Overview
The Centre for Doctoral Training offers unique four-year PhD training in Photonic Integration and Advanced Data Storage, leading to a jointly awarded degree from Queen's University Belfast and the University of Glasgow.
Designed and delivered in close collaboration with an impressive range of industrial partners, the CDT provides a cutting-edge and innovative research environment for doctoral students to develop the new technologies, products and systems required to address the expanding data storage needs of today's fast moving digital world. The programme aims to equip students with high-level and sophisticated technical training and skills alongside much sought after skills in distributed working, collaboration, entrepreneurship and business planning skills. CDT students enjoy a substantial funding package which provides an individual budget for project research expenses and for mobility and conference travel.
CDT students are exposed to best practice commonly used in large scientific and development projects, including annual conclaves for the dissemination of ideas and network building, and peer-to-peer learning and training in world-leading fabrication, characterization and analysis techniques.
Our doctoral students join of a close-knit community of postgraduate research students who are supported by world-leading researchers from Queen's University's Centre for Nanostructured Media, host to the largest global Seagate Technology university engagement, and from the University of Glasgow whose capabilities include the James Watt Nanofabrication Centre in the Engineering & Microscopy facility of the Department of Physics and Astronomy. Students spend time at both universities benefiting from the excellent facilities available to postgraduates including The Graduate School at Queen's and The Graduate School at Glasgow.
Photonic Integration and Advanced Data Storage highlights
The programme is delivered by leading academics from both Queen's University Belfast and the University of Glasgow and leads to a jointly awarded research degree from both institutions.
Key Facts
The CDT is a partnership between Queen's University Belfast and the University of Glasgow which aims to tackle some of the challenges created by the increasing quantities of data generated by today's society.
•The programme is delivered by leading academics from both Queen's University Belfast and the University of Glasgow and leads to a jointly awarded research degree from both institutions.
•CDT students benefit from access to top academics in the field from both universities.
Learning Outcomes
Course structure
Students are registered at both Queen's University Belfast and the University of Glasgow. In the first year students spend one semester completing a range of taught courses at each institution. Year 1 also includes attendance at the Innovation Academy in Dublin and specialist training given by Seagate Technology on global collaboration and distributed working. The Centre coordinates travel and accommodation arrangements for the first year. Students then undertake a summer research project located in either, or between both Universities before going on to identify their substantive PhD research project.
All PhD projects take place under the direction of a cross-institutional supervisory team, led by the University where the majority of the research is undertaken. All candidates submit the PhD thesis at the end of four years of full-time registration.
In Years 2-4 candidates undertake further courses from the Innovation Academy leading to the award of a Postgraduate Certificate in Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Upon successful completion of optional additional modules candidates may also be eligible for the award of MRes in Photonic Integration and Advanced Data Storage.
Facilities
CDT students benefit from access to the state of the art facilities at the Centre for Nanostructured Media at QUB and the James Watt Nanofabrication Centre at the University of Glasgow.