent Research Organisation. GSNI is a DFE Office of Government – DFE themselves are CASE eligible.
Historic Environment Scotland (HES) non-CASE Independent Research Organisation
The National Decommissioning Centre (NDC) non-CASE Academic institution / Affiliation with UOA
James Hutton Institute (JHI) non-CASE Independent Research Organisation
National Trust / for Scotland / for Northern Ireland non-CASE Independent Research Organisation
RSPB NI / Scotland non-CASE Independent Research Organisation
Royal Botanic Gardens – Kew non-CASE Independent Research Organisation
Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar & Marine Research, Germany Overseas See ‘international CASE’ guidance
NOAA Fisheries, Alaskan Fisheries Science Centre Overseas See ‘international CASE’ guidance
Pacific Seafoods.com, USA Overseas See ‘international CASE’ guidance
The Polish National Oceanography Institute (IOPAN) Overseas See ‘international CASE’ guidance

International CASE partners are eligible provided they are a non-academic organisation, and the DTP can evidence that the CASE criteria has been met and that the placement provides an opportunity for the student to gain skills that could not be provided by a UK-based partner. The student must be fully supported by the DTP and CASE partner throughout the placement period.

CASE partners are required to supplement the studentship, and thus enhance the research project, by:

  • The CASE partner(s) must supplement the studentship by a minimum of £1,000 p.a. for the lifetime of the studentship (3.5 years). This payment should be made to the lead Research Organisation to supplement the RTSG and not be paid directly to the student. This minimum requirement can be met collectively by multiple CASE partners.
  • The CASE partner(s) must host the student for between three and eighteen months during their PhD, during which time they will undertake work outside the academic environment. This placement does not need to occur in one single continuous period.
  • CASE partners are expected to meet the extra expenses incurred by the student when visiting and working within their establishment.
  • CASE partners are expected to contribute in cash or in kind towards necessary materials and/or facilities not possessed by the Research Organisation concerned that are required by the student to undertake research integral to their CASE studentship.

More information available here.

The CASE partner may be in the public, private or third sector. Any organisations eligible to receive NERC research funding will not be eligible to act as a CASE partner. This includes research institutes and independent research organisations (IROs) as defined on the UKRI website.

As an exception to the above, Public sector research establishments (PSREs) are eligible to act as CASE partners for NERC studentships. See here for more information.

List of Research Institutes eligible to receive NERC funding in their own right, and therefore NON-CASE eligible. Independent IROs are also NON-CASE eligible.

International CASE partners are eligible provided they are a non-academic organisation, and the DTP can evidence that the CASE criteria has been met and that the placement provides an opportunity for the student to gain skills that could not be provided by a UK-based partner. The student must be fully supported by the DTP and CASE partner throughout the placement period.