Why I chose to join the CSCT with a pre-defined project
The CSCT community surprised me
During the last couple of years of my undergrad, I was confident I wanted to do a PhD. I had never heard of a CDT, so had no idea what to expect coming into the CSCT here at Bath.After joining the CSCT, the first thing I noticed was the sense of community, within the individual cohort and the wider community. You have access to extra support from excellent people, really helping the bedding in process to go as smoothly as possible. I personally love the feeling of a joint focus across the CSCT, even if there are hugely varied research areas across, chemistry, engineering, physics, and more.
Benefits of interdisciplinarity
The interdisciplinary aspect of the CSCT gives you more exposure to other areas of research and gives you more ideas about how to approach your own research that you might not get without that exposure to other research areas. For instance, my project involves designing porous materials for hydrogen isotope separation for fusion fuel, in partnership with the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA). Approaching the problem as a chemist, I will naturally focus on designing materials with high selectivity. However, a chemical engineer may try to design a more practical material with higher cyclability. Neither approach is wrong, but working with both chemists and chemical engineers helps me to design the best materials possible.
Why I chose a pre-defined project
Overall, I have really noticed the benefits of being part of a CDT. But I’ve found that being part of a pre-defined project also has extra positives. I personally found that coming into the CDT with a pre-defined project gave me more certainty. I knew what I was getting into (as much as anyone can going into a PhD!), and that gave me some comfort stepping into the unknown of a PhD. Being part of a pre-defined project also gives you more experience working with industry. During the CDT, there will be opportunities to collaborate with industry regardless of whether you have a pre-defined project or not, but being in direct partnership with industry undoubtedly gives you more opportunities for collaboration and more experience working within an industrial setting.
Working with industry
Working with industry also provides you with access to a greater breadth of expertise, and a way of looking at problems from another perspective. For instance, my project has really been enhanced by meeting with my industrial supervisor and getting a good gauge on what UKAEA want from a material for isotope separation. I’ve found my instincts as a chemist do not always align with what industry want when designing materials, so being in contact with an industry partner has helped me design materials with higher real-world impact than I might’ve made without that collaboration. Overall, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my collaboration with industry so far and found it has really enriched my PhD experience.
Looking back on my MRes year
Throughout all of this, I’ve had my MRes year which really helped to settle me into the PhD way of life so I wasn’t thrown straight in at the deep end. I’ve had a year to learn skills and build connections, helping prepare me for the start of your PhD in year 2 of the program. I’ve found the combination of a pre-defined project and being part of the CDT to be great, mixing the best parts of a PhD with the best parts of a CDT. I would warmly recommend the CSCT to anyone thinking about applying, especially if there’s a pre-defined project available!
