CDT programme structure

The CDT Neurotechnology programme had a '1+3' structure; the first year being a purpose-developed MRes in Neurotechnology, providing students with the technical and research skills necessary to continue on to the subsequent three year PhD.  The programme incorporated multidisciplinary and transferrable skills training throughout the 4 years, through centre activities beyond the individual research project.

The MRes in Neurotechnology

Students take 3 months of taught courses and then carry out a 9-month research project, which will involve laboratory rotations (as part of a single project), with a single thesis submission at the end of the MRes year. The aim of the MRes is to develop all of the technical skills required to carry out the PhD work successfully and provide the student with a grounding in research.

The majority of students in the programme come from engineering or physical sciences backgrounds, and the MRes year reflects this.  Examples of MRes taught modules include Neuroscience, a custom-developed course aimed at providing engineering and physical science graduates with a thorough grounding in neuroscience, Computational and Statistical Methods for Research, Journal Clubs and Seminars, and elective modules such as Computational Neuroscience, Brain-Machine Interfaces and Mathematical Methods for Bioengineers. Visit the MRes in Neurotechnology, page for further details.

"Having a cohort is fantastic especially because we're all working on different aspects of the same subject area while at the same time coming from similar, namely quantitative, but slightly different backgrounds. The diversity in PhD-subjects is just interesting and can inspire one's own research. Feeding on the wealth in background knowledge and skills together we can progress faster." Carl Lubba - Cohort 2 student

The PhD

Students in the PhD phase of the CDT programme focus on intensive research work under the guidance of a supervisory team, who bring specific complementary technical and neuroscience expertise to the project. In addition, student cohorts regularly meet for ongoing transferrable skills courses and research symposia. During the course of their PhD, students typically spend a 3 month internship in industry or an international academic research institution.

Addtional training elements

In conjunction with their academic training, CDT students have benefitted from additional training elements throughout the programme including:

• professional skill straining workshops
• neurotechnology colloquia and seminars
• annual research symposium
• public engagement and outreach training and activities
• careers training
• attendance at national and international conferences
• internship or academic exchange