📋 Tender Overview
Funded Value5108045Funded PeriodApr 19 - Sep 27FunderEPSRCProject StatusActiveProject CategoryTraining GrantProject ReferenceEPS0224731The CDT in Molecules to Product addresses an overarching concern articulated by industry operating in the area of complex chemical products. It centres on the lack of a pipeline of doctoral graduates who understand the cross-scale issues that need to be addressed within the chemicals continuum. Translating their concern into a vision the focus of the CDT is to train a new generation of research leaders with the skills and expertise to navigate the journey from a selected molecule or molecular system through to the final product that delivers the desired structure and required performance. To address this vision three inter-related Themes form the foundation of the CDT - Product Functionalisation and Performance Product Characterisation and Process Modelling between Scales. More specifically industry has identified a real need to recruit PGR graduates with the interdisciplinary skills covered by the CDT research and training programme. As future leaders they will be instrumental in delivering enhanced process and product understanding and hence the manufacture of a desired end effect such as taste dissolution or stability. For example if industry is better informed regarding the effect of the manufacturing process on existing products can the process be made more efficient and cost effective through identifying what changes can be made to the current process Alternatively if there is an enhanced understanding of the effect of raw materials could stages in the process be removed i.e. are some stages simply historical and not needed. For radically new products that have been developed is it possible through characterisation techniques to understand i the roleeffect of each componentraw material on the final product and ii how the product structure is impacted by the process conditions both chemical and mechanical Finally can predictive models be developed to realise effective scale up Such a focus will assist industry to mitigate against wasted development time and costs allowing them to focus on products and processes where the risk of failure is reduced. Although the ethos of the CDT embraces a wide range of sectors it will focus primarily on companies within speciality chemicals home and personal care fast moving consumer goods food and beverage and pharmabiopharma sectors. The focus of the CDT is not singular to technical challenges a core element will be to incorporate the concept of Education for Innovation as described in The Royal Academy of Engineering Report Educating engineers to drive the innovation economy. This will be facilitated through the inclusion of innovation and enterprise as key strands within the research training programme. Through the combination of technical entrepreneurial and business skills the PGR students will have a un
