The theme area is manufacturing of engineering composites structures, specifically those which comprise continuous high performance fibres held together with a polymeric matrix. The relevant industry areas include aerospace, automotive, marine, wind energy and construction. The proposal demonstrates continuing and growing need in the UK polymer composites manufacturing sector for suitably technically qualified individuals, able to make positive and rapid impact on its international manufacturing competitiveness. Extension of a newly created Industrial Doctorate Centre in Composites Manufacture fills an existing gap in provision of industrially focussed higher level education in the UK, in the specialist discipline of polymer composites manufacturing. It has its centre of gravity in Bristol, with the rapidly expanding National Composites Centre (NCC) the natural home-base for the cohorts of composites manufacturing Research Engineers embedded in the composites manufacturing industry. This new hub of applied research activity focussed at TRL 3-5 is different from but highly complementary to the outputs of composites manufacturing PhD students within the EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Composites (CIMComp), working on more fundamental research topics in composites manufacture at TRL 1-3. Achieving a clearer definition of the industrial composites manufacturing challenges and of new knowledge base requirements will provide direction for the industrially relevant accompanying fundamental research. The EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Composites has established and maintains close management overview of this IDC , as well as fostering links with related CDTs within the wider High Value Manufacturing Catapult, initially specifically the AMRC Composites Centre IDC in Machining Science. Over time such connections will establish a critical mass of industrially focussed manufacturing research activity in the UK, raising the national and international status of the EngD brand in the composites industry, in academia and in professional institutions by targeted dissemination through CIMComp in conjunction with the NCC

This proposal is to establish a DTC in Wind and Marine Energy Systems. It brings together the UK's leading institutions in Wind Energy, the University of Strathclyde, and Marine Energy, the University of Edinburgh. The wider aim, drawing on existing links to the European Research Community, is to maintain a growing research capability, with the DTC at is core, that is internationally leading in wind and marine energy and on a par with the leading centres in Denmark, the USA, Germany and the Netherlands. To meet the interdisciplinary research demands of this sector requires a critical mass of staff and early stage researchers, of the sort that this proposal would deliver, to be brought together with all the relevant skills. Between the two institutions, academic staff have in-depth expertise covering the wind and wave resource, aerodynamics and hydrodynamics, design of wind turbines and marine energy devices, wind farms, fixed and floating structures, wind turbine, wind farm and marine energy devices control, power conversion, condition monitoring, asset management, grid-integration issues and economics of renewable energy. A centre of learning and research with strong links to the Wind and Marine Energy industry will be created that will provide a stimulating environment for the PhD students. In the first year of a four year programme, a broad intensive training will be provided to the students in all aspects of Wind and Marine Energy together with professional engineer training in research, communication, business and entrepreneurial skills. The latter will extend throughout the four years of the programme. Research will be undertaken in all aspects of Wind and Marine Energy. A DTC in Wind and Marine Energy Systems is vital to the UK energy sector for a number of reasons. The UK electricity supply industry is currently undergoing a challenging transition driven by the need to meet the Government's binding European targets to provide 15% of the UK's total primary energy consumption from renewable energy sources by 2020. Given that a limited proportion of transport and heating energy will come from such sources, it is expected that electricity supply will make the major contribution to this target. As a consequence, 40% or more of electricity will have to be generated from non-thermal sources. It is predicted that the UK market for both onshore and offshore wind energy is set to grow to £20 billion by 2015.There is a widely recognised skills gap in renewable energy that could limit this projected growth in the UK and elsewhere unless the universities dramatically increase the scale of their activities in this area. At the University of Strathclyde, the students will initially be housed in the bespoke accommodation in the Royal College Building allocated and refurbished for the existing DTC in Wind and Marine Energy Systems then subsequently in the Technology and Innovation Centre Building when it is completed. At the University of Edinburgh, the students will be housed in the bespoke accommodation in the Kings Buildings allocated and refurbished for the existing IDC in Offshore Renewable Energy. The students will have access to the most advanced design, analysis and simulation software tools available, including the industry standard wind turbine and wind farm design tools and a wide range of power system and computation modelling packages. Existing very strong links to industry of the academic team will be utilised to provide strategic guidance to the proposed DTC in Wind and Marine Energy through company membership of its Industrial Advisory Board and participation in 8 week 7 projects as part of the training year and in 3 year PhD projects. In addition, to providing suggestions for projects and engaging in the selection process, the Industry Partners provide support in the form of data, specialist software, access to test-rigs and advice and guidance to the students.