IBioIC Industrial PhD Programme - Call for Projects
We are seeking innovative projects for PhD studentships to commence in October 2027. Projects must focus on Biotechnology and include a minimum three-month placement with an industrial partner. Projects will be funded at a 50% intervention rate for four years.
Background
IBioIC has been funded by the Scottish Funding Council to deliver supporting activities to the Biotechnology Industry and our academic community. A key focus is the support of industrially relevant PhD projects that bring biotechnology closer to industrialisation. IBioIC currently manage a PhD portfolio which includes IBioIC and BBSRC funded projects, all delivered as part of our Collaborative Training Partnership (CTP).
All IBioIC project applications are assessed by way of competition. This paper is a call for PhD projects commencing October 2027. It sets out the rules, processes and guidelines on how this competition will be operated. IBioIC reserves the right to alter these processes at any stage. Any changes of process will be notified to all applicants.
Value and Funding
The estimated total cost of a studentship commencing in academic year 2027-28 is detailed below.
IBioIC PhD studentships are awarded as a fixed contribution calculated at the time of application based on the most recently published UKRI stipend and fee levels with an estimated inflationary uplift for the duration of a four-year studentship. Payments to the student need to reflect the actual UKRI levels for each academic year which are published annually by UKRI. Therefore, in order to ensure that sufficient funding is available to meet the published UKRI stipend & fees, an additional award may need to be made to meet the shortfall between the original award for any academic year and the published UKRI levels for that academic year. Where studentships are co-funded by the host university and/ or an industrial partner, IBioIC expects each participant in the studentship project to contribute to the shortfall based upon the % contribution at the time of the original award.
The host university or HEI shall invoice IBioIC for the IBioIC contribution. Where studentships are co-funded by an industrial partner, the host university or HEI shall invoice the industrial partner for the industrial partner contribution. It is mandated that £1,500 per annum of the Consumables, Travel & Training Budget will be ring-fenced by the host university or HEI to support IBioIC cohort training activities. Evidence of spend against this requirement may be requested by IBioIC throughout the project.
Number of PhD projects to be awarded
Up to eight (8) studentships will be awarded. Some studentships may be awarded in collaboration with (I)DLA partners and other suitable collaborators.
Cohort Training Programme
All students awarded funding as part of this competition will be considered to be a member of the IBioIC CTP. As a member of the IBioIC CTP the conditions set out in the project competition paper must be met.
How to Apply
To apply for a studentship, please complete the IBioIC PhD Project Application Form and the IBioIC PhD Funding Plan.
The prospective principal investigator or project lead at the host university or HEI should complete the Project Application Form and Funding Plan and submit these with any associated letters of support to the IBioIC Skills Team (skills@ibioic.com) before midday 9th December 2026.
