The EngD can be viewed as an advanced, research apprenticeship, suitable for new recruits as well as for existing employees.
We welcome applicants from all nations and backgrounds: the University is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion. Applications are particularly welcome from women, who are under-represented in Research and Development posts.
Industrial Supervisors
Each Research Engineer (RE) needs an Industrial Supervisor. Every prospective Industry Sponsor will need to provide information about staff members who will take on the role of the Industrial Supervisor for a RE. Potential Industrial Supervisors should ideally hold an EngD, PhD or other doctorate in a relevant topic, or show an established research record, and also have experience in mentoring.
Registering as an Industry Sponsor
To register as an Industry Sponsor, you need to propose an Industrial Supervisor and a description of the research to be undertaken. The Industrial Supervisor will be the person who acts as the mentor and contact person for the RE.
We are happy to accept Industry Sponsors from anywhere in the world. St Andrews has a diverse student and staff population, and we greatly value the ability to engage with an international industrial research community.
Industry Sponsors can advertise vacancies at any time, and early advertisement is encouraged. To advertise a vacancy, please contact us directly. Also, please contact us if you have any queries at engd-admin-cs@st-andrews.ac.uk.
We would also encourage you to send us information if you have it ready, using these instructions, as soon as possible, especially if your are planning to use this EngD as a recruitment platform – we will be happy to advertise the vacancy for you on this website.
Benefits to Industry
The Association of Engineering Doctorates (AEngD – http://www.aengd.org.uk) lists key benefits to industry from an EngD:
- Human capital and skills development, benefiting individual careers, collective knowledge and skills of the industrial sponsor, and sector-wide impact via improved quality.
- Generation of new knowledge for short-, mid- and long-term application.
- Innovation, including outputs such as the potential for patents, spinouts and commercialisation.
- Knowledge networks and collaboration, establishing links between academia and industry, as well as between industries.
For the EngD in Computer Science at the University of St Andrews, there are the following added benefits:
- Scope and flexibility of topics for research, as our EngD programme is not specifically targeted at one area.
- The ability for an applicant’s previous education history to be considered for entry directly into the second year of the EngD programme.
- Non-traditional entry routes for admission on to the EngD programme.
- Flexibility in undertaking the taught modules across the first two years of the programme, rather than in a single year.
Intellectual Property
A key outcome from an EngD will be the generation of new knowledge and Intellectual Property (IP). For promoting scientific goals, such as reproducibility and increased velocity in research outcomes, as well as for promoting open research, the default IP agreement will be that any IP generated is shared equally between the RE, Industrial Sponsor, and the University of St Andrews.
However, before starting the IRC, each RE will have in place an individually-tailored IP agreement and contract with the University of St Andrews, to suit the specific requirements of the RE and the Industrial Sponsor, and so arrangements other than the default case are possible.
Fees and costs
Tuition fees for postgraduate research programmes depend on RE fee status which will determine the level of tuition fees you will have to pay.
2023/24 entry fees:
- UK/EU (home) student: TBC
- Overseas student: £24,760
Information on Postgraduate fees and funding will give you guidance on what fees will be required.
- A RE stipend, currently set at £18,000 pa
There may be other costs to the RE, such as travel for meetings, attendance at workshops or conferences, publication costs, purchase of specialist equipment, access to specialist facilities etc.
All costs are normally borne by the Industry Sponsor.
Of course, in terms of resources at the University, the RE will have access to the learning, teaching, and research resources offered to all of our research students.
Tax
HMRC has attractive tax relief for research and developments costs. So, each Industry Sponsor should check their specific entitlement to claim relief for any and all contributions for the RE, or any other costs (such as equipment, travel, and administration) in support of the RE and/or engagement with the EngD programme.
Further information
We would be very happy to discuss any aspect of the programme with you.
- If you have any queries, please send email to engd-admin-cs@st-andrews.ac.uk.
- You can also phone the School during normal office hours, 0900-1700 UK time, Monday to Friday, on +44 (0)1334 463253 (please note that there is no voicemail service on this line).