Cardiff gets £1.3m KESS2 funding

Cardiff University has been awarded £1.3M as part of the Knowledge Economy Skills Scholarship funding programme (KESS2) by the Welsh European Funding Office.

The research scheme partners businesses with postgraduate research students to drive economic, social or environmental development through innovative research.

The KESS2 programme is led by Bangor University in partnership with Cardiff University and other Welsh universities.

In contrast to the earlier KESS2 scheme which focused on North and West Wales, as well as the Valleys, the new grant allocation will see the Welsh Universities involved work in collaboration with industrial partners from the East Wales region (Cardiff; Flintshire; Monmouthshire; Newport; Powys; Vale of Glamorgan; Wrexham).

The funding will support the delivery of 25 PhD and 15 Masters level programmes over the next three years. Cardiff has already agreed 18 PhD projects, and is recruiting students to work in collaboration with Small Business Enterprise partners, public sector and Health Board organisations.

Professor Kim Graham, Pro Vice-Chancellor Research, Innovation and Enterprise said:
“This scheme continues to act as an example of how Cardiff University academics, students and external organisations can work collaboratively to develop and deliver innovative and enterprising research projects, which are mutually beneficial and have wider regional impact.”

The KESS2 programme supports PhD students and can make a real difference to their lives.

Josh Davies, School of Chemistry, is a third-year PhD student funded through the programme. His research looks into nanoparticles in partnership with the Cotton Mouton Diagnostics Limited.

Josh said: “KESS has a huge focus on professional development, both in its promoting of industry links and training. Working so closely with a company has helped me grow considerably as a scientist. Quite often, work carried out in a lab may not reach commercialisation, but in my case all my work will be used. This also means you have to be realistic with conditions, costs and time as any methods I create have to be able to be scaled for use industrially.”

Academics, students or partner organisations interested in applying for a research studentship can visit the KESS 2 website for more information.